Photo Credit: Liam Sment
As women’s basketball is on the verge of returning, the ACC announced their preseason predictions for the standings and All-ACC players on Tuesday.
Once the voting was announced, it appeared that the head coaches and media expect Virginia Tech to be a middle of the pack team for the 2020-21 season with them placing seventh in both rankings.
The Predicted Order of Finish is here!
— ACC Women's Basketball (@accwbb) November 10, 2020
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Last season, the Hokies finished fifth in the ACC Standings with a 11-7 record, their best season in the conference.
Virginia Tech returns some critical players from their breakout 2019-20 campaign including Aisha Shepard and Elizabeth Kitley who look to lead the team towards success this upcoming season.
On top of that, both of them landed on the 2020-21 All-ACC Preseason Team for both the head coaches and media, which is a first for both ladies.
Our Preseason All-ACC Team is stacked with talent 💪
— ACC Women's Basketball (@accwbb) November 10, 2020
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Aisha Shepard is returning for her senior season coming off a standout junior year that landed her on the 2019-20 All-ACC First Team. She led the Hokies with 14.8 PPG and 3.1 RPG last season while also making 37% of her shots from behind the arc.
Elizabeth Kitley made the argument for one of the best newcomers in the ACC last season as she earned the honor of 2019-20 ACC Freshman of the Year. While shooting 56% from the field, she also tallied 12.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG in the thirty matchups she started for the Hokies.
For the Hokies, the emphasis for this season will be looking to see how they can build off last year’s success while suffering major losses of Taja Cole and Lydia Rivers (who graduated), and Trinity Baptiste (who transferred) with all being major factors on last year's team.
This Hokies team will be turning back the clock a bit as this year’s roster lists four freshmen who will be looking to make an instant impact on Kenny Brooks’ squad for this upcoming season.