Florida A&M women’s basketball is on the brink of a breakthrough.
At least that’s what newly-extended head coach Bridgette Gordon expects as she enters her fourth season at the helm this winter.
FAMU tasted success during the 2026 season, winning its first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament game by beating Bethune-Cookman in the first round of March’s tournament. Then the eight-seed Rattlers felt heartbreak a day later, being eliminated by top-ranked Alabama A&M in a closely contested 72-68 loss in Atlanta, ending with a 9-22 record.
But Gordon’s Rattlers may have gotten the biggest win of all.
They graduated four players, and did something unheard of in the current state of college athletics ― no NCAA Transfer Portal departures. That means FAMU will have key players from the 2025 season, headlined by its All-SWAC second-team point guard, Tahyjia Purifoy.
“You have to show them that you care,” Gordon told the Tallahassee Democrat, a lesson she said she learned while starring at Tennessee under head coach Pat Summit.
“They will give you all when they know you care. They see me fight for them on the court, off the court. I’m their mother away from home, and who wants to leave that when you have everything?”
Gordon added that the Alabama A&M loss left a “sour taste” in her team’s mouth. The unfinished business and the hope of emerging as a top SWAC contender also enticed players to remain on campus.
But the returning Rattlers will have some new friends to help raise FAMU women’s basketball to new heights.
FAMU women’s basketball has mix of returners, transfers, high schoolers
Gordon has flown under the radar as she’s tailored her roster to team-specific and program needs.
For example, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer-turned-college head coach hit her quota of signing at least two freshmen per year.
Guard Kristen Johnson is joining the Rattlers from Hazel Green High School in Alabama. En route to her third 6A Alabama High School Athletic Association state title, the sharpshooter averaged 17 points and was named the classification’s player of the year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
South Sudanese 6-foot-4 forward Lily Ajok-Deng has also signed to FAMU out of high school. She was a beast in the paint, averaging 9.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks for Zephyrhills Christian Academy.
“I pride myself on my ability to develop,” the FAMU coach discussed the additions. “They all have the tools and the pieces. Just had no quit, always want to get better. I’m excited about my freshmen.”
Transfer-wise, Lia Sims from the California-based junior college Lemoore College will bring offensive firepower and glass-cleaning to the Rattlers. In her sophomore year, Sims averaged 16.1 points and 11 rebounds while leading the Golden Eagles to a 20-9 record.
Sims is reunited with FAMU’s top scorer from last season, Shaniyah McCarthy. The two played together at Cerro Coso Community College.
“You’re talking about a sweet young lady, a great student, a heck of an athlete. Polished, driven, a winner,” Gordon said. “And that’s something that we had been missing too, winners that come from winning. She was a winner at every stage of her life.”
Gordon continued building her team’s paint identity by bringing in Breasia Coit, a transfer from Livingstone College. She’s the reigning Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year.
As a sophomore, the center averaged 13.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks. Coit’s transfer portal acquisition could raise FAMU’s rebounding stats, which ranked eighth out of 12 SWAC teams with 36.1.
“She’s the biggest baby off the court,” Gordon laughed. “But on the court, she’s a thriller killer. That’s a walking double-double. And when I got back and looked, that was one of the Achilles heels that just got me so frustrated with my team was that we didn’t rebound as we should have.”
FAMU women’s basketball begins offseason summer program
Other key transfers are Rose Jamison, a lefty and consistent scorer from Division II Bellarmine. Kamryn Grant arrives from Dayton, and Persais Williams comes from Winthrop.
The entire team reported to campus on Monday, June 22, for summer classes, workouts, and on-court drills.
“I’m excited about the season and the recruits coming in. I’m expecting a good season,” an optimistic Gordon said. “Just keep praying for us to stay healthy with everything.”
Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Inside Bridgette Gordon’s FAMU women’s basketball roster reset
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
