Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 13 No. 4 | March 2021

18 Inside Hokie Sports The Gatorade Player of the Year in Washington, DC in high school, Sheppard was a USA Today High School All-American and an ESPN HoopGurlz 5-star recruit who had a plethora of suitors. The best fit for her? Committing to go to a small town in southwest Virginia playing for a coach in his first season at the Power Five level, but who, like her was a dreamer. The two had a vision of what Virginia Tech women’s basketball could be and have worked tirelessly since to make it a reality. Fast forward to March of 2021 and Sheppard, already a First Team All-ACC performer, has eclipsed the mark of former Hokie great Vanessa Panousis (class of 2017), to become the top 3-point shooter to ever wear a maroon and orange jersey and is one of the top 10 scorers to ever play for the Hokies. “Personally, I’ve always felt like I came here and helped Coach Brooks kind of start this and get this rolling,” Sheppard said following the team’s historic win over NC State in February. “That was one of the things we talked about when he recruited me. To see all these things come to fruition and to be able to beat the number two team in the country, those are things that I literally have dreamed about since being a little girl and why I was wanting to come here. Just to see that happen is just really touching to me and just to be able to say that I’ve stayed the course—that’s really for me what it is. I just love that I have trusted the process and my coaches have trusted me and my teammates.” Sheppard became Head Coach Kenny Brooks’ first commit in August of 2016, with the two sharing a vision of changing the culture and ultimately the direction of the Hokies’ program. Brooks took over a program that had not won six league games since 2007 and he’s now guided the Hokies to four consecutive seasons with six or more, including the 2019-20 team that won 11. Sheppard has been by his side each step of the way, the only student-athlete to feature in all four of those successive seasons. A role player for most of her first two years, Sheppard had to find her footing in the college game and adjust to the style that the Hokies wanted to play. Of course, she was also behind more accomplished players like Kendyl Brooks and Taylor Emery who would help guide her development while making history of their own. Those two are amongst the most prolific shooters to come through Blacksburg as well, ranking fifth and eighth all-time at Tech in terms of 3-pointers made. Sheppard watched them work and set her sights on having the same impact to the team that those ladies did, a goal that would not take long to ultimately accomplish. “It’s a success story that there are few and far between now because in this day and age because of the transfer portal, kids will put their name in as soon as they don’t get what they want immediately,” Brooks said of his prolific wing scorer and her initial lack of playing time at the beginning of her career. He never doubted the talent that she had, but he understood it would take time to truly understand the system and style that Brooks was implementing. “Sheppard I think is going to benefit from it in the long run,” he said of her time on the bench early in her career. “It’s helped develop her personality, its developed her work ethic. So now when she gets out in the real world, she’ll be ready to go because she’s endured a lot of this adversity and handled it with grace and I’m very proud of what she’s done.” With her future uncertain with one more season of eligibility, the Hokies don’t know if Sheppard will return to campus for one last go ‘round. Regardless, her impact has been felt, not just in Blacksburg but across the league by every team who has tried to scheme a defense to slow her down—with few having done so effectively. Continued from page 17