2020–21 VCU Rams women's basketball team

2020–21 VCU Rams women's basketball
2020–21 VCU Rams women's basketball
Atlantic 10 tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	16–11 (10–5 A-10)
Head coach	Beth O'Boyle (7th season);
Assistant coaches	Kirk Crawford; Terry Zeh; Morgan Williams;
Home arena	Siegel Center
	Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Atlantic 10 women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Dayton	12	–	1	.923	14	–	3	.824
Fordham	8	–	2	.800	12	–	4	.750
Saint Louis	9	–	3	.750	12	–	4	.750
Rhode Island	11	–	4	.733	11	–	8	.579
VCU †	10	–	5	.667	16	–	10	.615
Richmond	9	–	6	.600	13	–	9	.591
UMass	7	–	5	.583	14	–	7	.667
La Salle	7	–	10	.412	12	–	14	.462
Duquesne	4	–	7	.364	5	–	11	.313
Saint Joseph's	5	–	9	.357	7	–	10	.412
George Washington	5	–	9	.357	9	–	14	.391
Davidson	5	–	10	.333	9	–	14	.391
St. Bonaventure	5	–	12	.294	6	–	15	.286
George Mason	0	–	14	.000	3	–	19	.136


† 2021 A10 Tournament winner As of March 14, 2021 Rankings from AP poll

The 2020–21 VCU Rams women's basketball team represents Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. It is the program's 47th season of existence, and their eighth season in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Rams are led by seventh year head coach Beth O'Boyle and play their home games at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

Previous season[edit]

VCU finished the 2019–20 season with an 20–12 record and a 13–3 record in Atlantic 10 play, finishing second in the Atlantic 10. VCU were seeded second in the 2020 Atlantic 10 women's basketball tournament, where they defeated Davidson and Fordham en route to the Atlantic 10 Championship. There, they lost to Dayton in the final.^[1] VCU was considered a potential at-large bid for the 2020 Women's National Invitation Tournament, but all postseason tournaments were cancelled by the NCAA due to rising concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2]

Offseason[edit]

Departures[edit]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes
K.K. Tassin	0	G	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Senior	Byram, Mississippi	Graduated
Danielle Hammond	30	C	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Senior	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Graduated
Nyra Williams	34	G	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	Senior	Hampton, Virginia	Graduated

Transfers[edit]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes
Janika Griffith-Wallace	2	G	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	RS-Junior	Brampton, Ontario, Canada	Transferred from Murray State
Chloe Bloom	13	F	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Sophomore	Wedderburn, Victoria, Australia	Transferred from Oklahoma
Samantha Robinson	35	F	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	RS-Sophomore	Bradford, Ontario, Canada	Transferred from Central Michigan

2020 recruiting class[edit]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Camila Contreras C	Socorro, TX	San Elizario High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	N/A	Sep 15, 2019
Camila Contreras C	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Rain Green PG	Baltimore, MD	Roland Park Country School	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	N/A	Apr 14, 2019
Rain Green PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Elze Motekaityte PF	Klaipėda, LTU	New Hope Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A	Nov 14, 2019
Elze Motekaityte PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Sarah Te-Biasu PG	Montreal, QC	Niagara Prep	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	N/A	Nov 25, 2019
Sarah Te-Biasu PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Dasia Townes SG	Baltimore, MD	Baltimore Polytechnic Institute	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	N/A	Nov 14, 2019
Dasia Townes SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "VCU 2020 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.

Preseason[edit]

A10 media poll[edit]

The Atlantic 10 men's basketball media poll was released on November 9, 2020. VCU was picked to win the regular season.^[3]

Predicted finish	Team	Points	1st Votes
A10 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll^[4]
1	VCU	185	10
2	Dayton	176	2
3	Saint Louis	171	1
4	Davidson	140	0
	Duquesne	140	1
	Fordham	140	0
7	UMass	118	0
8	Richmond	81	0
9	George Washington	78	0
10	La Salle	70	0
11	Rhode Island	65	0
12	St. Bonaventure	42	0
13	Saint Joseph's	41	0
14	George Mason	23	0

Preseason honors[edit]

Recipient	Award	Ref.
Tera Reed	Atlantic 10 Preseason First-Team	^[4]
Taya Robinson	Atlantic 10 Preseason Second-Team	^[4]
Taya Robinson	Atlantic 10 Preseason Defensive Team	^[4]

Roster[edit]

2020–21 VCU Rams women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Sarah Te-Biasu	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	Fr	Niagara Prep	Montreal, Quebec
G	1	Taya Robinson	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Sr	Huguenot	Richmond, Virginia
G	2	Janika Griffith-Wallace	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	RS Jr	Murray State	Brampton, Ontario
G	3	Madison Hattix-Covington	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	RS Jr	Ellison	Killeen, Texas
G	5	Olga Petrova	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Sr	Dynamo Moscow	Rostov, Russia
G	12	Dasia Townes	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Fr	Baltimore Poly	Baltimore, Maryland
C	13	Chloe Bloom	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	So	Oklahoma	Wedderburn, Australia
C	15	Sofya Pashigoreva	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	Sr		Moscow, Russia
G	20	Sofya Nelson	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	So	King's Christian	Blackwood, New Jersey
F	22	Sydnei Archie	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Sr	St. Catherine's (VA)	Richmond, Virginia

Head coach

Beth O'Boyle (Rochester)

Assistant coach(es)

Kirk Crawford (Western Colorado)
Terry Zeh (St. Bonaventure)
Morgan Williams (VCU)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 18, 2020

Schedule[edit]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020* 9:30 p.m., FBL		vs. Saint Mary's Arizona State MTE	W 87–79	1–0	22 – Reed	7 – T. Robinson	5 – Te-Biasu	Desert Financial Arena (199) Tempe, AZ
November 27, 2020* 6:30 p.m., P12N		at Arizona State Arizona State MTE	L 40–49	1–1	16 – Hattix-Covington	8 – Te-Biasu	4 – Te-Biasu	Desert Financial Arena (68) Tempe, AZ
November 28, 2020* 3:00 p.m., FBL		vs. Stephen F. Austin Arizona State MTE	L 66–71	1–2	19 – Griffith-Wallace	5 – Tied	2 – Hattix-Covington	Desert Financial Arena (0) Tempe, AZ
December 3, 2020* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Buffalo	W 61–55	2–2	20 – T. Robinson	10 – Archie	4 – Te-Biasu	Siegel Center (72) Richmond, VA
December 6, 2020* 2:00 p.m., CUSATV		at Old Dominion Rivalry	L 76–81	2–3	18 – Te-Biasu	8 – Archie	4 – Tied	Chartway Arena (250) Norfolk, VA
December 9, 2020* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at East Carolina	L 55–58	2–4	13 – Tied	6 – Tied	6 – T. Robinson	Minges Coliseum (0) Greenville, NC
December 17, 2020* 3:00 p.m., SECN+		at Vanderbilt	L 80–91	2–5	21 – Reed	10 – T. Robinson	4 – Reed	Memorial Gymnasium (46) Nashville, TN
Atlantic 10 regular season
December 20, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Richmond Capital City Classic	W 73–49	3–5 (1–0)	15 – T. Robinson	12 – Archie	4 – Reed	Robins Center (0) Richmond, VA
January 8, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Duquesne	W 68–63 ^OT	4–5 (2–0)	16 – Tied	9 – Tied	5 – Reed	Palumbo Center (0) Pittsburgh, PA
January 10, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		at St. Bonaventure	W 69–67 ^OT	5–5 (3–0)	17 – Archie	10 – Archie	2 – Tied	Reilly Center (0) Olean, NY
January 13, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		George Mason Mason rivalry	W 60–41	6–5 (4–0)	11 – Reed	7 – Te-Biasu	2 – Archie	Siegel Center (50) Richmond, VA
January 15, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		UMass	L 49–55	6–6 (4–1)	14 – T. Robinson	–	–	Siegel Center (111) Richmond, VA
January 24, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Richmond Capital City Classic	L 64–69	6–7 (4–2)	16 – T. Robinson	6 – T. Robinson	5 – Reed	Siegel Center (123) Richmond, VA
January 27, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		George Washington	W 67–60	7–7 (5–2)	–	–	–	Siegel Center Richmond, VA
January 29, 2021 6:00 p.m.		at George Mason Mason rivalry	W 64–56	8–7 (6–2)	–	–	–	EagleBank Arena Fairfax, VA
February 1, 2021 2:00 p.m.		at George Washington	W 64–50	9–7 (7–2)	–	–	–	Charles E. Smith Center Washington, DC
February 5, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Davidson	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					Siegel Center Richmond, VA
February 7, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Fordham	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					Siegel Center Richmond, VA
February 12, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Saint Louis	L 50–66	9–8 (7–3)	–	–	–	Chaifetz Arena St. Louis, MO
February 14, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Dayton	L 62–67	9–9 (7–4)	18 – T. Robinson	7 – Pashigoreva	4 – Reed	UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH
February 18, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		La Salle	W 63–62	10–9 (8–4)	13 – Te-Biasu	9 – Reed	5 – Te-Biasu	Siegel Center (63) Richmond, VA
February 20, 2021 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Saint Joseph's	W 64–49	11–9 (9–4)	16 – T. Robinson	6 – S. Robinson	3 – Te-Biasu	Siegel Center (163) Richmond, VA
February 26, 2021 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		at UMass	W 72–69	12–9 (10–4)	17 – T. Robinson	8 – T. Robinson	6 – Tied	Mullins Center (0) Amherst, MA
February 28, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Rhode Island	L 68–87	12–10 (10–5)	18 – Robinson	4 – Tied	8 – Reed	Ryan Center (0) Kingston, RI
Atlantic 10 Tournament
March 11, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	(5)	(12) Davidson Second round	W 69–52	13–10	20 – Reed	16 – Bloom	3 – Te-Biasu	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
March 12, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	(5)	(4) Rhode Island Quarterfinals	W 64–57	14–10	24 – T. Robinson	10 – Bloom	3 – Griffith-Wallace	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
March 13, 2021 1:00 p.m., CBSSN	(5)	(1) Dayton Semifinals	W 56–50	15–10	18 – T. Robinson	9 – S. Robinson	3 – Reed	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
March 14, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPNU	(5)	(7) UMass Championship	W 81–69	16–10	19 – Tied	5 – Tied	3 – Reed	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
NCAA Women's Tournament
March 22, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPNU	(13)	vs. (4) No. 12 Indiana First round	L 32–63	16–11	8 – Tied	9 – Reed	4 – Te-Biasu	UTSA Convocation Center San Antonio, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

References[edit]

^ "Rams Fall to Dayton in A-10 Championship Battle, 52-48". VCUAthletics.com. Virginia Commonwealth University Athletics. March 8, 2020.
^ "Postseason WNIT Cancelled". Women's National Invitation Tournament. March 12, 2020. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
^ "A-10 Releases Women's Basketball Preseason Poll". University of Rhode Island Athletics. November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "VCU Picked to Win Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball; 23 Student-Athletes Earn Preseason Honors". Atlantic 10 Conference. November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.

External links[edit]

VCU Women's Basketball

[1] "Rams Fall to Dayton in A-10 Championship Battle, 52-48". VCUAthletics.com. Virginia Commonwealth University Athletics. March 8, 2020.

[WNIT_cancelled_2020-2] "Postseason WNIT Cancelled". Women's National Invitation Tournament. March 12, 2020. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.

[3] "A-10 Releases Women's Basketball Preseason Poll". University of Rhode Island Athletics. November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.

[preseason_poll_and_honors-4] "VCU Picked to Win Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball; 23 Student-Athletes Earn Preseason Honors". Atlantic 10 Conference. November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e VCU Rams women's basketball
Venues	Richmond Coliseum (1974–1999) Siegel Center (1999–present)
Rivalries	George Mason Old Dominion Richmond
Culture & lore	History Rodney the Ram
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24