#32 Taylor Ayers
Junior
Center
6-2
Augusta, Ga.
Inside the numbers: Played in 28 games and made three starts … Averaged 4.1 points and 4 rebounds per game … Recorded a team-high 21 blocks and added 10 assists and 10 steals to her totals … Shot 34.8 percent from the floor and was a 67.6 percent free-throw shooter … Scored in double figures twice, including a career-high 14 points against VCU, and seven times had at least seven rebounds.
Analyzing Ayers’ game: With more playing time as a sophomore, Ayers easily improved upon her numbers as a freshman, more than doubling her averages – 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. She will need to do that again as one of just three upperclassmen on the roster. She averaged just 14 minutes per game as a sophomore, so with increased minutes, increased productivity should follow.
Wolff’s take: “Taylor is an experienced post player who now has two years of ACC experience under her belt. She has good instincts around the basket, and she is a physical player. Taylor is going to be in the mix for playing time in the frontcourt and hopefully will give us a strong presence around the basket throughout the year.”
#13 Alyssa Fenyn
Junior
Guard
6-0
Newark, N.Y.
Inside the numbers: Played in 30 games, starting 26 … Averaged 9.4 points, best among returners, and 3.6 rebounds per game … Added 67 assists (best among returners) and 35 steals to her totals (second) … Shot 42.6 percent from the floor, including 30.3 percent from 3-point range, and was a 72.6 percent free-throw shooter … Scored in double figures 14 times, including six straight times at one point … Scored a career-high 17 points against three ACC opponents – Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia … Also notched her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds at William & Mary.
Analyzing Fenyn’s game: Thanks to a tremendous offseason workout, Fenyn improved her 3-point shooting from 6.7 percent (1 of 15) as a freshman to knocking down 20 of 66 as a sophomore. Her shooting improved from the floor (39.8 to 42.6 percent) and from the free-throw line (55.7 to 72.6 percent) as well. The word is that she worked just as hard during the summer of 2011, so the hope is those numbers will get even better.
Wolff’s take: “Alyssa is probably our hardest working player. She wants to be good, and she has worked very hard over the summer on her outside shot to make it more consistent. We will look to her to provide scoring throughout the year, while improving her game with regards to decision making and shot selection.”
#3 Aerial Wilson
Junior
Guard
5-8
Cocoa, Fla.
Inside the numbers: Played in 30 games and made five starts … Averaged 4.9 points and 1.6 rebounds per game … Added 52 assists and 31 steals to her totals … Shot 32 percent from the floor, including 23.9 percent from 3-point range, and was a 54 percent free-throw shooter … Scored in double figures just once – a career-high 14 points against Minnesota … Had a career-best eight assists against Alcorn State.
Analyzing Wilson’s game: As the only true point guard on the team, Wilson’s biggest improvement must be to her assist-to-turnover ratio (0.86). Her quickness did allow her to register 31 steals – third among returning Hokies, but she will need to improve upon her shooting, especially from the free-throw line, where she hit just 27 of her 50 attempts a year ago.
Wolff’s take: “Aerial is going to be called upon to carry a heavier load than she’s ever had here in the past. She is our only returning point guard. We’ve spent a lot of time over the summer talking to her on how to play the point and the things that go into a point guard’s responsibility. We are going to be leaning on her a lot to lead the team.”
#22 Porschia Hadley
R-sophomore
Forward/center
6-3
Montezuma, Ga.
Inside the numbers: Played in just eight games, including six starts, before suffering an ACL tear in her right knee … Averaged 4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in her short time on the court, while blocking eight shots … Shot 28.6 percent from the floor and was a 70.6 percent free-throw shooter … Scored a season-high nine points in back-to-back games and has hit double figures twice in her career – both times as a freshman.
Analyzing Hadley’s game: The signs Hadley showed of her improvements over her freshman campaign – most notably on the glass – were stymied when she was injured. The biggest question for her is can she get back to the player whom she was on the way to being before the injury?
Wolff’s take: “She is probably our most skilled offensive player in the frontcourt. She has a good 17-foot jump shot and has nice touch around the basket. She’s still feeling her way back from the knee surgery she had last year, and once she becomes able to run as well as she can, she will be able to make an impact on our team.”
#20 Nia Evans
Sophomore
Forward
6-0
Decatur, Ga.
Inside the numbers: Played in 30 games, which included 12 starts … Averaged 4.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game … Added 21 steals and 18 blocks to her totals … Shot a team-best 47.5 percent from the floor and was a 62.5 percent free-throw shooter … Scored in double figures five times, including a career-high 16 points against Radford, while also pulling down a career-high 12 rebounds for her first career double-double.
Analyzing Evans’ game: Through the first 11 games (eight starts), Evans was on her way to a suburb freshman campaign, averaging 7.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 19.2 minutes per contest – which included her only double-double. However, over the next 19 games, her minutes declined, as did her averages (3.0, 2.0, 13.4), while suffering through foul trouble. To be successful, she will need to stay in the game.
Wolff’s take: “Nia is a very talented player. She is probably our most aggressive player and has the ability to score around the basket and facing the basket. She has the ability to be a very good defensive player. Last year, like with most freshmen, she found herself in foul trouble, so we’ve been spending time speaking with her about being aggressive without going over the line and fouling.”
#43 Latorri Hines-Allen
Sophomore
Forward
6-1
Montclair, N.J.
Inside the numbers: Played in 23 games, including one start … Averaged 3.2 points and 2 rebounds per game and added 10 blocks to her totals … Shot 43.1 percent from the floor and was a 58.1 percent free-throw shooter … Scored in double figures twice, including a career-high 10 points against both William & Mary and Virginia.
Analyzing Hines-Allen’s game: Hines-Allen suffered a knee injury and was out of basketball for more than a year before last year’s campaign. She was limited in minutes for much of the season, but showed promise in a number of games with a good inside presence. In the eight games that she played at least 15 minutes, she averaged almost seven points per game.
Wolff’s take: “Torri is probably our most improved player from last year. She spent a lot of time in the gym. She is a very good athlete. She can run well. She is strong. We’ve spent time talking with her about identifying how she can play and what her strengths are, and I think now she understands how she can help and make contributions.”
#21 Brittni Montgomery
Sophomore
Forward
6-3
Ft. Pierce, Fla.
Inside the numbers: Played in 20 games, averaging 2.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game … Shot 62.9 percent from the floor and was just 1 of 4 on free-throw attempts … Scored a career-high six points twice, coming against Alcorn State and Georgia Tech … Notched a double-figure rebounding game (10) at Minnesota and blocked three of her six shots on the season against Florida State.
Analyzing Montgomery’s game: Montgomery did not see action in almost as many games during the first two months of the season as she played in (eight of the of the team’s first 18 games). Surprisingly, then, were her increased minutes during ACC play – almost 10 minutes opposed to seven in non-conference. Her size and her shooting touch begs for more playing time.
Wolff’s take: “Brittni is our best athlete in the frontcourt. She runs well and has good timing on blocking shots. She has a lot of ability. We’re just trying to push her to develop a little bit of a motor for the game. I think once she does that, then she will be a contributing player from the start of the year.”
#31 Monet Tellier
Sophomore
Guard
5-11
Charlotte, N.C.
Inside the numbers: Played in 30 games, including starts in 16 contests … Averaged 8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game … Added 52 assists, 41 steals (best among returners) and seven blocks to her totals … Shot 38.1 percent from the floor, including 31.7 percent from 3-point range, and was a 60.7 percent free-throw shooter … Scored in double figures 10 times, including a string of six straight, and had two 23-point efforts (Vanderbilt and NC State) … Notched three double-doubles on the season – William & Mary (14 points, 10 rebounds), Charlotte (13 and 10) and Wake Forest (11 and 10).
Analyzing Tellier’s game: Tellier was the Hokies top freshman and showed the potential to be a top-notch scorer, but struggled at times with her shot. She also needs to continue improving her free-throw shooting and her ability to handle the ball and make better decisions – she led the team with 102 turnovers a year ago. Her extended playing time a year ago will only help her this season.
Wolff’s take: “Monet is a combination two-three [shooting guard or small forward] and has a very good knack for the game. She has a great scoring touch and has good range on her shot. She logged a lot of time last year and played well at times offensively, but I think with a little bit of change of emphasis, she is going to need to use her abilities defensively, which will continue to grow her game out.”
#23 Larryqua Hall
Freshman
Guard
5-10
Marietta, Ga.
Inside the numbers: Scored 1,442 career points at Hillgrove High School and was a first-team All-Region 7 AAAA selection as both a junior and senior ... Named 2010-11 Marietta Journal player of the year ... Had 1,035 career points after three years to become only the second player, and the first junior, in Hillgrove High history to reach the milestone ... Had 788 career rebounds with 392 steals, 117 assists and 79 blocks ... Led team to 2011 state Elite Eight and to the 2010 state Sweet Sixteen.
Analyzing Hall’s game: Hall is considered a wing player who has very good defensive instincts, but is still evolving in several of the finer aspects of the game. With the limited number of players on the team, she should see extended minutes that can only help.
Wolff’s take: “Ryqua is a good athlete. If she can continue to embrace some of the things we are trying to put in with the coaching change and the style of play, she will have a chance to contribute as the year goes on. Right now, we are trying to take our time and ease herself into the program.”
