Raven Johnson’s confidence on full display with season-high points vs. Alabama
Raven Johnson’s best offensive game of the 2025-26 season was perfectly timed.
The veteran point guard scored a season-high 17 points in No. 3 South Carolina’s 83-57 win over Alabama in the Gamecocks’ SEC opener on Thursday.
Johnson’s performance comes with fellow Gamecock star and former high school teammate Ta’Niya Latson sidelined with an ankle sprain. Latson is second in scoring for South Carolina this season with 16.9 points per game.
With Latson’s absence potentially leaving a void of production on the team, Johnson stepped up just when the Gamecocks needed it.
“I was letting the game come to me,” Johnson said. “But I knew I had to just be aggressive since Ta’Niya’s not here and try to pick up the slack that she brings. She brings a lot to this team.”
Johnson started off hot and scored 15 of her points in the first half alone. She finished the game 7 for 10 from the field and had a 3-pointer. Johnson also had five assists and four rebounds.
“I just knew she would do exactly what she did,” coach Dawn Staley said of Johnson’s performance. “Raven really gets excited about SEC play. She knows the importance of it. She does not like losing, because she hasn’t done that a whole lot over her career. … She actually does what’s needed to win basketball games and that’s just kind of Raven in a nutshell.”
Johnson flirted with setting a new career high for points against Alabama. Her previous career high is 18, set against South Dakota State in 2023. Staley took Johnson out of the game with 6:44 to play.
The numbers Johnson put up Thursday afternoon are indicative of the overall offensive progression she’s shown in her fifth-year season. Johnson is nearly averaging career highs across the board on offense. Her points per game (nine), field goal percentage (50%), 3-point percentage (38.9%) and effective field goal percentage (57.1%) are all career bests.
“Raven’s put the work in,” Staley said. “So you’re seeing confidence in and knowing that when you put the work in it, at some point it’s going to start showing up. So she’s been consistent with it. I mean, she’s a fifth-year guard that’s played at the highest level, and she’s just finding her groove. Sometimes it just really takes a little bit of time to get to this place and evaluating when you put the work in and when you haven’t.”
To this point in her career, Johnson has been known as a defense-first point guard who excels at orchestrating Staley’s offense. After one of the worst offensive years in her career in the 2024-25 season, Johnson made it a point to improve on offense this season.
“It started in the summer,” Johnson said. “ When you put in the work, timeless, timeless hours, days when you don’t want to go in the gym … it gets boring sometimes. I think those days count, and I think that’s where you get your confidence from, and it’s translated to on-the-court things.”
Some of Johnson’s best basketball has been played during SEC play, a good sign as the Gamecocks embark on their next 15 games against league opponents. Even last year when she struggled on offense, Johnson’s points per game and field goal percentage in conference play were better than her season totals.
Staley said Johnson knows the importance of SEC play and relishes the opportunity to play in the conference.
“It’s aggressive, it’s physical. You got to bring your best every night,” Johnson said. “Like I said, every night is going to be a good game. … Every night when [you] lace your shoes up, who doesn’t want to have competition?”
South Carolina WBB: Next four games
- Sunday at Florida, 2 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 8 at Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Jan. 11 vs. Georgia, 2 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 15 vs. Texas, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
This story was originally published January 1, 2026 at 5:54 PM.
