With South Carolina gearing up for another showdown with a known rival, UConn, Raven Johnson and company get a chance to avenge a loss that cut deep in last year’s final. A loss like that is supposed to fuel a desire for revenge, and yet Johnson reflects on it not with anguish but deep acceptance.

“Sometimes you need losses … they’re like lessons,” said Raven Johnson, talking about that ill-fated 2025 NCAA Championship game where they were outclassed by Geno Auriemma’s Huskies (82-59). Johnson’s perspective did not show any anger, but more of a philosopher’s view on moving forward.

Not easy to do when you got manhandled by the Huskies in such a manner where only two Gamecock players managed double figures – Joyce Edwards 10 and Tessa Johnson 10. The Amalie Arena saw UConn elevating its levels, which South Carolina found hard to match up to.

Raven Johnson, too, struggled to make an impact. With just 2 points from her 26 minutes, she was locked down by Auriemma’s smart tactical execution. On the other end, Sarah Strong (24 pts), Azzi Fudd (24 pts), and Paige Bueckers (17 pts) had no problem in finding the hoop, culminating in the Huskies 12th title win.

But now times are different, and Raven feels that loss might have taught them more about themselves than anything else. The team has looked untouchable all season and is beating the opposition with ease. The NCAA Tournament, too, didn’t bring about any change, and the team is not slowing down one bit with an unstoppable 35-3 record.

Raven, too, is having one of the best seasons of her college career so far. She amassed 389 points, the most out of her four years in college, which speaks volumes about the improvements she has made under Dawn Staley. And that improvement is also being noticed by the honchos of the WNBA.

Johnson’s WNBA Draft Stock Rising By Day

Raven Johnson has at least one game left in a South Carolina uniform, and she will hope to make it count. Wrapping up her senior year with a title to boot would be the most satisfying feeling, but it would also add another notch to her growing value as a player.

According to ESPN’S Andraya Carter, Johnson is getting quite some brownie points in the books of some top-level execs.

“It’s huge. I’ve talked to a lot of GMs, and I think of one that I was on the phone with last week, and this particular GM was like, ‘Man, I love Raven.’ And I’m like, yeah, how do you not love Raven? She’s a winner. Like, she’s a winner,” said Carter on how her game is impressing everyone.

And why not? Johnson’s offense has gotten so much better, and she has been averaging career highs this year.

The point guard is scoring 10.2 points per game and shooting at a 50% clip from the field and making 41.4% of her 3-pointers. But hold on, that’s not all, there’s more to the story. Johnson also tallied career-highs in effective field goal percentage (56.7%), true shooting percentage (58.8%), assists (5.3 per game), and offensive win shares (4.8).

This is what is getting the coaches excited. Having a player on the team who can do it all.

“So there are a lot of things that I feel like coaches and GMs have seen this year from Ravens.… She was already checking a lot of boxes, but I think she was checking them in a bigger, stronger way, for sure. I’ve talked to a few GMs, and there’s really not anything that they’re not impressed with about Raven,” said Carter.

Few players come in with the ability to do both: attack to break down the opposition and defend to disrupt the opponent’s rhythm, and Raven does both with ease. The SEC Defensive Player of the Year averaged 1.5 steals, 0.6 blocks, and has a defensive box plus-minus of 7.6 this year.

Naturally, the WNBA teams have a strong desire to acquire her. While she was not a top draft prospect last year, this year she will be among the top picks to transition to the WNBA. But Johnson does not have time to think about that as she is occupied planning for the UConn game.

Not many players have three NCAA Championships to their name, and Raven wants to join that elite company, and she is not ready to give up on that opportunity at any cost.