Earlier this month, UNC-Asheville announced that Honey Brown would not be retained as head coach of the Bulldogs. Brown was at the helm of UNC-Asheville’s program for the past four seasons. As a result, the standout from 3A (soon to be 4A) Wren re-opened her recruitment and has generated a bevy of interest. Since McGowens did so, Furman, Bucknell, Northeastern, North Carolina A&T and Niagara extended offers her way only for the Hurricanes star to announce on Mar. 30 that she will be remaining in the Palmetto State to play her college ball with the Paladins. McGowens concluded her 2023-24 season averaging 20.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.3 steals to lead the Hurricanes to a second consecutive berth in the 3A state championship game.

McGowens and her teammates from Wren HS defeated Ridge View HS here today at the MLK Bash. Raina finished with 21 points and 5 rebounds in the win. She was able to knockdown some shot jumpers and while connecting on 7-8 foul shots in the game.

Raina is approaching the 2,000-point club and look for her to get that very soon. She’s headed off to UNC-Asheville next fall to play in the Big South Conference.

The defending 3A runners-up resembled one of the premier teams in the Palmetto State on Friday night when Wren matched up against Hillcrest. McGowens, as she has done throughout her Hurricanes career, led the charge for her team. McGowens led the way to victory with a 19-point effort. She understands how to turn defense into offense and also has a knack for knowing when to score and when to pass. McGowens can also score at all three levels and has no problems absorbing contact to get to the free throw line. There is a reason why she will be playing at the Division I level at UNC-Asheville starting fall 2024.

McGowens will play in the Big South Conference after high school at UNC-Asheville. Raina enters her senior season with 127 games played in a Lady Hurricanes uniform. She has scored 1,623 points, grabbed 533 rebounds and dished out 339 assists along the way.

Raina averaged 18.6 ppg, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.6 steals last season on the Class 3A State Runner-up team. McGowens brings the ability to play both guard spots to the floor along with good leadership skills.

Could we see a rematch in Florence come next March with Camden HS vs Wren HS again?

McGowens came out on fire with hot shooting from downtown. Raina and Vance in the backcourt give the Adidas sponsored program a very solid punch of scoring at times. The talent surely doesn’t stop there by no means.

Raina was able to direct the offense today when she wasn’t knocking down shots. She plays the game with a good overall feel to the game. She understands spacing on the floor and how to remain shot ready to receive the ball in the pocket. Raina went over 1,600 career points this season.