Randall-Lay announces schedule for 2024/25 non-conference season

Rock Hill, South Carolina– Head coach of the Winthrop women’s basketball team Semeka Randall-Lay announced their team’s schedule for the 2024–25 season, including a 13-game non-conference schedule before the start of Big South Conference play.

The Eagles open the regular season with an away game at Georgia Tech on Monday, November 4, followed by the first home game against Paine College on Sunday, November 10. Winthrop will then hit the road for three straight games, first traveling 30 minutes up the road to Queens for the first time to take part in the annual Battle of I-77 Showdown on Wednesday, November 13. The Eagles will stay in the Tar Heel State, traveling to Wake Forest on Sunday, November 17 and UNCW on Wednesday, November 20. Winthrop returns home for two more games before Thanksgiving, against North Florida on Saturday, November 23 and Charlotte-based school Johnson and Wales on Tuesday, November 26.

Winthrop will play two consecutive neutral-site games against American and Air Force in Puerto Rico on Friday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30. After returning to the U.S. and completing their final exam break, Winthrop will play four more games in December to complete their non-conference play. The Eagles will host in-state rival South Carolina State on Wednesday, Dec. 11, travel to Charlotte to face the 49ers on Monday, Dec. 16, welcome North Carolina Central University on Friday, Dec. 20 and, after the Christmas break, travel to Knoxville on Sunday, Dec. 29 to face Randall-Lay’s alma mater, the Tennessee Volunteers.

The conference schedule includes 16 league games for all teams.

Last season, the Eagles finished 14-16 overall and 8-8 in Big South Conference play. In her third full season as permanent head coach in the 2023-24 season, Randall Lay saw the Eagles win over Longwood for the second straight year and end long losing streaks in series against UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb. Particularly notable were the Eagles’ overtime wins over UNC Asheville on the road and Radford at home, as well as the first win over Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville in nearly a decade. Randall-Lay also coached the program’s 600-man team.^th All-time winner at South Carolina State, was inducted into the American Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024, won her 100th championship.^th Career coaching win against Longwood at home, and saw Marissa Gasaway And Jada Ryce take home All-Conference honors. The Eagles finished the season with the most wins since 2014-15, when they picked up 17, and recorded the most Big South wins since 2019-20, when they picked up eight. Winthrop also finished the year with their highest conference ranking (6th) since 2014-15, when they finished third.

Randall-Lay’s roster features nine players from last season, including five who played all 30 games in the 2023-24 season. The Eagles also welcome three new additions to the coaching staff: Dominique Duck (Head of Basketball Operations), Myron Poindexter (assistant coach with university degree) and Jordan Warlick (Video coordinator).

The team consists of two freshmen, three sophomores (one of whom is a transfer student), three third-year students (all of whom are transfer students, two of whom are from conference rival Radford), seven fourth-year students (one of whom is a transfer student from conference rival Presbyterian), and two graduate students.

Marissa Gasawaya senior forward from Louisville, Kentucky, started and played in all 30 games, led the Big South with 318 rebounds and was 10th in the Big South in free throw percentage at .730. Gasaway was named Big South basketball player of the week for games played Nov. 27-Dec. 3. She earned honorable mention in the Big South All-Conference at the end of the regular season. Gasaway led the team with 81 free throws and 318 rebounds.

Jada Rycea senior guard from McDonough, Georgia, played and started in all 30 games. Ryce ranked fourth in the Big South in steals with 53, fifth in free throw percentage with .775, eighth in assists with 71 and eighth in minutes with 954. Against Carolina University at home on December 10, 2023, she was one point away from tying the school record for steals in a single game set by Cassandra Barnes against Sacred Heart on February 12, 1981. Ryce surpassed the 500 career point mark at home against Charleston Southern on January 24. At the end of the regular season, Ryce was named to the Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention and to the Big South All-Academic Team. She led the team in minutes played with 915, field goals made with 115, total points with 333 and steals with 53.

Ronald Marca veteran defenseman/forward from Miami, Florida, played in all 30 games. She also started all but one game and reached double-digit points in 14 total games.

Leonor Paisanaa veteran point guard from Lisbon, Portugal, played and started all 30 games. She finished sixth in the Big South in assists with 79, 10th in three-pointers made per game with 1.2 and steals with 42. She reached the top 10 in school history in three-pointers made against Charleston Southern in a home game on Jan. 24. Paisana scored her 500th career point.^th career point at USC Upstate on February 24 and led the team in three-pointers made with 37 and assists with 79.

Blessing Okoha senior forward from Houston, Texas, played in all 30 games and started 28 of them. She finished third in the Big South with 24 blocked shots, making her the team’s best player.

The other four returnees include second-year Guard Ar’Mani Reid from Jacksonville, NC; Senior Center Prunelle Mungo from Philadelphia, Pa.; freshman guard/forward Katie Reed from Rock Hill, SC and Sophomore Guard Adelaide McLeod from Savoy, Illinois.


Reed and McLeod did not play last season, while Reid appeared in 22 games. Mungo played in 24 games and had one game with double-digit points (10 against Erskine on November 14, 2023).


In addition to the four returnees, Randall-Lay and her team have brought eight new additions to the team. Olivia Wagner; Ciara Harris; Mya Pierfax; Amourie Porter; Persais Williams; Nuria Cunill; Connor Gambrell And Bria Beverly.


Dates for all home and conference games will be announced in the coming weeks. Season tickets for the Winthrop women’s basketball team can be purchased at WinthropEagles.com, by calling the Winthrop Ticket Office at 803-323-2345, or by emailing [email protected].


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All home and conference games during the 2024-25 season will be broadcast live on ESPN+. To watch Big South games on ESPN+, you must have a subscription to ESPN+. Learn more about subscribing here.


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