A look at the 'elite' point guard matchup headlining Gamecocks' Elite Eight game

Michael Sauls, The State on Mar 29, 2026

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South Carolina and TCU’s Elite Eight matchup on Monday will be highlighted by two of the best point guards in women’s basketball: Raven Johnson and Olivia Miles.

Johnson and Miles have proven to be the cream of the crop in their final season. Both are among the five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year award given out by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

“They’re two of the best point guards in college basketball, I think they’re two of the top five point guards in college basketball,” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said. “They’re both old veterans that have been doing this at an elite level. They go about their games and they go about impacting winning differently, but they’re both incredible at what they do… What a great match-up at the point guard position between those two players.”

While both teams have several weapons on the court, Johnson and Miles will be leading the way for their respective squads. Johnson is attempting to will the Gamecocks to a sixth-straight Final Four appearance while Miles is hoping to take TCU to its first Final Four in program history.

Shutting down Olivia Miles

Miles can quite literally do it all for TCU. This season — the fifth of her career after playing four seasons at Notre Dame — she rallied off triple-doubles with ease for the Horned Frogs.

Miles is averaging 19.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists this year. She leads the country with six triple-doubles.

“She’s a great point guard,” Johnson said. “I think she don’t look just for herself. She look for others. She knows how to assist to people. She knows where they like the ball. I think that’s why she does a really good job.”

Miles notched a triple-double in TCU’s first round win over UC San Diego with 12 points, 14 assists and 16 rebounds. She nearly recorded a triple-double in TCU’s second round and Sweet 16 wins but was two assists shy in both games. Miles is averaging 19.3 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists so far in the NCAA Tournament.

“Olivia Miles changes things for them,” USC head coach Dawn Staley said. “She’s obviously a scorer, playmaker, so she can do a lot with the basketball. She definitely puts her players in positions of being able to probably do a little bit more than what they normally do because of her ability to pass the ball.”

So how does one keep one of the most dynamic point guards in the country under wraps with a spot in Phoenix on the line?

“It’s a collective,” Staley said. “I mean, obviously we’ve got an elite defensive point guard in Raven Johnson, who I’m sure will want to match up with her. But you do it by committee, and you do it as a collective.”

Johnson will likely be in charge of guarding Miles for most of the game Monday and understandably so. Johnson has been known for her defensive prowess her entire career. This year she was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year and earned third team All-American honors.

Despite that, Johnson knows she won’t have to do it on her own.

“For us it’s going to be a team effort — just different rotations on her, different looks, throwing different punches at her,” Johnson said. “And I think we’re going to practice that today.”

Raven Johnson having her own breakout season

While Johnson’s calling card has been her defense, her offensive production has increased this season. She’s averaging career-high marks in points per game (10.2), field goal percentage (50.7%) and 3-point percentage (40.6%). Plus, she’s coming off an 18-point performance in the Sweet 16 against Oklahoma.

“I’ve been able to watch Raven since high school way back in the day when I was at Oregon,” Campbell said. “Recruited her hard. Obviously didn’t land her. But she’s just a winner. It’s what she’s done her whole career. She had a tremendous game last night.”

Ta’Niya Latson, Johnson’s running mate in the backcourt, overlapped with Miles a few times while the two were with ACC teams. She said the key to slowing Miles down is to actually speed her up.

“She likes to play at her own pace,” Latson told The State. “Obviously, she’s a great passer. So try to deter her passing and make things hard for her. She’s a great player. She’s a pro. I have to give credit where credit is due. And I feel like she’s going to go out there and play her best, but I know we’re going to make things hard for her.”