4-for-4; South Carolina women's basketball seniors to play in fourth Final Four

On Friday, South Carolina women’s basketball will play in its fifth Final Four in a row when they take on the Texas Longhorns for the fourth time this season. With two victories against UT already, a third would earn the Gamecocks a berth in the National Championship once again.

Friday’s contest also will mark the fourth Final Four run for a group of South Carolina seniors. Dawn Staley’s class of 2021 signees Sania Feagin, Bree Hall, and Raven Johnson were part of the 2021-2022 title team, the 2022-2023 team that lost to Iowa in the national semifinal, and the 2023-2024 undefeated championship squad. A win over Texas would give the ’21 class its fifth Final Four victory. Only classes at Tennessee and UConn have reached that number.

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None of the three played big roles in the first Final Four. Johnson was out with a torn ACL, and Hall and Feagin combined to play 15 total minutes against Louisville and UConn.

The 2022-2023 run saw Johnson play a critical role off the bench, and Hall saw some action, too. Feagin didn’t play in the loss to Iowa, however.

Last year’s championship team relied on major contributions from all three players. Johnson and Hall were full-time starters, and Feagin was a key reserve. Against NC State in the semifinal, the trio logged 22 points, eight assists, four steals, and two blocks. The points totals dropped in the championship game domination of Iowa, but Johnson and Hall were instrumental in post-first quarter defense against Caitlin Clark, and Feagin gave the team good minutes off the bench. Johnson, in particular, drew a lot of the one-on-one Clark assignments and finished with a well-rounded stat line of three points, five rebounds, three assists, four steals, and two blocks.

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This season, South Carolina hasn’t been nearly as dominant. Still, the Gamecocks have been good enough to make their way back to the Final Four. One last time, Johnson, Hall, and Feagin will look to win a title, but this time, all three are starters and unquestioned veteran leaders.

This season, the trio of seniors are averaging 17.3 points, 12.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 2.8 steals, and 2.3 blocks. All three have played tremendous defense all year; Feagin and Johnson earned SEC All-Defensive honors, and Hall should have (Staley even went as far as to say she has earned a spot on her “all-time defensive team”).

During the NCAA Tournament run, the three four-year Gamecocks have made major contributions to USC’s wins.

In the late goings against Duke in the Elite Eight, Johnson was a calming presence for a scuffling Carolina offense that had to overcome a late deficit. Hall was instrumental in limiting Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers in a tight Sweet Sixteen contest. Feagin continued her strong inside presence as the only player capable of playing major minutes at center with Ashlyn Watkins out with her injury.

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Bree Hall and Sania Feagin will never wear garnet and black again after this year’s tournament. They are out of eligibility and hope to hear their names called in the WNBA Draft. Johnson, though, has a decision to make. Because of a medical redshirt in her first year in Columbia, she can return for one final year. The redshirt junior walked with the seniors on Senior Day but has made comments about “running it back” that indicate she’s strongly considering a return.

No matter their future plans, the 2024-2025 version of South Carolina women’s basketball has a job to do right now.

On Friday at 7:00 p.m., the Gamecocks and Longhorns will tip off the Final Four. ESPN will broadcast the all-SEC showdown, while the ESPN app makes it available via streaming. USC enters the game as a slight 4.5-point favorite. South Carolina and Texas have never met in the Final Four. However, Dawn Staley beat Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer in the 2016-2017 national title game when the latter led Mississippi State.

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