2020–21 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season

The 2020–21 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season began with practices in November 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in December 2020 and will conclude in March with the 2021 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.

2020–21 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Number of teams15
TV partner(s)ACC Network, ESPN, Regional Sports Networks
WNBA Draft
2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season
ACC Tournament
2020–21 ACC women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 3 Louisville11–1 .917  18–1  .947
No. 4 NC State7–2 .778  12–2  .857
Georgia Tech9–3 .750  11–4  .733
Syracuse8–4 .667  11–4  .733
Notre Dame6–6 .500  8–8  .500
Florida State5–5 .500  6–5  .545
Wake Forest6–7 .462  9–8  .529
Clemson5–7 .417  10–7  .588
Virginia Tech5–7 .417  10–7  .588
Miami (FL)5–7 .417  8–7  .533
North Carolina4–8 .333  9–8  .529
Pittsburgh2–6 .250  4–7  .364
Boston College1–8 .111  5–8  .385
Duke0–1 .000  3–1  .750
Virginia0–2 .000  0–5  .000
Duke suspended their season on December 25, 2020
Virginia suspended their season on January 14, 2021
† 2021 ACC Tournament winner
As of February 8, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll

Head coaches

Coaching changes
  • On July 2, 2020 Duke announced that head coach Joanne McCallie had retired after thirteen years as head coach.[1] On July 11, 2020, Kara Lawson was announced as the new head coach.[2]
  • On April 22, 2020 Muffet McGraw announced she would be retiring as head coach at Notre Dame after thirty three years in charge. On the same day, Niele Ivey was announced as her replacement.[3]

Coaches
Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Record at school ACC record ACC titles NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA Championships
Boston College Joanna Bernabei-McNamee Albany 3 34–28 14–20 0 0 0 0
Clemson Amanda Butler Florida 3 28–36 12–22 0 1 0 0
Duke Kara Lawson Boston Celtics (Assistant) 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0
Florida State Sue Semrau Wisconsin (Assistant) 24 475–257 207–151 2 15 0 0
Georgia Tech Nell Fortner Auburn 2 20–11 10–8 0 0 0 0
Louisville Jeff Walz Maryland (Assistant) 14 360–103 161–52 1 5 3 0
Miami Katie Meier Charlotte 16 292–187 118–114 1 8 0 0
NC State Wes Moore Chattanooga 8 167–61 77–37 1 4 0 0
North Carolina Courtney Banghart Princeton 2 16–14 7–11 0 0 0 0
Notre Dame Niele Ivey Memphis Grizzlies (Assistant) 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0
Pittsburgh Lance White Florida State (Assistant) 3 16–46 3–31 0 0 0 0
Syracuse Quentin Hillsman Syracuse (Assistant) 14 158–72 75–49 0 6 1 0
Virginia Tina Thompson Texas (Associate Head Coach) 3 25–36 13–21 0 0 0 0
Virginia Tech Kenny Brooks James Madison 5 86–49 27–39 0 0 0 0
Wake Forest Jennifer Hoover High Point 9 114–140 37–95 0 0 0 0

Notes:

  • Year at school includes 2020–21 season.
  • Overall and ACC records are from time at current school and are through the end the 2019–20 season.
  • NCAA Tournament appearances are from time at current school only.
  • NCAA Final Fours and Championship include time at other schools

Preseason

Preseason watch lists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.

Lieberman[4] Drysdale[5] Miller[6] McClain[7] Leslie[8] Naismith[9] Wooden[10]
Tiana England–Florida State
Hailey Van Lith – Louisville
Raina Perez – NC State
Tiana Mangakahia – Syracuse		 Dana Evans – Louisville
Jakia Brown-Turner – NC State
Kiara Lewis – Syracuse		 Taylor Soule – Boston College
Elizabeth Balogun – Louisville
Ivana Raca – Wake Forest		 Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame Jade Williams – Duke
Elissa Cunane – NC State
Janelle Bailey – North Carolina
Kamilla Cardoso – Syracuse
Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech		 Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame
Elissa Cunane – NC State
Dana Evans – Louisville
Kiara Lewis – Syracuse
Tiana Mangakahia – Syracuse
Taylor Soule – Boston College
Hailey Van Lith – Louisville		 Elissa Cunane – NC State
Dana Evans – Louisville
Kiara Lewis – Syracuse
Tiana Mangakahia – Syracuse

ACC Women's Basketball Tip-off

Prior to the start of the season, the ACC hosted two media days virtually. At the media day, the head coaches voted on the finishing order of the teams, an All-ACC team, a Preseason Player of the Year, and Newcomers to watch. The media day was hosted on November 11&12, 2020. A selected group of student athletes also took questions from the media on this day.[11]

At the media day, both the head coaches and the Blue Ribbon Panel predicted that Louisville would be league champion.[12]

ACC preseason polls

First place votes shown in parenthesis.

2020 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason Polls
Head Coaches Blue Ribbon Panel
  1. Louisville (13) – 223
  2. NC State (2) – 210
  3. Syracuse – 193
  4. North Carolina – 157
  5. Georgia Tech – 146
  6. Notre Dame – 138
  7. Virginia Tech – 125
  8. Florida State – 124
  9. Boston College – 120
  10. Miami – 99
  11. Duke – 74
  12. Wake Forest – 73
  13. Clemson – 56
  14. Pitt – 37
  15. Virginia – 25
  1. Louisville (45) – 840
  2. NC State (10) – 797
  3. Syracuse (2) – 724
  4. Notre Dame – 555
  5. North Carolina – 547
  6. Florida State – 516
  7. Virginia Tech – 482
  8. Boston College – 468
  9. Georgia Tech – 452
  10. Duke – 385
  11. Miami – 359
  12. Wake Forest – 258
  13. Clemson – 183
  14. Virginia – 149
  15. Pitt – 125

Preseason All-ACC Teams
2020 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason All-ACC Teams
Head Coaches Blue Ribbon Panel
  • Taylor Soule – Boston College
  • Dana Evans – Louisville
  • Janelle Bailey – North Carolina
  • Jakia Brown-Turner – NC State
  • Elissa Cunane – NC State
  • Kiara Lewis – Syracuse
  • Tiana Mangakahia – Syracuse
  • Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech
  • Aisha Sheppard – Virginia Tech
  • Ivana Raca – Wake Forest
  • Taylor Soule – Boston College
  • Dana Evans – Louisville
  • Janelle Bailey – North Carolina
  • Elissa Cunane – NC State
  • Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame
  • Kiara Lewis – Syracuse
  • Tiana Mangakahia – Syracuse
  • Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech
  • Aisha Sheppard – Virginia Tech
  • Ivana Raca – Wake Forest

Preseason ACC Player of the Year
2020 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Head Coaches Blue Ribbon Panel
Dana Evans – Louisville

Newcomer Watchlist
2020 ACC Women's Basketball Newcomer Watchlists
Head Coaches Blue Ribbon Panel
  • Hailey Van Lith – Louisville
  • Kianna Smith – Louisville
  • Deja Kelly – North Carolina
  • Maddy Westbeld – Notre Dame
  • Kamilla Cardoso – Syracuse
  • Tiana England – Florida State
  • Hailey Van Lith – Louisville
  • Deja Kelly – North Carolina
  • Maddy Westbeld – Notre Dame
  • Kamilla Cardoso – Syracuse

Regular season

Rankings
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
    First Place votes shown in ()
Main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
 PreWk
2		Wk
3		Wk
4		Wk
5		Wk
6		Wk
7		Wk
8		Wk
9		Wk
10		Wk
11		Wk
12		Wk
13		Wk
14		Wk
15		Wk
16		Wk
17		Wk
18		Wk
19		Final
Boston College AP RV RV RV RV
C
Clemson AP
C RV RV RV RV
Duke AP RV RV
C
Florida State AP RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
Georgia Tech AP RV RV RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV
Louisville AP 5 5 2 (2) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 2 1 (20) 1 (22) 1 (26) 3
C 5 2 (6) 2 (6) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1) 1 (30) 1 (30) 3 (5) 2 (11)
Miami AP
C
North Carolina AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV
NC State AP 8 8 4 (2) 4 (2) 4 (2) 3 (2) 3 (2)т 3 (1) 2 (5) 2 (5) 4 4 (1)
C 6 3 (1) 3 3 3 3 3 2 (1) 2 (2) 2 (7) 6
Notre Dame AP 22 RV RV
C 23 RV
Pittsburgh AP
C
Syracuse AP 23 22 20 18 22 22 24 24 23 RV RV RV
C 21 18 16 20т 20 20 21 20 RV RV RV
Virginia AP
C
Virginia Tech AP RV RV RV RV
C RV RV 25т RV RV RV
Wake Forest AP RV RV RV RV RV
C RV RV

Note: The Coaches Poll releases a final poll after the NCAA tournament, but the AP Poll does not release a poll at this time.

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team played 20 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent. This marked the first year that teams played a twenty-game conference schedule.[13]

Duke suspended its season on December 25, 2020.[14]
Virginia suspended its season on January 14, 2021.[15]

  Boston College Clemson Duke Florida State Georgia Tech Louisville Miami North Carolina NC State Notre Dame Pittsburgh Syracuse Virginia Virginia Tech Wake Forest
vs. Boston College –0–00–00–086–6889–70
97–68		0–00–075–69
76–57		61–64
83–73		0–083–700–00–068–48
vs. Clemson 0–0–0–069–72
95–88 (2OT)		67–55
71–69		70–4580–710–00–055–7880–71
79–69		77–86 (OT)55–710–066–69
vs. Duke 0–00–0–0–00–073–490–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0
vs. Florida State 0–072–69
88–95 (2OT)		0–0–66–5884–5668–5351–610–00–053–670–051–6963–7373–59
vs. Georgia Tech 68–8655–67
69–71		0–058–66–0–056–700–084–7567–82
69–67		0–063–760–054–5644–73
61–52
vs. Louisville 70–89
68–97		45–7049–7356–840–0–76–7968–7974–6065–710–054–670–067–7163–65
vs. Miami 0–071–800–053–6870–5679–76–63–67
59–69		87–4771–6068–7269–58
99–64		0–00–063–60
vs. North Carolina 0–00–00–061–510–079–6867–63
69–59		–69–7673–780–068–92
88–76		0–066–54
73–69		57–54
74–77 (OT)
vs. NC State 69–75
57–76		0–00–00–075–8460–7447–7876–69–0–00–00–00–087–89
83–71 (OT)		65–79
vs. Notre Dame 64–61
73–83		78–550–00–082–67
67–69		71–6560–7178–730–0–0–081–690–078–84
60–65		72–79
vs. Pittsburgh 0–071–80
69–79		0–067–530–00–072–680–00–00–0–80–57
71–67		0–088–71
74–55		0–0
vs. Syracuse 70–8386–77 (OT)0–00–076–6367–5458–69
64–99		92–68
76–88		0–069–8157–80
67–71		–0–00–078–85
vs. Virginia 0–071–550–069–510–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0–0–00–0
vs. Virginia Tech 0–00–00–073–6356–5471–670–054–66
69–73		89–87
71–83 (OT)		84–78
65–60		71–88
55–74		0–00–0–67–64
vs. Wake Forest 48–6869–660–059–7373–44
52–61		65–6360–6354–57
77–74 (OT)		79–6579–720–085–780–064–67–
Total 1–85–70–15–59–311–15–74–87–26–62–68–40–25–76–7

Player of the week

Throughout the conference regular season, the Atlantic Coast Conference offices named a Player(s) of the week and a Rookie(s) of the week.

Week Player of the week Freshman of the week Reference
Week 1 – Nov. 30 Taylor Soule – Boston College Hailey Van Lith – Louisville [16]
Week 2 – Dec. 7 Kayla Jones – NC State Maddy Westbeld – Notre Dame [17]
Week 3 – Dec. 14 Lotta-Maj Lahtinen – Georgia Tech Loyal McQueen – Georgia Tech [18]
Week 4 – Dec. 21 Janelle Bailey – North Carolina Gabby Elliott – Clemson [19]
Week 5 – Jan. 4 Jada Boyd – NC State Maddy Westbeld (2) – Notre Dame [20]
Week 6 – Jan. 11 Ivana Raca – Wake Forest Hailey Van Lith (2) – Louisville [21]
Week 7 – Jan. 18 Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech Priscilla Williams – Syracuse [22]
Gina Conti – Wake Forest
Week 8 – Jan. 25 Dana Evans – Louisville Kamilla Cardoso – Syracuse [23]
Week 9 – Feb. 1 Aisha Sheppard – Virginia Tech Kamilla Cardoso (2) – Syracuse [24]
Week 10 – Feb. 8 Dana Evans (2) – Louisville Kamilla Cardoso (3) – Syracuse [25]

Postseason

ACC Tournament
Main article: 2021 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament
  First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship
                                               
1  
     
8
9  
   
   
4
     
5
     
12
13  
2  
     
7
10  
 
   
3
     
6
 

NCAA Tournament
Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament

Honors and awards

ACC Awards
2020 ACC Women's Basketball Individual Awards
Award Recipient(s)
Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Freshman of the Year
Sixth Player of the Year
Most Improved Player
2020 ACC Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams (Blue Ribbon Panel)
First Team Second Team Honorable Mention Freshman Team
2020 ACC Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams (Head Coaches)
First Team Second Team Honorable Mention Freshman Team
2020 ACC Women's Basketball All-ACC Defensive Team
Player Team

WNBA Draft
PlayerTeamRoundPick #PositionSchool

References
  1. Wiseman, Steve (July 2, 2020). "Duke's Joanne P. McCallie resigns as women's basketball coach". newsobserver.com. Raleight News & Observer. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  2. Chase, Brandon (July 11, 2020). "Kara Lawson accepts head women's basketball coach position at Duke". boston.com. Boston Globe. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  3. Voepel, Mechelle. "Muffet McGraw steps down as women's basketball coach at Notre Dame". ESPN. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  4. "Basketball Hall of Fame, WBCA Name Twenty Point Guards to Watch List for 2021 Nancy Lieberman Award". hoophall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  5. "Basketball Hall of Fame, WBCA Name Twenty Shooting Guards to Watch List for 2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award". hoophall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  6. "Basketball Hall of Fame, WBCA Name Twenty Shooting Guards to Watch List for 2021 Cheryl Miller Award". hoophall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  7. "Basketball Hall of Fame, WBCA Name Twenty Power Forwards to Watch List for 2021 Katrina McClain Award". hoophall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  8. "Basketball Hall of Fame, WBCA Name Twenty Centers to Watch List for 2021 Lisa Leslie Award". hoophall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  9. "Women's Basketball's Collier named to Naismith Trophy Watch List". texassports.com. University of Texas Athletics. November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  10. "John R. Wooden Award Presented By Wendy's Announces Preseason Top 30 Watch List". woodenaward.com. John R. Wooden Award. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  11. "ACC Announces Student-Athletes for Operation Basketball, Women's Basketball Tipoff". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  12. "Louisville Chosen as ACC Women's Basketball Preseason Favorite". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conferece. November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  13. "2020-21 ACC Women's Basketball Conference Schedule Announced". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  14. "Duke Blue Devils end women's basketball season amid coronavirus concerns". espn.com. ESPN. December 25, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  15. Voepel, Mechelle (January 14, 2021). "Virginia women's basketball team cancels rest of season due to coronavirus issues". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  16. "Boston College's Soule, Louisville's Van Lith Earn First ACC Women's Basketball Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  17. "NC State's Jones, Notre Dame's Westbeld Claim ACC WBB Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  18. "Georgia Tech Sweeps ACC Women's Basketball Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  19. "North Carolina's Bailey, Clemson's Elliott Earn ACC WBB Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  20. "NC State's Boyd, Notre Dame's Westbeld Earn ACC WBB Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  21. "Wake Forest's Raca, Louisville's Van Lith Earn ACC WBB Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  22. "Wake Forest's Raca, Louisville's Van Lith Earn ACC WBB Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  23. "Louisville's Evans, Syracuse's Cardoso Earn ACC WBB Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  24. "Virginia Tech's Sheppard, Syracuse's Cardoso Earn ACC WBB Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  25. "Louisville's Evans, Syracuse's Cardoso Earn WBB Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
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