South Carolina women's basketball: Gamecocks prepare for Senior Day

Sunday is Senior Day for the Gamecocks, and five players will be recognized. Ahead of the celebration, we look back at their careers.

Te-Hina Paopao and Sakima Walker walked for Senior Day last season but elected to return for their extra COVID year. They will be recognized but not with a full senior day celebration. 

Bree Hall, Sania Feagin, and Raven Johnson, the members of the 2021 signing class, will get the full Senior Day ceremony. 

Johnson has another year of eligibility left because she redshirted due to an ACL injury during their freshman season. She has not announced whether she will use the extra year, but she wants to walk with her classmates.

Together, the three (along with Saniya Rivers, who transferred after their freshman season) form an incredibly accomplished class. They have won two national championships, had an undefeated season, made another Final Four, won three SEC regular season championships and two tournament championships, and are still counting.

“They’ve been probably the most successful class in the history of our program,” Dawn Staley said. “That’s saying a whole lot. It really is saying a whole lot. We won two national championships with this class, and they did what they said they were coming in here to do. Specifically, Raven because Raven didn’t say one. It was plural to her. Hopefully, we’re in the mix to win another one.”

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Sania Feagin
6-3, Forward, Ellenwood, GA, Ranked 4th in 2021 signing class
Career stats: 125 games, 32 starts, 5.3 points, 3.1 rebounds
Career highs: 22 points, 10 rebounds, 6 blocks, 5 assists

Bio: Feagin developed from a little-used backup as a freshman and sophomore to a reliable role-player as a junior to a key starter as a senior. Once a defensive liability, she has become the anchor of the Gamecocks’ defense.

Highlights: Feagin had her breakout game against Kentucky last season when, out of nowhere, she had 16 points, six rebounds, five blocks, and four assists. She’s had more big games as a senior. She had an emphatic block/sneer in the 17-point blowout of Texas in January. This week, she scored a new career-high with 22 points against Ole Miss.

Legacy: Part of Feagin’s legacy is that despite not playing much early in her career, she didn’t transfer. Instead, she believed in the process and stuck around. More than other players, it feels like Feagin will determine her legacy this March.

Bree Hall
6-1, Guard, Dayton, OH, Ranked 14th  in 2021 signing class
Career stats: 137 games, 66 starts, 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 36.6 3P%
Career highs: 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 3 steals

Bio: Hall was the “other” member of the recruiting class, but she ended up having the biggest impact during their freshman season. Back then she was a sparkplug who brought energy and not much else. By the end of her sophomore season, South Carolina was running plays to get her shots in the fourth quarter, and Big Shot Breezy was born. Hall is a long, rangy player who typically guards the other team’s best perimeter player.

Highlights: Pick your favorite Big Shot. There was the three against Marylan in 2023 that clinched the Final Four, the threes to down LSU, the jumper to clinch the 2023 SEC tournament championship, the three (and block) to beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill, or whichever one piques your fancy.

Legacy: She’s Big Shot Breezy, and the nickname says it all. She’s the unassuming, three-and-D wing who is the consummate team player with a knack for hitting shots in crunch time.

Raven Johnson
5-9, Guard, Atlanta, GA, Ranked 2nd in 2021 signing class
Career stats: 104 games, 67 starts, 5.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals
Career highs: 18 points, 17 assists, 15 rebounds, 6 steals 

Bio: When Johnson committed to South Carolina, she told Dawn Staley that a “Big Birdie” was joining the nest. Her freshman season ended with a torn ACL in the second game. She recovered to become the primary point guard during her sophomore season and took over as the starter the last two seasons. She is a strong defender, great passer, and selfless player who is willing to do whatever is asked of her.

Highlights: Johnson came up one assist shy of the program record when she dished out 17 against Clemson. In the 2023 SEC tournament championship, an injury to Kierra Fletcher meant that Johnson had to play 38 minutes despite it being the third game in three days. In 2024, she clinched the Sweet 16 win over Indiana with a late jumper. Her defense on Caitlin Clark in the 2024 national championship was a key factor in the Gamecocks’ undefeated championship.

Legacy: Johnson’s steal against Clark in the national championship game is an all-time Gamecock highlight in any sport. When Clark watched Johnson run away from her for the layup right before halftime, she might as well have been watching Johnson run away with the title.

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Te-Hina Paopao
5-9, Guard, Oceanside, CA, Transferred from Oregon in 2023
Career stats (South Carolina): 66 games, 66 starts, 10.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 43.5 3P%
Career highs (South Carolina): 23 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals

Legacy: South Carolina’s previously undefeated season came to a shocking end in the 2023 Final Four because the Gamecocks couldn’t make threes. Paopao knew she could be the difference, and was. She quickly became a fan favorite as much for her sharp-shooting as for her personality and loud, proud, and extremely large Samoan family that turns every game into a celebration.

Sakima Walker
6-5, Post, Columbus, OH, Transferred from Northwest Florida State (juco) in 2023
Career stats (South Carolina): 45 games, 1 start, 1.7 points, 1.1 rebounds
Career highs (South Carolina): 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks

Legacy: Walker hasn’t played much, but she became the mama bird in the Gamecocks’ daycare. Her circuitous route to Columbia (Columbus to Rutgers to juco to Columbia) made her a little less excitable and a little wiser, and her presence in practice and the locker room is an asset.

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