Virginia Tech Hokies
Overall Rank: #26
Conference Rank: #6 ACC
Following three straight trips to the WNIT under head coach Kenny Brooks, Virginia Tech finally reached the NCAA Tournament in 2021. The Hokies ended a 15-year drought and will now look to start a little streak of reaching the NCAA Tournament. With all five starters returning and one of the better shooting teams in the country, the Hokies should at least be able to make it two NCAA Tournaments in a row.
2020-21 Record: 15-10, 8-8
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Kenny Brooks
Coach Record: 101-59 at Virginia Tech, 432-176 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Asiah Jones, Forward, 8.7 ppg
Da’Ja Green, Guard, 2.2 ppg
Makayla Ennis, Guard/Forward, 1.5 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Elizabeth Kitley, Junior, Center, 18.2 ppg
Aisha Sheppard, Senior, Guard, 17.7 ppg
Georgia Amoore, Sophomore, Guard, 11.8 ppg
Cayla King, Junior, Guard, 8.7 ppg
Azana Baines, Junior, Guard, 6.5 ppg
D’asia Gregg, Senior, Forward, 3.4 ppg
Taylor Geiman, Junior, Guard/Forward, 1.5 ppg
Key New Players
Shamaria King, RS Freshman, Guard
Emily Lytle, Senior, Guard/Forward, Transfer from Liberty
Rochelle Norris, Sophomore, Center, Transfer from West Virginia
Kayana Traylor, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Purdue
Projection:
Elizabeth Kitley is the heart of this team. The 6-6 center tallied an ACC high 12 double-doubles and averaged 18.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. On paper, Kitley is surrounded by four guards, but Azana Baines and Cayla King are big guards who can help out on the glass. Baines missed the first seven games of the season after transferring in from Duke, but ranked second on the team with 5.9 points per game and is a very efficient shooter when given the opportunity. King will not spend much time in the paint, but she knocked down 60 three-pointers in 25 games. King certainly helped Virginia Tech rank in the top ten in the nation in three-point field goals made per game, but it was Aisha Sheppard that who led the way with 87 three-pointers. She was also second on the team with 17.7 points per game. Point guard Georgia Amoore dished out 4.6 assists per game and added 11.8 points. She too is an efficient and prolific outside shooter. Kayana Traylor and Emily Lytle will provide more options in the backcourt. Traylor started the better part of three seasons at Purdue and averaged 15.0 points and 3.9 assists last year. Lytle spent four years at Liberty and developed into a great three-point shooter and averaged 14.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 2020-2021. Of course, the bigger need is depth in the frontcourt and West Virginia transfer Rochelle Norris will help in that regard.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 72.0 (57th in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.0 (183, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.5 (80, 5)
Field-Goal Defense: 39.7 (142, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.5 (9, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.0 (31, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 75.9 (30, 3)
Rebound Margin: 1.0 (130, 9)
Assists Per Game: 15.6 (36, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.2 (79, 7)
