2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

Boston College • Strong on D: The Tigers ranked fi fth in the ACC in both • Coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee: This will be Coach Mac’s scoring defense and fi eld goal pct defense during the 2017- fi rst season at the helm of the Boston College women’s basket- 18 season, holding opponents to an average of 60.3 points ball program. McNamee, who is just the eighth head coach in per game. Kobi Thornton led the Tigers averaging 1.7 blocked program history, hired in April of 2018 in hopes of turning the shots per game (fi fth in the ACC), while Danielle Edwards program around. A native of West Virginia, Coach Mac arrived tallied 2.6 steals per game, good for second in the ACC. Both at Boston College after a two-year stint as the head coach at players return to the court this season for the Orange. Albany. She took a break from the game to be a stay-at-home mom to her two boys Luke and Caden. Coach Mac returned Duke in 2013 as an head coach at Pikesville, before taking over • Duke will feature the tallest team in school history as the at Albany. She has ACC experience as an assistant coach at Blue Devils feature an average height of 73.21 inches or 6-1. Maryland from 2003-07, and was an integral part of the Terps The Blue Devils feature 10 student-athletes standing over 6-0, 2006 National Championship season. including four 6-4 or taller. Duke is also the tallest team in the • Sydney Lowery: Sophomore Sydney Lowery has embraced ACC with the next closest being Wake Forest (6-0). the Boston College Jesuit way – Lowery has been proactive in • After missing most of her fi rst two seasons, redshirt junior getting the team involved in Team Impact – as 7-year old Bres- Haley Gorecki came back with a bang last season, before being lyn Clinton signed a “Letter of Intent” to join the team. She is injured once again. She is expected back at full strength in well aware of the struggles Breslyn faces as she is treated for 2018-19 and will be an All-America candidate. Once she was Pilocytic Astrocytoma. The BC sophomore guard has watched inserted into the starting lineup in December, Gorecki scored her mom battle and survive cancer and a seizure. Lowery double-digits in seven straight games. this included 20+ points knows the ups and downs and knows how important it is to be in four of those seven games. She averaged 17.1 points, a support system as well as a cheerleader for those in need. 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals over a span of 11 • The Rookies: Boston College will welcome seven freshmen contests. Gorecki collected a career-high 29 points at North to the program for fi rst-year head coach Joanna Bernabei-Mc- Carolina as she drained 7-of-15 three-pointers, grabbed nine Namee. The Eagles have added guards Jenasae Bishop rebounds and dished six assists, added 28 points at Virginia (Hammond, Ind.), Marnelle Garraud (Lynn, Mass.), Makayla Tech on 7-of-10 three-pointers and 9-of-14 fi eld goals and had Dickens (Virginia Beach, Va.) along with swing players Lana 19 fi rst half points at Louisville on 8-of-8 fi eld goals, before fi n- Hollingsworth (Australia), Kate Klimkiewicz (Oakton, Va.) and ishing with 25 points. She became the fi rst Blue Devil to notch forwards Clara Ford (Vienna, Va.) and Taylor Soule (W. Leba- seven or more three-pointers in back-to-back games. non, N.H.). • Junior Leaonna Odom will be expected to step up in 2018- • Assistant Coach Yolanda Griffi th: Coach Yo brings a wealth 19 and will be an All-America candidate this season. She of knowledge having played in the WNBA for 11 years. Griffi th, showcased her talent in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. She who was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame averaged 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in three in her fi rst year of eligibility in 2014, arrived at the Heights games NCAA games last season. Odom totaled a career-high along with Coach Mac from Albany. Prior to Albany, she was an 25 points against Belmont and then had a game-high 22 points, assistant at Dartmouth, Lafayette and UMass. eight rebounds and four assists in the NCAA regional game against top-seeded Connecticut. Odom is one of the most Clemson athletic players in the nation and can play most any position on • New coaching staff: head coach and her the court. brand new coaching staff joined the Clemson Family, looking to • Duke was without the services of point guard Kyra Lambert rebuild a program that was once a perennial contender in the last season, after she was recovering from a torn ACL that hap- ACC. Heading into her 25th season as a coach (13th as a head pened in the NCAA Tournament fi rst round in 2017. She is on coach), Butler comes to Clemson from Florida where she post- schedule to be cleared in November to play in games. Lambert ed a 190-136 record. The coaching staff as a whole combines had started 56-of-65 career games played at point guard for for over 52 years of basketball coaching experience. the Blue Devils. • Simone Westbrook: Simone (or Moe) joins the Tigers as a graduate transfer after receiving a 7th year of eligibility. She is believed, according to the NCAA, to be the fi rst Division I wom- en’s basketball player to be granted a 7th year of eligibility. She is the only member of the team that played for Coach Butler at Florida.

@ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF 2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

• Mikayla Boykin suffered a torn ACL in her 10th game of the • The new foundation for Florida State Women’s Basketball 2017-18 campaign. Boykin had started eight of those 10 has a chance to be strong moving forward with the nation’s contests prior to the injury. She is progressing well with the sixth-ranked recruiting class that is very guard-heavy. The class rehab and is expected to play this season. Boykin might not includes four guards in Izabela Nicoletti (No. 16 overall; Brazil), be available at the start of the season, but is expected to play Kourtney Weber (No. 51; New Orleans), Morgan Jones (No. in non-conference action. Duke appealed in the offseason to 66; Jonesboro, Ga.) and Amaya Brown (No. 99; Albuquerque, have her receive a medical redshirt and the appeal was grant- N.M.) as well as power forward Valencia Myers (No. 63; Solon, ed. Boykin will have four years of eligibility remaining with the Ohio). Nicoletti will sit out the season after sustaining a knee Blue Devils. injury on July 25. • Redshirt junior Kyra Lambert has been volunteering at the • The Seminoles’ back court remains in good hands moving Ronald McDonald House for a little over a year now. She tries forward as junior guards Nausia Woolfolk and Nicki Ekhomu to go once a week when her class schedule/workouts allow. (E-Kah-Moo) return this season. Ekhomu returns as Florida She does guest services and helps out with whatever the State’s most experienced student-athlete in terms of minutes managers need help with – answering phones, getting sup- played (20 minutes per game in her career), and she is fi fth plies, helping cook/clean, etc. Duke women’s basketball has among ACC returnees in percentage of team free throws made had a special relationship with the Durham RMH and has been from 2017-18 (24.8 percent). Woolfolk, who has experience at going for over 20 years. The Blue Devils started a tradition both the 1 and the 2, has shown fl ashes of brilliance in her FSU where families/visitors write on ceiling tiles and it continues career. on today. • A candidate for Florida State’s breakthrough player of the year • After graduating from Duke in 2018, Sofi a Roma is attending is sophomore shooting guard Savannah Wilkinson, a native the Duke Fuqua School of Business - MMS Program for 2018- of London, England, who has experience on Great Britain’s 19. Roma trained with the Puerto Rico Women’s National Team National Team. Wilkinson had a very productive summer over the summer and was offered a spot on their World Cup playing in the FIBA U20 Championships and is already a proven team, but had to turn it down due to school confl icts. shooter who shot 43.3 percent from 3-point range last season • Freshman Miela Goodchild will be competing in the FIBA in limited time. With a year under her belt at the collegiate level Under-18 Asia Championship with her home country of Austra- and a good adjustment to American culture, Wilkinson enters lia. The completion will take place Oct. 28 through Nov. 3 in her second season with a lot of promise. Bengaluru, India. She is a three-time Basketball Queensland • For the fi rst time in quite some time, Florida State Women’s Player of the Year. Basketball has brought in multiple new coaches who help form • Duke graduated two of the best scorer’s in Blue Devil history a very knowledgeable and experienced coaching staff. During – Rebecca Greenwell (1,874 points) and Lexie Brown (1,263 the off-season, former FSU student-athlete and coach Brooke points in two years). They were one of the most dynamic scor- Wyckoff was elevated to Associate Head Coach as she begins ing duos in the nation the last two years and Duke will have a her eighth season with her alma mater. Also, Head Coach Sue much different look in 2018-19 without those guards. Semrau added Joy McCorvey from Michigan as well as JC • Duke will welcome one of the top recruiting classes in the Carter from Utah State as her assistant coaches. nation that includes Miela Goodchild, Onome Akinbode-James, • While the names of the student-athletes change, the program Rayah Craig and Uchenna Nwoke. goal remains the same of keeping a standard of excellence. • The Blue Devils will be led by four captains in 2018-19 – Over the last four seasons (since 2014-15), FSU has won 25+ senior Faith Suggs, redshirt senior Sofi a Roma, redshirt junior games in each year, joins only Notre Dame and Louisville as Kyra Lambert and redshirt junior Haley Gorecki. ACC programs whom have won 75 percent or more of their • Head coach Joanne P. McCallie enters her 27th year as a conference games in each season and has fi nished in the Top head coach and her 12th season with the Blue Devils. She 15 of the AP Poll in each year. It will be up to several fresh currently boasts 613 career victories and 302-80 record with faces to keep the Seminole tradition alive this year. the Blue Devils.

Florida State • For the fi rst time in her 22-year head coaching career, FSU head coach must replenish her entire starting fi ve from a season ago as seniors AJ Alix, Chatrice White, Shakayla Thomas, Imani Wright and Ama Degbeon all graduated. Despite returning just four letterwinners from last year’s team that fi nished 12-4 in the ACC, Semrau has plenty of talent waiting in the wings. @ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF 2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

• Impact transfers have helped elevate the Florida State was named the Tennessee Player of the Year, while both were program over the last several years. This year’s name could be named fi rst team honorees. redshirt junior forward Kiah Gillespie, a talented transfer from Maryland who has a very strong offensive game. With a bevy Louisville of strong guards on this year’s roster, front-court players like • , the 2017-18 ACC Coach of the Year, is entering his Gillespie will be vital toward FSU’s success. She is a Meriden, 12th year as head coach at Louisville. Already the winningest Conn., native who was a McDonald’s All-American and the coach in program history, his next win will mark the 300th (299- Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015. 96) of his career. • In 11 seasons, Walz’s teams have made 10 NCAA tournament Georgia Tech appearances, eight trips to the Sweet 16, three to the Final Four • Head Coach MaChelle Joseph begins her 16th season on The and two to the national title game. Prior to his arrival in 2007- Flats in 2018-19 and brings a career record of 294-191. Last 08, the Cardinals made 11 trips to the NCAA tournament and season, Joseph led the Yellow Jackets to their 10th 20-plus had a combined four wins. win season, having recorded a 20-14 record and 11th postsea- • With a 27-10 NCAA Tournament record, Coach Walz ranks son appearance, earning an at-large berth into the WNIT. seventh all-time in NCAA Tournament winning percentage. • The Jackets return seven letterwinners from last season’s • Louisville’s three trips to the Final Four in the last 10 years squad that reached the third round of the WNIT before falling ranks fourth in the country. at Alabama. Tech hosted the fi rst two rounds of the WNIT in • Louisville has won at least 20 games for eight consecutive McCamish Pavilion, opening the tournament defeating Bethune seasons and advanced to eight straight NCAA Tournaments, Cookman, 85-32. The Jackets welcomed UAB in the second the longest stretches in program history. round, upending the Blazers, 91-47. • Last season, the Cardinals opened the season at 20-0, which • Georgia Tech returns a solid core from last season, including marked the best start and longest winning streak in program four starters in Lorela Cubaj, Chanin Scott, Francesca Pan and history. Kierra Fletcher. Pan led the Jackets in scoring last season • The Cardinals 36-3 record in 2017-18 marks the best record in (14.3 ppg), while Fletcher dished out a team-high 78 assists. program history. Fletcher was named to the all-ACC Freshman team at the • Louisville swept ACC regular season and tournament titles, conclusion of the year. marking their fi rst ACC regular season and tournament titles. It • Junior Francesca Pan returns for her third season on The also marked their fi rst conference sweep since they won both Flats. The Italian native led the Jackets in scoring last season, in the Metro in 1984. averaging 14.3 ppg, after producing a stellar freshman cam- Asia Durr paign in which she was tabbed the ACC Freshman of the Year. • Asia Durr was named ACC Player of the Year in 2017-18, In 70 career games she has taken the fl oor in, Pan has scored marking the second time in three years that a Louisville player 900 points, needing just 100 to hit 1,000-career points. Pan has won ACC Player of the Year as Myisha Hines-Allen won the would become the 31st Yellow Jacket in women’s basketball award as a sophomore in 2015-16. program history to join the 1,000-career point club. She capped • Asia Durr was named WBCA First Team All-American in her sophomore campaign being named to the All-ACC academ- 2017-18, joining Angel McCoughtry as the only two players in ic team for the second time. Louisville history to be named WBCA First Team All-Americans. • In addition to returning a core nucleus to the 2018-19 roster, • Asia Durr ranks sixth in school history with 1,743 points and the Jackets welcome six newcomers to the team this season: second with 278 made 3-pointers. She is 431 points from tying Elizabeth Balogun (Hamilton Heights/Lagos, Nigeria), Jasmine Shoni Schimmel (2010-14) for second place all-time with 2,174 Carson (McEachern Powder Springs/Memphis, Tenn.), Liz and 109 3-pointers from tying Schimmel for fi rst place all-time Dixon (Ridgeway/Memphis, Tenn.), D’asia Gregg (Wilson/Flor- with 387. ence, S.C.), Lotta-Maj Lahtinen (Makelanrinne Sports/Helsinki, • Durr connected on 115 3-pointers last year, which ranks third Finland) and Kondalia Montgomery (Lincoln/Tacoma, Wash.). in school history, behind her 119 in 2016-17, which ranks fi rst, • Amongst Tech’s top-10 recruiting class, the Jackets boast and Shoni Schimmel’s 118 in 2013-14. two McDonald’s All-Americans: Elizabeth Balogun and Liz Dix- on. The pair of McDonald’s All-Americans mark the most in a recruiting class at Tech. The pair also competed in the Jordan Brand Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. in April. Additionally, Balogun was named to the Naismith Trophy Na- tional High School All-American second team, while Dixon and fellow classmate Carson picked up honorable mention. The highly touted pair also collected All-USA accolades as Balogun @ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF 2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

• Last season, Durr set the school-record with 47 points in the Miami 95-90 overtime win at Ohio State. Her nine 3-pointers tied the • The 2011 AP National Coach of the Year, 2011 ACC Coach school record, set by Shoni Schimmel in 2014. Her 47 points of the Year and 2013 USA Basketball Coach of the Year, Katie also eclipsed Louisville’s men’s basketball single game scoring Meier begins her 14th season as the head coach at the Uni- record, which is 45 points by Wes Unseld vs. Georgetown on versity of Miami. Meier has guided Miami to a 252-163 record Dec. 1, 1967. over her fi rst 13 years at Miami, including a 180-79 mark over • At the age of 10, Asia Durr was featured in a commercial for the past eight. The Hurricanes’ 83 conference victories during the Atlanta Dream. In the commercial, she approaches a group that eight-year stretch are the third-most in the conference and of boys playing basketball and asks, “Can I Play?”. Miami is also 116-25 at home over that span. Meier, who has KFC Yum! Center directed Miami to eight 20-win seasons in the last nine years • UofL boasts a 123-15 record (.891) at the KFC Yum! Center after it had just one in the prior 16, was inducted into the UM and boasts a plus-22.3 scoring margin. Through 138 games, Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. Including her four years at Char- Louisville averages 9,328 fans per contest. lotte, Meier enters the 2018-19 season 22 victories away from • Louisville averaged 7,836 fans in 2017-18, which ranked fi fth 350 in her coaching career. in the country. The 14,248 fans that watched the Cards take on • Miami has reached the postseason each of the past nine Florida State matched the third biggest women’s basketball seasons, a mark that has triple the program’s previous record crowd of the season. of three. Included in that span are seven NCAA Tournament Returning for the Cards berths, with the Hurricanes advancing to the second round in • Louisville returns four starters from last year with Asia Durr, four of those appearances. Miami has reached the NCAA Tour- Arica Carter, Sam Fuehring and Jazmine Jones. nament in four straight seasons, the fi rst time either basketball • Redshirt senior Arica Carter was named Lexington Region team at the school has achieved that feat. All-Tournament Team and ACC All-Tournament team a year • The Hurricanes welcome back three players who sat out ago. She missed the previous year with a groin injury. She shot last season due to injury, including redshirt junior guard Laura 38.6 percent from 3-point range and connected on 49 3-point- Cornelius, whose 39.7 career 3-point percentage is currently ers after entering the season with a career 16 made threes. the best mark in program history. Redshirt senior forward She ranked second in ACC with 3.9 assists per game. Khaila Prather is seeking to become the fi rst Hurricane—male • Senior Sam Fuehring was named Lexington Region All-Tour- or female—to be on fi ve NCAA Tournament teams. Redshirt nament Team and ACC All-Tournament Team a year ago. She freshman guard/forward Rebecca Ripley will make her colle- ranked third in the ACC with a 58.2 shooting percentage and giate debut in 2018-19. her 57.4 shooting percentage on the season ranked fi fth all- • Along with adding back the three injured players, former time in program history. She took a team-high 40 charges and Baylor transfer Beatrice Mompremier is now eligible for the 10 times recorded multiple charges, including six in the win Hurricanes. A former fi ve-star, top-15 recruit who started the over Ohio State. 2015 McDonald’s All-American Game, Mompremier was a • Sam Fuehring plays with unapologetic emotion following unanimous Big 12 All-Freshman Team pick in 2015-16. The tough upbringing and the losses of her two-year old niece and redshirt junior forward, who will be one of the most highly dec- grandmother orated players to ever suit up for Miami, shot 54.2 percent over • Junior Jazmine Jones was named to the ACC All-Tournament her two seasons with the Lady Bears, starting 36 contests. team a year ago. She started all 39 games last year, joining • The Hurricanes’ superb 2017 recruiting class received signifi - Myisha Hines-Allen as the only players to do so. She ranked cant playing time last year and will be relied upon heavily once fourth on team with 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds. again this season. Guards Endia Banks and Mykea Gray were • Sophomore Dana Evans was named to the ACC All-Freshman the fi rst Miami freshmen to start every game since Shenise team a year ago. She led all ACC freshman, ranked 11th in the Johnson in 2008-09. Banks was on the All-ACC Academic league and second on the team with 3.5 assists per game. Team, while Gray earned two ACC Freshman of the Week • Senior Yacine Diop, a graduate transfer from Pitt and member honors and made the ACC All-Freshman Team. Guard Kelsey of Senegal’s national team, joins the fold for the Cards. She Marshall was on both the All-ACC Academic Team and the ACC led the Panthers with 15.7 points and 6.4 rebounds a year ago. All-Freshman Team, while guard Taylor Mason was one of four She tied a career high with 26 points against Louisville on Jan. Hurricanes to compete in every game last season and had her 18. She leaves Pitt as the 18th leading scorer of all-time with best outings late in the year. 1,093 points. • Louisville adds three freshmen, all of which are Kentucky natives, in Seygan Robins (Mercer County, Miss Kentucky Bas- ketball and back-to-back state champion), Mykasa Robinson (Ashland), Molly Lockhart (Louisville Butler). @ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF 2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

• As aforementioned, Laura Cornelius is chasing Miami’s • Taking Care of Business on the Road: Now entering season all-time 3-point percentage record, which is currently 37.9 by six under head coach , the Wolfpack has earned 32 Elaine Harlow (1987-90). In addition, her fellow Dutch national, true road wins (average of 6.4 per season) since the start of senior forward/center Emese Hof, is chasing the program’s ca- the 2013-14 season. In the prior eight seasons from 2005-06 reer fi eld goal percentage mark. Her 52.8 percent clip currently to 2012-13, the Wolfpack earned 32 true road wins (4.0 per places her second, behind the 54.3 percent mark set by Corde- season). lia Fulmore (1983-85). Hof, who is 254 points shy of 1,000, also • Canadian Sharpshooter: Junior guard Aislinn Konig has hit at enters the season sixth on Miami’s career blocked shots list least one three-pointer in 33 consecutive games dating back to with 113. The record of 198 is held by Sylvia Wilson (1979-82), Nov. 15, 2017. She hit 91 last season, setting a new program while Kym Hope (1995-99) is second with 164. single-season record. The previous mark of 90 was held by Jennifer Howard since the 1995-96 season. North Carolina • Postseason Progress: During the 2018 postseason, NC State • Coach Hatchell is seven wins shy of setting the record for participated in NCAA Tournament games in Raleigh for the fi rst most wins at an ACC school (currently held by Debbie Ryan, time since 2007. The Wolfpack is 14-2 in NCAA Tournament Virginia, 739) games played in Raleigh and has not lost a home game in the • Paris Kea owns the highest scoring average in program tournament since 1983. history (18.3 ppg). She was a fi rst team All-ACC selection in • NC State made its third NCAA Tournament appearance 2017-18 after averaging 19.4 points, the third highest total in during HC Wes Moore’s fi fth season in Raleigh. This marks the the league last season. fi rst time that the Wolfpack has made two consecutive NCAA • Janelle Bailey was the 10th UNC player to earn the ACC Rook- Tournaments since the program did so in 2006 and 2007. With ie of the Year award, the most of any program in league history. the fi rst-round victory over Elon on Mar. 16, NC State has won Carolina has won the award four of the last six seasons. The at least one game in back-to-back tournaments for the fi rst Honorable Mention All-ACC selection was a seven-time ACC time since the program did so in 1998 and 1999. The Wolfpack Rookie of the Week, leading all ACC freshman in scoring, concluded the 2017-18 season in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA rebounding and double-doubles. Tournament, making that round for the fi rst time since 2007. • The return of Stephanie Watts and Destinee Walker, who both • Returning this Season: The Wolfpack returns three of fi ve missed the entire 2017-18 season due to knee injuries. Watts starters from the 2017-18 team and 65 percent of its scoring was the 2016 ACC Rookie of the Year and owns career averag- from a year ago. Starting guards Kaila Ealey (8.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, es of 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Walker was 4.2 apg), Aislinn Konig (10.3 ppg, 91 made 3FGs), and Kiara an ACC All-Freshman selection in 2016 that has contributed Leslie (12.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg) all return to the lineup this season. 13.3 points per game in her career. • Strong Schedule: In addition to the usual gauntlet of chal- • Newcomer guard Shayla Bennett was the 2018 WBCA Two- lenging ACC games, NC State will play a non-conference Year College Player of the Year that averaged 20.6 points, 3.9 schedule this season that features eight postseason teams rebounds and 3.0 assists per game at Gulf Coast State College from a year ago and an average opponent RPI of 120. in Panama City, Florida. Led Gulf Coast State to the 2017 NJ- CAA national title, scoring 21 points in the national-title game. Notre Dame • Freshman guard Claudia Dickey is playing both soccer and Muffet McGraw basketball for North Carolina. She is a goalkeeper for the • 32nd season at Notre Dame, 800-230 (.777) nationally-ranked women’s soccer team and is expected to join • 37th season overall, 888-271 (.766) the basketball team in December. • On pace to become the fourth fastest coach to 900 career wins NC State • Achieved her 800th win at ND in the national title game • Regularly Exceeding Expectations: NC State has exceeded • Was the AP, espnW and USA Today Coach of the Year last ACC coaches’ preseason expectations in four of the last fi ve season seasons. 2013-14: Predicted 10th … Finished 4th 2014-15: Predicted 9th … Finished T9th 2015-16: Predicted 9th… Finished T6th 2016-17: Predicted 7th … Finished T4th 2017-18: Predicted 10th … Finished T4th During head coach Wes Moore’s fi rst fi ve seasons in Raleigh, the Wolfpack has posted an impressive 51-29 (.637) record in league games that includes a 28-12 (.700) mark in Raleigh. @ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF 2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

State of the program • Arike and Jessica Shepard both participated in the USA Wom- • Return four of fi ve starters from last year’s national champi- en’s National Team Training Camp in September onship squad. Stepping into the fi nal starting spot will be the Jessica Shepard return of three-time All-American Brianna Turner. • Despite posting similar or better numbers to every Katrina • 23 straight NCAA Tournament appearances – fourth longest McClain Award fi nalist, Shepard did not even appear on the active streak in the country. Their eight Final Fours are the fi fth Watch List. She was an All-Final Four Team selection, First most. Team All-ACC honoree and WBCA All-America fi nalist • Tallied seven double-digit come-from-behind performances • Shepard tallied 15 double-doubles – third most in a single last season, including a program mark of 23 points vs Tennes- season at ND. More impressively she recorded six double-dou- see. bles in the fi nal eight games. • The Irish were the fi rst team in Final Four history to rally • In the NCAA Tournament, she nearly averaged a double-dou- down double-digit points in both games, and also recorded ble with 19.0 points and 9.3 rebounds. the biggest comeback in championship game history, rallying Brianna Turner down 15 points to Mississippi State. All-in-all, the First Round • Three-time All-American was the only game the Irish led at the half during the NCAA • Two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year Tournament. • Ranks second in program history with her .622 career shoot- • Four times Notre Dame has defeated UConn in the NCAA ing percentage Tournament, the most of any school. Furthermore, in the last • Ranks second in career blocks with 263 10 years, Notre Dame has defeated UConn eight times, while • Her junior year she led the ACC in FG% at .619 all other teams have combined for six. Marina Mabrey • 143 straight weeks ranked in the top-10 – ranks second • Second Team All-ACC, Spokane All-Regional Team and WBCA • Irish averaged 85.1 ppg last season, which ranked second in All-America fi nalist school history. The Irish also became the second team ever to • Her 2.1 steals, 4.4 assists and 2.2 three’s per game all ranked lead the ACC in fi eld goal percentage fi ve years in a row. in the top-10 in the ACC • Went on a Foreign Tour to Rome and Croatia in August, play- • Her 19 three’s during the NCAA Tournament were the fi fth ing three games overseas. Received their championship rings most all-time. She knocked down 85 three’s on the year, which the Friday night of Michigan football weekend. ranked as the second most at ND. Also has hit a three in 18 • Total weeks ranked No. 1 - 10 (six in 2000-01, four in 2016-17, straight games, which carries into this season. in which they started the season No. 1) • Shared point guard duties with Jackie Young last season • Associate Head Coach has now won a champion- after Lili Thompson’s injury. Will continue to do so this season, ship as a player and a coach at Notre Dame along with freshman guard Jordan Nixon. Arike Ogunbowale • Mabrey’s sister Dara is a freshman on the Virginia Tech wom- • Five different All-America honors last season but no First en’s basketball team. The Irish visit Virginia Tech on Jan. 16. Team. Was an Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award Finalist and Na- Jackie Young ismith Trophy Semifi nalist. • All-ACC Honorable Mention • Shattered the ND single-season record with 25 20-plus point • Poured in a career high 32 points vs UConn in National Semi- performances last season, which also led the ACC. Her 20.8 fi nal points per game also ranked fi rst all-time at ND and fi rst in the • Averaged 16.6 points on 52 percent shooting against top-25 ACC. In addition, her 145 points during the NCAA Tournament teams last season were the fi fth most all-time. The Freshmen Class • Arike’s 1,777 career points ranks eighth all-time and will cer- • Was ranked No. 7 by ESPN tainly challenge Skylar Diggins-Smith’s career scoring record of • Two McDonald’s All-Americans in Jordan Nixon and Katlyn 2,357 points. Gilbert • Scored double-digit points in the fourth quarter alone on seven separate occasions last season. • After her Ice Twice, Arike appeared on the Ellen Show, Danc- ing with the Stars and earned the ESPY for Best Play Arike and Jessica Shepard both participated in the USA Wom- en’s National Team Training Camp in September •Arike and Marina Mabrey are going on their second year of be- ing roommates. They both have dogs Charley and Kobe. Arike’s dog Kobe, occasionally wears the custom made Kobe jersey that Ellen Degeneres gave her. Kobe signed it as well. @ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF 2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

The Schedule captured back-to-back Big South Conference Tournament • Potential 16 opponents who qualifi ed for the 2018 NCAA crowns (2016, 2017), two NCAA Tournament berths (2016, Tournament, including fi ve of whom reached the Sweet 16 2017), three consecutive postseason berths (2016, 2017, 2018) • 10 opponents who were ranked in ESPN’s Too Early Top-25 and one Big South Conference regular season title (2016). • Will appear on national television at least 11 times, including • The 2018-19 season marks the fourth time in Pitt basketball seven appearances on either ESPN or ESPN2 history that there is a new head coach for both the men’s and • Home dates with UConn (Jimmy V Classic), Louisville, Florida women’s teams. is in his fi rst year on the women’s State and Duke. Away date at Tennessee. Will also be compet- side while Jeff Capel takes over the men’s program. ing in the Vancouver Showcase with a potential matchup vs 2003-04: Jamie Dixon, Agnus Berenato South Carolina or Oregon State 1980-81: Dr. Roy Chipman, Judy Saurer ACC 1975-76: Tim Grgurich, Pat Wallace • Won their fi fth straight ACC regular season title in 2018. • Pittsburgh is one of six NCAA Division I schools to hire new Seven straight regular season titles when looking back to their coaches for both men’s and women’s basketball, including Chi- fi nal two years in the Big East – which ranks as the third high- cago State, Delaware State, La Salle, Longwood and Ole Miss. est active streak in the country behind Baylor (8) and Green • Lance White is one of four new head coaches in the Atlantic Bay (20) Coast Conference, joining Boston College’s Joanna Bern- • 77-3 in league play since joining the ACC abei-McNamee, Clemson’s Amanda Butler and Virginia’s Tina • 40-0 in ACC play inside Purcell Pavilion Thompson. Purcell Pavilion • The Panthers return 73.3 percent of its offensive production • 25 straight wins at home from 2017-18, including No. 2 and 3 scorers Kalista Walters • Averaged 7,637 fans at home last season, which ranked sixth (9.4 ppg), Alayna Gribble and Jasmine Whitney (both 7.7 ppg). in the country Walters led the ACC in fi eld goal percentage last season with • Invited the local community to be a part of 2018-19 intro 66.7 percent effi ciency. Gribble was the team’s top performer video from 3-point range, averaging 1.9 treys made per game. Whit- ney led the Panthers with 4.5 assists per contest. Pitt • Redshirt senior Aysia Bugg returns to the hardwood for the A New Chapter Panthers after sitting out the 2017-18 season due to injury. The • Lance White was introduced as the ninth head coach in Pitt point guard led Pitt with 3.4 assists per game in 2016-17 and women’s basketball history in April 2018. He came to Pitt after was fourth on the squad with 7.1 points per game. spending the past 15 years on the sidelines at Florida State, • Entering her junior year, guard Alayna Gribble is tied with Pitt where he helped the Seminoles to a 350-145 (.707) record, legend Shavonte Zellous (2005-09) with 88 made 3-pointers for including 12 seasons with 20 or more wins. her career, good for 10th place all-time. The Pitt record (166) is • During his fi nal year at Florida State (2017-18), the Seminoles held by Erin Maloy (1990-94), putting Gribble on pace with the posted 25 or more wins for the fourth consecutive season, fi n- record. ishing with a 26-7 overall record and averaged the second-most points in a season in program history with 81.0 points per Syracuse game. • Isis Young, redshirt senior, is in graduate school at New- • Coach White built his “dream team” of a coaching staff, house. She’s an aspiring sports broadcaster and was accept- adding Danielle Atkinson and Terri Mitchell as associate head ed to LaChina Robinson’s Rising Media Stars program this coaches and Josh Petersen as an assistant coach shortly after summer. She spent the summer shadowing various broad- his hiring. casters like LaChina, Jemele Hill, and , to • Atkinson coached with White on the sidelines as an assis- name a few. She is the only current student-athlete in the RMS tant at Florida State for the past four seasons. Florida State program, which gives her a unique experience. She’s also now reached the NCAA Tournament in each year of her term, includ- doing ACC Network Extra games at Syracuse. ing the Elite Eight twice. • Mitchell’s remarkable career includes becoming the all-time winningest women’s basketball coach at Marquette. She spent 18 years at the helm of the Golden Eagles’ program (1996- 2014) and acquired 348 wins while leading the team to the postseason 15 times. • Petersen arrives in Pittsburgh after spending the past four seasons as an assistant coach under Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick at UNC Asheville. During his time with the Bulldogs, the team @ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF 2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

• French Connection – Three members of the Syracuse wom- year stint in the American Basketball League. Frett Meredith en’s basketball team, (Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi, Marie-Paule Foppos- retired from the WNBA to take a full-time coaching position si and Kadiatou Sissoko) played for France’s U20 national team at her alma mater, serving as an assistant coach for Georgia at the FIBA Women’s European Championship this summer. All from 2005-11. Associate head coach Karleen Thompson is a will be freshman on the roster this year as Maeva and MP sat coaching veteran in the WNBA with the Houston Comets, Los out last year. Angeles Sparks and most recently with the Atlanta Dream. • Digna Strautmane earned a spot on the Latvian Senior Nation- Thompson joined the coaching staff of the Houston Comets al Team and missed the fi rst month of school (Still missing) in 2005, serving as an assistant coach for two seasons before due to the FIBA World Cup in Spain. She was the youngest being promoted to head coach and acting general manager of person to make the team, 19-years-old on the day the roster from 2007-08. Before coaching with the Comets, Thompson was announced. It’s Latvia’s fi rst FIBA World Cup appearance. spent eight years in the Los Angeles Sparks organization. • Tiana Mangakahia set the program and ACC record for as- She joined the Sparks in 1997. In 2004, she served as interim sists in a season. She had a breakout season last year, earning co-head coach following the mid-season departure of Michael First Team All-ACC honors, after not playing a competitive Cooper to join the staff of the Denver Nuggets of the NBA. basketball game in two years. Thompson helped the Sparks to WNBA titles in 2001 and 2002. • Top-10 recruiting class of freshman that are a McDonald’s • Felicia Aiyeotan, a 6-9 center from Lagos, Nigeria who was All-American and Gatorade State Player of the Year (NY), Emily the tallest active player in NCAAWBB last season, was the Engstler, and members of their native countries U20 nation- conference leader in blocked shots last season and comes into al team (Sissoko, France) and (Veronika Vorackova, Czech her junior season tied for fourth in UVA history in that statis- Republic). tical category. A member of the ACC All-Defensive team, she • Syracuse returns 95.6 percent of its scoring from last year. started 27 of 33 games, averaging 7.4 points per game with The Orange return all fi ve starters that started all 31 games seven double-doubles, and looks to be an even bigger presence together and accounted for 81.4 percent of the offense. on the court this year. • Aiyeotan did not start playing basketball until she was 12 Virginia years old. She was convinced to attend a camp put on by the • Virginia looks to build on the success of last season. After Hope 4 Girls foundation, which changed the course of her life. being the last team out of the fi eld of 64 two times in the Aiyeotan grew up in a poor section of Lagos and attended previous six years, the team earned an at-large bid to the 2018 public school. With her height, she was forced to sit in the back NCAA Tournament, its fi rst bid since 2010. The 10th-seeded of the class (with class sizes of 120 or more), couldn’t ask Cavaliers advanced to the second round after upsetting 7-seed questions, and felt quite isolated. She was relentlessly bullied Cal. The Cavaliers faced UVA alumna Dawn Staley and her because of her height and was very isolated and shy. After South Carolina squad in the second round. discovering basketball, she found her calling, and built her • The core of the team are three juniors: Jocelyn Willoughby, self-esteem, breaking out of her shell. The organization, whose Dominique Toussaint and Felicia Aiyeotan. Willoughby and mission is “to provide opportunities to empower young women Toussaint, who have started nearly every game in the last two to become leaders in their communities through sport and seasons, were members of the ACC All-Freshman team their education” was founded by Mobolaji Akiode (known as MoBo), fi rst year, with Toussaint being named an All-ACC honorable a former Fordham basketball player and Olympian with the mention last year. Aiyeotan was a member of the ACC All-De- Nigerian National team. They helped Felicia obtain a scholar- fensive team. ship to come to the US for high school, where she played fi rst • Virginia will be led by fi rst-year head coach . at Neumann-Goretti before fi nishing her senior season at Blair Thompson is in her fourth year of coaching overall, spending Academy. Felicia has been back to Nigeria each of the last three seasons at Texas (two as an assistant and the 2017-18 two summers (about two week trips each time). It is her goal year as the associate head coach) before taking the job at to go back after graduating and be a role model for others in a UVA. Thompson was inducted into both the Naismith Hall of community that is very short on strong, powerful, successful Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Thompson female fi gures. was the fi rst-ever pick in the WNBA draft, is a four-time WNBA champion, nine-time WNBA All-Star and was the league’s all-time leading scorer at the time of her retirement in 2013, scoring 7,488 points in 496 games played. • The Virginia coaching staff has quite the WNBA fl air. In addi- tion to Tina Thompson, assistant coach La’Keshia Frett Mere- dith played seven seasons in the WNBA, including making three appearances in the Western Conference Finals, after a two- @ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF 2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

• The Cavaliers have a very international fl air. Joining Nigeria’s the general reputation and good name of the University in the Felicia Aiyeotan and Luxembourg’s Lisa Jablonowski is redshirt eyes of the public, since Lawn rooms are constantly in the freshman guard Amandine Toi from Paris. Toi was a member public eye. Details of the special obligations include contin- of the French U19 Junior National Team and competed at the ued involvement in the University community, adherence to 2017 U19 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Italy, fi nishing University policies in the historic public space, as well taking in fi fth place. Toi missed all of last season after having surgery responsibility for establishing a vibrant and welcoming Lawn to repair the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee community and active participation in events. after sustaining an injury during practice during the preseason. Jablonowski is fl uent in English, German, French and Lux- Virginia Tech embourgish. Her family is originally from Poland, but she is • Virginia Tech return everyone from a season ago that saw not fl uent in Polish. Aiyeotan speaks English and Yoruba. Toi the Hokies go 24-13. Tech will look to build on the WNIT fi nals speaks English and French. Jocelyn Willoughby is a native En- appearance which was the program’s deepest run into the glish speaker, but is a member of the UVA Spanish club and is postseason ever. Additionally the team won six league games not quite fl uent in Spanish, but can speak and read it quite well. for the fi rst time in a decade. • Junior forward Jocelyn Willoughby is the non-voting, stu- • Tech’s top scorer, second team performer Taylor Emery dent-athlete member of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basket- returns to the lineup a year after setting the program mark with ball Oversight Committee. Willoughby is the lone student-ath- 667 points. She fi gures to become just the second player in lete on the 15-member committee with her tenure running Tech history to record 1,000 points in two seasons. through June 2020. The goals of the committee are to advance • Freshman point guard Dara Mabrey will suit up for the Hokies the game and perception of women’s basketball, improve the in 2018-19. Her older sisters including current guard Marina, student-athlete experience and put an emphasis on the person- played at Notre Dame. The Irish visit Tech on Jan. 16. al growth of student athletes. Along with the goals, it will also • The Hokies have three players with the last name Brooks work to supervise qualifi cations and/or selection procedures on the roster. Two of them are sisters Kendyl and Chloe, who for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship and are Head Coach ’ daughters. Kendyl owns the provide direction to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball program record for most consecutive games with a made Rules Committee regarding playing rules. 3-point basket at 21 and is also seventh all-time in 3’s with two • Willoughby is also a Meriwether Lewis Institute for Citizen seasons still to play. Leadership Fellow (Class of 2020 cohort). Each year, 25 • Redshirt senior Rachel Camp fi gures to join the 1,000-point students are selected to become Fellows in the fall of their club this season (sits at 816 career points) second year. Incorporating academic, experiential, and applied • Redshirt senior Regan Magarity already holds the program learning elements, the program includes a School of Architec- rebounding record and may very well put it out of reach this ture course on “Foundations in Design Thinking” for Fellows season. She fi gures to become the fi rst Hokie top record in the second-year spring semester. Subsequent components 1,000 career rebounds. Magarity is already a member of the include a six-week summer leadership institute, a Batten 1,000-point club. School “Leadership in Practice” seminar in the third-year spring • Head Coach Kenny Brooks: Brooks’ seventh win of the sea- semester, and ongoing work to improve the University in their son will be his 50th at Virginia Tech. His 20th win during the fourth years. 2017-18 season will be the 400th of his career. • Willoughby has also been given the honor of living on the Lawn this year, one of the top honors awarded to fourth-year Wake Forest students at the University. Willoughby, who is athletically a • The team returns a pair of 1,000-point scorers in seniors Elisa junior, will graduate in May in three years, but will play her Penna and Ariel Stephenson. Stephenson currently ranks 22nd fourth year as a grad student next year. Residence on the Lawn in program history with 1,079 career points while Penna ranks recognizes students for unselfi sh service to the University and 25th with 1,040 points. The 2017-18 team was the fi rst team in Charlottesville/Albemarle County communities, and achieve- program history to feature three active 1,000-point scorers, as ment in their respective fi elds of activity and academics. Lawn Amber Campbell had previously eclipsed the 1,000-point mark. residents are a diverse group of students who represent widely varying activities, backgrounds, and interests. Students se- lected to live on the Lawn enjoy the distinction earned by their unselfi sh service and achievement in their respective fi elds of activity and academics. The nature and quality of service to the University and broader local community is a major consid- eration in making selections. Once chosen for the Lawn, they assume an obligation to so manage their living as to enhance @ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF 2018 ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TIPOFF

• The Deacs are coming off a season in which they won a game in the ACC Tournament. It is the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that Wake Forest has won a game at the conference tournament. Last year, the Demon Deacons defeated Pitt, 72-38, in the opening round. The 38 points allowed were the fewest points allowed in ACC Tournament and Wake Forest postseason history. The team’s 34-point margin of victory is a Wake Forest postseason record and ranks as the second-larg- est margin of victory in school history over an ACC program. • Senior Elisa Penna returns after being named All-ACC Sec- ond Team a year ago. She became the fi rst All-ACC honoree since 2015. • Head Coach Jen Hoover is 12 wins away from reaching 100 career wins at Wake Forest. Over the fi rst six years in Win- ston-Sale, Hoover is 88-104. • Having graduated just one senior from the 2017-18 roster, the Deacs will return a veteran group that accounted for 84% of the team’s scoring, 90% of the team’s rebounding and 84% of the team’s minutes played. • This past summer, the team took an international trip to Italy for three games including one against the Italian Senior Nation- al Team. It was an opportunity for team building off the court, gain valuable on-the-court experience with fi ve newcomers on the team and a chance for senior Elisa Penna to return home and play in front of her family. • The Demon Deacons combine to represent six countries - US, Sweden, Serbia, Austrailia, Canada, Italy - with the players from Sweden, Serbia and Italy all speaking their native language fl uently. • The Wake Forest women’s basketball team partnered with the Winston-Salem YMCA a year ago to provide basketball lessons to the town’s youth. Along with teaching them on the court skills such as dribbling, shooting and passing, the Deacs also worked with the kids on skills such as teamwork and hard work.

@ACCWBB | #ACCTIPOFF