Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop kicks off the 2024-25 season on Monday, Nov. 4 as it takes on Georgia Tech on the road.
 

Winthrop Women's Basketball Game Information
Game #1 at Georgia Tech	Monday, Nov. 4 | 10:30 a.m. (EST) | Watch | Live Stats
Location	Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion
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SERIES HISTORY VERSUS GEORGIA TECH
This will be the 5th time in history that the Eagles and Yellow Jackets will meet. Georgia Tech currently leads the all-time series 4-0. The first meeting occurred on Nov. 25, 1988 in Atlanta, Ga., an 83-61 victory by Georgia Tech. The most recent meeting took place in Atlanta, Ga. on Nov. 13, 2009, with Georgia Tech winning 63-30. Winthrop head coach Semeka-Randall Lay is 0-1 against Georgia Tech but this will be her first meeting with the Yellow Jackets on the Eagle sideline.

SEASON OPENERS

• Have lost seven straight season openers, including four straight on the road
• Hold an all-time mark of 15-27 in season openers, 5-14 in road openers, 9-12 in home openers and 1-1 in neutral site openers
• Last time the Eagles opened the season at home was a 68-61 loss to Iona on Nov. 9, 2019
• Last time the Eagles won a season opener at home or overall was an 89-40 defeat of North Carolina Wesleyan on Nov. 11, 2016
• Last time the Eagles won a season opener on the road was against Troy on Nov. 13, 2011, an 80-66 victory
• Eagles opened last season with a 71-41 loss at Clemson on Nov. 6, 2023

SEASON HONORS/AWARDS

• Marissa Gasaway, Senior-Forward (Big South Conference Preseason First Team)
  • Started and played in all 30 games last season, led the Big South in rebounds with 318 and was tenth in the Big South in free throw percentage at .730
  • She was named to the Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention at the end of the regular-season
  • Gasaway led the team in free throws made with 81 and rebounds with 318
• Jada Ryce, Senior-Guard (Big South Conference Preseason Second Team)
  • Played and started in all 30 games last season
  • Finished in fourth in the Big South in steals with 53, fifth in free throw percentage at .775, eighth in assists with 71 and minutes with 954
  • Named Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention and Big South All-Academic Team at the conclusion of the regular-season
  • Surpassed 500 career points vs. Charleston Southern at home on Jan. 24, 2024
  • Led the team in minutes played with 915, field goals made with 115; total points with 333 and steals with 53

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES

• Last season, the Eagles finished 14-16 overall and 8-8 in Big South Conference games
• Eagles finished last season having the most wins since they won 17 in 2014-15
• Eagles finished last season with their most Big South wins since they won eight in 2019-20
• Eagles ended the year having their highest conference finish (6th) since 2014-15, when they finished third
• In her third full season as the permanent head coach in 2023-24, Semeka Randall-Lay saw the Eagles register a sweep of Longwood for the second straight year and snapped long skids in the series with UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb
• Most notably the Eagles had overtime victories over UNC Asheville on the road and Radford at home and sweeping Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville for the first time in nearly a decade
• Randall-Lay also coached the program's 600^th all-time win at South Carolina State, was named to the 2024 American Basketball Hall of Fame, captured her 100^th career coaching victory vs. Longwood at home, and saw Marissa Gasaway and Jada Ryce take home All-Conference honors
• Randall-Lay's squad returns eight players from last season, including five who played in all 30 games in the 2023-24 campaign
• The Eagles also welcome three new additions to the coaching staff: Dominique Duck (director of basketball operations), Myron Poindexter (graduate assistant coach), and Jordan Warlick (video coordinator)
• The team has one freshman, three sophomores (with one transfer), three juniors (with all of them being transfers and two of them coming from conference rival Radford), seven seniors (with one of them being a transfer from conference rival Presbyterian) and two graduate transfer students
• Marissa Gasaway, a senior forward from Louisville, Ky., started and played in all 30 games, led the Big South in rebounds with 318 and was tenth in the Big South in free throw percentage at .730. Gasaway was named the Big South Women's Basketball Player of the Week for games played Nov. 27-Dec. 3. She was named to the Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention at the end of the regular-season. Gasaway led the team in free throws made with 81 and rebounds with 318
• Jada Ryce, a senior guard from McDonough, Ga., played and started in all 30 games. Ryce finished in fourth in the Big South in steals with 53, fifth in free throw percentage at .775, eighth in assists with 71 and minutes with 954. Against Carolina University at home on Dec. 10, 2023, she came within one of tying the school record for steals in a single game set by Cassandra Barnes vs. Sacred Heart on Feb. 12, 1981. Ryce surpassed 500 career points vs. Charleston Southern at home on Jan. 24. Ryce was named Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention and Big South All-Academic Team at the conclusion of the regular-season. She led the team in minutes played with 915, field goals made with 115; total points with 333 and steals with 53
• Ronaltha Marc, a senior guard/forward from Miami, Fla., played in all 30 games. She also started in every game but one and had 14 games in double figures in total points
• Leonor Paisana, a senior point guard from Lisbon, Portugal, played and started in all 30 games. She finished sixth in the Big South in assists with 79, tenth in three-point field goals per game at 1.2 and steals with 42. She entered the Top 10 in school history in three-pointers made vs. Charleston Southern at home on Jan. 24. Paisana scored her 500^th career point at USC Upstate on Feb. 24 and led the team in three-point field goals made with 37 and assists with 79
• Blessing Okoh, a senior forward from Houston, Texas, played in all 30 games and started in 28 of them. She finished third in the Big South in blocked shots with 24. This also led the team
• The other four returnees include sophomore guard Ar'Mani Reid from Jacksonville, N.C; senior center Prunelle Mungo from Philadelphia, Pa.; and sophomore guard Adelaide McLeod from Savoy, Ill.
• McLeod did not play last season while Reid played in 22 games. Mungo played in 24 games and had one game in double figures in points (10 vs. Erskine on Nov. 14, 2023)
• In addition to the four returners, Randall-Lay and her staff have brought in eight newcomers in Olivia Wagner; Ciara Harris; Mya Pierfax; Amourie Porter; Persais Williams; Nuria Cunill; Konnor Gambrell and Bria Beverly
• Winthrop has been predicted to finish fourth in the 2024-25 season
• This is Winthrop's highest pre-season conference finish since 2015-16, when the Eagles were slated to finish second
• Ryce was named to the 2024-25 Big South Conference Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference First Team while Gasaway was named to the Second Team
• Winthrop is currently 612-907 all-time as a program, their 55th season
• Winthrop is 351-327 all-time at home
• Winthrop is 211-375 all-time in Big South games
• Randall-Lay starts her fifth season as head coach of the Eagles (spent the 2020-21 season in an interim role)
• Randall-Lay is the 17^th head coach in program history
• Randall-Lay is coaching in her 402nd career game, all at the NCAA DI level
• Paisana is eighth in school history in career triples made (94)
• Winthrop has recorded more than 30 rebounds in the last seven games
• Gasaway currently has 10 double doubles in her Eagle career
• She also has 17 double figure games in rebounds in her career and 14 double figure game in points in her career
• Ryce has 37 double figure game in points in her career

GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS TODAY
General Admission tickets will be sold for all women's basketball games in the 2024-25 season. Season general admission tickets are currently on sale for $40. Single-game tickets are $5 while courtside season tickets are currently on sale for $80. Get your season pass today by visiting WinthropEagles.com or call the ticket office at (803) 323-2345.
 
WATCH THE EAGLES ON ESPN+
All of the home games during the 2024-25 season will air live on ESPN+. You can also catch all road games in Big South Conference play on ESPN+. To watch Big South games on ESPN+ you must have a subscription to ESPN+. For more information on how to subscribe, click here.

LOOKING AHEAD
Winthrop returns to Rock Hill on Sunday, Nov. 10 for the home opener. Tip-off will be at 2:00 p.m. EST as the Eagles face Paine College.
 
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