PHOENIX — South Carolina women's basketball is gearing up for a date with Connecticut in the Final Four Friday, where the Gamecocks will look to enact revenge after last season's national championship game saw Geno Auriemma's Huskies comfortably defeat Dawn Staley's squad.
The Gamecocks spoke to the media Thursday in Phoenix, Arizona, expressing a shared sentiment that this year's team doesn't think about last year's loss in its preparation for the national semifinal.
Not the same Gamecocks
South Carolina played UConn twice last season, losing by 20-plus points in each contest. The Gamecocks haven't let those outcomes sway their preparation for Friday's semifinal, however.
"You can't really compare because this year's team, from our side, is way different than last year," junior guard Tessa Johnson said. "We don't really compare it that way; we kind of just see how they've been playing this year and how we've been playing and then go off that."
Senior guard Raven Johnson is the team's only returning starter from last season. South Carolina has specifically evolved in the paint with the addition of senior center Madina Okot, jumping from ranking 15th in the nation in rebounds per game last season to seventh this season. Sophomore forward Joyce Edwards said rebounds aren't the only way in which the team got better down low.
"Rebounding is definitely one thing, but I feel like this year, our bigs are a little more versatile," Edwards said. "Chloe (Kitts) was hitting threes last year, but you see Madina Okot hitting at least one a game, me with my mid-range shots, and we're able to drive; I feel like the floor is a little more open."
The floor has certainly been more open for Edwards, whose points per game have jumped from 12.7 in 2024-25 to 19.7 this season. Raven Johnson has also posted the best season of her five-year tenure with the team, earning career-high averages in points and assists.
"We're ready," Raven Johnson said. "It's bigger than just UConn. Like I was saying, it doesn't matter if it was UConn ... if it was Benedict (College), we have one end goal, and that's to get to the national championship, so we're gonna do whatever it takes to get them out of our way."
Auriemma said that last year's games haven't played a role in the preparation process for the game.
"This is a different South Carolina team than the one we played last year," Auriemma said. "Our two wins against them last year don't really mean anything going into tomorrow. The way that game was played has no bearing on tomorrow ... They're a much better team than they were last year."
Makeer Madness
Across South Carolina's four NCAA Tournament games, freshman guard Agot Makeer set a new career-high in scoring three times. She posted 15 points against Southern to begin the tournament before scoring 16 in the next round against Southern California.
Her magnum opus came in the team's most recent win in the Elite Eight against TCU, where she scored 18 points while grabbing four rebounds, three assists and three steals coming off the bench.
"Agot is just going out there and doing what she does," senior guard Ta'Niya Latson said. "We all saw it, so I'm glad that you guys are finally seeing it. We've seen it since the summertime."
Both Latson and senior forward Maryam Dauda echoed similar statements regarding a lack of surprise in Makeer's breakout in the tournament.
"When you watch her in practice, you just can tell she’s an amazing player," Dauda said. "The nation is finally knowing about her ... She’s an amazing player, but she’s also an amazing person, so I’m glad that she’s a Gamecock."
Makeer averaged 5.8 points per game prior to March Madness. Across her four tournament contests thus far, she's averaged 14.8.
"She's not playing like a freshman, she's playing like an upperclassman," Latson said. "We really needed that, especially coming off the bench, and she gives us a spark."
The 18-year-old Gamecock has grabbed three or more steals in all but one tournament game. The boost she provides off the bench will be crucial for South Carolina to find success against UConn.
"In the Elite Eight game, she was phenomenal; she played her best basketball," Latson said. "I hope that continues (Friday)."
Stopping Sarah Strong
In the Huskies' 2025 championship run, freshman forward Sarah Strong averaged 19 points, scoring over 20 in four of the team's six games. She scored 24 points, her tournament-high, in the national championship against the Gamecocks. South Carolina highlighted how it has prepared to guard UConn's leading scorer.
"We're both familiar with each other's games," Edwards said. "I'm gonna try my best to do what I can do to just minimize her impact. Obviously, she's a key player on their team, and we just kind of have to cancel each other out."
Dauda also sang Strong's praises, but not without reaffirming her confidence in her own team.
"She's an amazing player, but so are we," Dauda said. "We're gonna have to find a way to guard her, and she's gonna have to find a way to guard us."
The Huskies will, in fact, have to find an answer for Dauda and Okot in the paint. Strong is UConn's only player averaging more than five rebounds per game, at 7.6, while Edwards averages 6.7, and Okot averages 10.8.
"Not giving out the game plan or anything, but I know we're very, very prepared," Dauda said.