# 2020–21 VCU Rams women's basketball team

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

## Previous season

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. 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| 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

| 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

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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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
### A10 media poll

The Atlantic 10 men's basketball media poll was released on November 9, 2020. VCU was picked to win the regular season.
A10 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Points | 1st Votes |
| 1 | VCU | 185 | 10 |
| 2 | Dayton | 176 | 2 |
| 3 | Saint Louis | 171 | 1 |
| 4 | Davidson | 140 | 0 |
| 4 | Duquesne | 140 | 1 |
| 4 | 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

| Recipient | Award |
| Tera Reed | Atlantic 10 Preseason First-Team |
| Taya Robinson | Atlantic 10 Preseason Second-Team |
| Taya Robinson | Atlantic 10 Preseason Defensive Team |

## Schedule

| 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 | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | 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 | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | 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. |||||||||