2019–20 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season

The 2019–20 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in January 2020 and will conclude in March with the 2020 ACC women's basketball tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.

The postseason was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak. On March 12, the NCAA announced the tournament would be cancelled, along with all remaining winter and spring championships. The NCAA tournament and WNIT were both cancelled before they began.

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Georgia Tech fired MaChelle Joseph amid controversy after the 18–19 season. In April, Nell Fortner was announced as the new head coach. Sylvia Hatchell stepped down after 33 years as North Carolina's head coach after an investigation determined she had made “racially insensitive” comments and pressured injured players to compete. Courtney Banghart was announced as the new head coach on April 30.

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Record at school ACC record ACC titles NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsBoston College Joanna Bernabei-McNamee Albany 2 14–16 3–13 0 0 0 0Clemson Amanda Butler Florida 2 20–13 9–7 0 1 0 0Duke Joanne P. McCallie Michigan State 13 312–95 6–10 4 10 0 0Florida State Sue Semrau Wisconsin (Assistant) 23 541–249 196–144 2 15 0 0Georgia Tech Nell Fortner Auburn 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0Louisville Jeff Walz Maryland (Assistant) 13 332–99 145–50 1 5 3 0Miami Katie Meier Charlotte 15 277–172 111–103 1 8 0 0NC State Wes Moore Chattanooga 7 140–57 63–33 0 4 0 0North Carolina Courtney Banghart Princeton 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0Notre Dame Muffet McGraw Lehigh 33 835–233 417–87 5 6 9 2Pittsburgh Lance White Florida State (Assistant) 2 11–20 2–14 0 0 0 0Syracuse Quentin Hillsman Syracuse (Assistant) 13 288–145 66–40 0 6 1 0Virginia Tina Thompson Texas (associate head coach) 2 12–19 5–11 0 0 0 0Virginia Tech Kenny Brooks James Madison 4 65–40 16–32 0 0 0 0Wake Forest Jennifer Hoover High Point 8 98–124 30–84 0 0 0 0 Notes: Year at school includes 2019–20 season. Overall and ACC records are from time at current school and are through the end the 2018–19 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. LiebermanDrysdaleMillerMcClainLeslie Taja Cole – Virginia Tech Haley Gorecki – DukeAislinn Konig – NC StateJocelyn Willoughby – Virginia Francesca Pan – Georgia TechSam Brunelle – Notre Dame Leaonna Odom – DukeKiah Gillespie – Florida State Jade Williams – DukeBeatrice Mompremier – MiamiElissa Cunane – NC StateJanelle Bailey – North Carolina

ACC Women's Basketball Tip-off Prior to the start of the season, the ACC hosted a media day at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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 October 3, 2019. A selected group of student athletes also took questions from the media on this day.

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

ACC preseason polls 2019 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason Polls Head coaches Blue Ribbon Panel Louisville – (13) 223 NC State – (2) 201 Florida State – 190 Miami – 185 Notre Dame – 159 Syracuse – 150 Duke – 143 Clemson – 105 North Carolina – 92 Virginia Tech – 91 Georgia Tech – 70 Virginia – 67 Boston College – 58 Pittsburgh – 41 Wake Forest – 25 Louisville – (34) 713 NC State – (8) 637 Florida State – (3) 623 Notre Dame – (4) 580 Miami – 579 Syracuse – 497 Duke – 432 Clemson – 353 North Carolina – 343 Virginia Tech – 291 Virginia – 229 Georgia Tech – 225 Boston College – 168 Pittsburgh – 122 Wake Forest – 89

Preseason All-ACC Teams 2019 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason All-ACC Teams Head coaches Blue Ribbon Panel Kobi Thornton – Clemson Haley Gorecki – Duke Kicki Ekhomu – Florida State Kiah Gillespie – Florida State Elizabeth Balogun – Louisville Beatrice Mompremier – Miami Elissa Cunane – NC State Aislinn Konig – NC State Janelle Bailey – North Carolina Jocelyn Willoughby – Virginia Kobi Thornton – Clemson Haley Gorecki – Duke Kicki Ekhomu – Florida State Kiah Gillespie – Florida State Elizabeth Balogun – Louisville Dana Evans – Louisville Beatrice Mompremier – Miami Elissa Cunane – NC State Janelle Bailey – North Carolina Jocelyn Willoughby – Virginia

Preseason ACC Player of the Year 2019 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year Head coaches Blue Ribbon Panel Beatrice Mompremier – Miami Beatrice Mompremier – Miami

Newcomer Watchlist 2019 ACC Women's Basketball Newcomer Watchlists Head coaches Blue Ribbon Panel River Baldwin – Florida State Nyah Green – Louisville Jakia Brown-Turner – NC State Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame Anaya Peoples – Notre Dame River Baldwin – Florida State Nyah Green – Louisville Jakia Brown-Turner – NC State Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame Anaya Peoples – Notre Dame

Regular season

Rankings + Legend   Increase in ranking   Decrease in ranking   Not ranked previous week     First Place votes shown in ()

  Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19 FinalBoston College AP RV RVC N/AClemson AP C N/ADuke AP RV RV RV RV RVC RV RV RV RV N/AFlorida State AP 12 12 12 12 т 8 8 8 8 8 11 13 14 14 17 14 17 19 22 18 19C 13 13 13 10 8 8 8 8 11 13 14 14 18 14 18 22 23 20 20 N/AGeorgia Tech AP RV C RV RV RV RV N/ALouisville AP 9 9 8 8 2 (5) 7 6 7 7 7 5 (2) 5 (2) 5 (1) 5 (1) 9 5 5 4 6 6C 9 9 9 2 (5) 7 7 7 7 7 4 (1) 3 4 (1) 4 9 6 5 5 6 7 N/AMiami AP 18 т 17 16 19 21 25 RV 24 23 RV C 19 17 18 22 RV RV RV N/ANorth Carolina AP RV RV RV C N/ANC State AP 14 14 14 12 т 13 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 7 7 4 10 8 10 8 8C 12 12 12 12 9 9 9 9 8 10 8 7 7 4 10 11 10 8 8 N/A Notre Dame AP 16 15 RV RV RV C 14 RV RV RV N/A Pittsburgh AP C N/A Syracuse AP 21 20 17 18 RV RV C 17 15 16 RV RV N/AVirginia AP C N/AVirginia Tech AP RV C N/AWake Forest AP C N/A

Note: The Coaches Poll releases a final poll after the NCAA tournament, but the AP Poll does not release a poll at this time. Due to the cancellation of the NCAA and WNIT tournaments, the Coaches Poll did not release a final poll.

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team played 18 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent. This marked the first year that teams played an eighteen-game conference schedule.   Boston CollegeClemsonDukeFlorida StateGeorgia TechLouisvilleMiamiNorth CarolinaNC StateNotre DamePittsburghSyracuseVirginiaVirginia TechWake Forestvs. Boston College – 68–70 85–73 56–65 48–55 81–7068–48 64–75 75–93 72–54 65–7555–56 70–7959–70 89–7981–88 69–52 70–49 54–67vs. Clemson 70–68 – 58–62 81–6481–54 49–4756–44 75–50 68–6463–48 86–72 79–60 55–71 67–75 (OT) 59–46 70–51 71–50 63–5866–52vs. Duke 73–85 62–58 – 64–66 46–58 60–55 55–74 61–7154–73 63–6065–70 47–50 56–73 58–88 66–6347–62 67–72 (OT)70–56 60–58vs. Florida State 65–56 64–8154–81 66–64 – 67–5265–62 59–67 62–7361–79 64–78 68–51 70–67 41–66 90–89 (OT) 55–63 62–86 65–7067–78vs. Georgia Tech 55–48 47–4944–56 58–46 52–6762–65 – 58–47 54–6154–49 (OT) 67–60 (OT) 61–65 59–51 48–77 64–82 51–61 64–61 (OT) 65–6052–62vs. Louisville 70–8148–68 50–75 55–60 67–59 47–58 – 41–87 67–74 59–66 54–8649–82 49–8347–79 58–6259–51 56–71 53–70 61–75vs. Miami 75–64 64–6848–63 74–55 73–6279–61 61–5449–54 (OT) 87–41 – 78–58 50–48 76–53 54–73 62–77 69–64 69–45 56–5963–79vs. North Carolina 93–75 72–86 71–6173–54 78–64 60–67 (OT) 74–67 58–78 – 60–6676–68 83–65 62–70 74–56 47–6568–78 76–7072–63 82–79 (OT)vs. NC State 54–72 60–79 60–6370–65 51–68 65–61 66–59 48–50 66–6068–76 – 56–90 44–88 60–69 60–8064–75 69–7659–71 45–59vs. Notre Dame 75–6556–55 71–55 50–47 67–70 51–59 86–5482–49 53–76 65–83 90–56 – 52–6052–74 74–63 (OT)70–72 90–60 68–62 71–75vs. Pittsburgh 79–7070–59 75–67 (OT) 73–56 66–41 77–48 83–4979–47 73–54 70–62 88–44 60–5274–52 – 69–5171–53 66–55 68–56 48–53vs. Syracuse 79–8988–81 46–59 88–58 89–90 (OT) 82–64 62–5851–59 77–62 56–74 69–60 63–74 (OT)72–70 51–6953–71 – 57–41 65–67 65–60vs. Virginia 52–69 54–70 63–6662–47 63–55 61–51 71–56 64–69 65–4778–68 80–6075–64 60–90 55–66 41–57 – 69–6176–86 0–0vs. Virginia Tech 49–70 50–71 72–67 (OT)56–70 86–62 61–64 (OT) 70–53 45–69 70–7663–72 76–6971–59 62–68 56–68 67–65 61–6986–76 – 62–5662–73vs. Wake Forest 67–54 58–6352–66 58–60 70–6578–67 60–6562–52 75–61 59–5679–63 79–82 (OT) 59–45 75–71 53–48 60–65 0–0 56–6273–62 –Total 11–7 3–15 12–6 11–7 10–8 16–2 7–11 7–11 14–4 8–10 1–17 9–9 8–10 11–7 7–11

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 Rookie of the week Reference Week 1 – Nov. 11 Jocelyn Willoughby – Virginia Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech Week 2 – Nov. 18 Nausia Woolfolk – Florida State Malu Tshitenge – North Carolina Week 3 – Nov. 25 Haley Gorecki – Duke Kylie Kornegay-Lucas – Virginia Beatrice Mompremier – Miami Week 4 – Dec. 2 Dana Evans – Louisville Anaya Peoples – Notre Dame Week 5 – Dec. 9 Kiah Gillespie – Florida State Amber Brown – Pittsburgh Week 6 – Dec. 16 Elissa Cunane – NC State Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame Week 7 – Dec. 23 Kiah Gillespie (2) – Florida State River Baldwin – Florida State Beatrice Mompremier (2) – Miami Week 8 – Dec. 30 Kendall Spray – Clemson River Baldwin (2) – Florida State Week 9 – Jan 6 Elissa Cunane (2) – NC State Amber Brown (2) – Pittsburgh Week 10 – Jan 13 Jocelyn Willoughby (2) – Virginia Shemera Williams – Virginia Week 11 – Jan 20 Dana Evans (2) – Louisville Amari Robinson – Clemson Week 12 – Jan 27 Leaonna Odom – Duke Shemera Williams (2) – Virginia Week 13 – Feb 3 Emma Guy – Boston College Dayshanette Harris – Pittsburgh Janelle Bailey – North Carolina Week 14 – Feb 10 Kiah Gillespie (2) – Florida State Katlyn Gilbert – Notre Dame Week 15 – Feb 17 Taylor Soule – Boston College Elizabeth Kitley (2) – Virginia Tech Week 16 – Feb 24 Taylor Soule (2) – Boston College Elizabeth Kitley (3) – Virginia Tech Week 17 – Mar 2 Haley Gorecki (2) – Duke Sam Brunelle (2) – Notre Dame

Postseason

ACC tournament

NCAA tournament

National Invitation tournament

Honors and awards

ACC Awards

2019 ACC Women's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the Year Dana Evans – LouisvilleCoach of the Year Joanna Bernabei-McNamee – Boston CollegeDefensive Player of the Year Kylee Shook – LouisvilleFreshman of the Year Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia TechSixth Player of the Year Trinity Baptiste – Virginia TechMost Improved Player Taylor Soule – Boston College

2019 ACC Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams (Blue Ribbon Panel) First Team Second Team Honorable Mention Freshman TeamHaley Gorecki – Duke Kiah Gillespie – Florida State Nicki Ekhomu – Florida State Dana Evans – Louisville Jazmine Jones – Louisville Kylee Shook – Louisville Elissa Cunane – NC State Janelle Bailey – North Carolina Kiara Lewis – Syracuse Jocelyn Willoughby – VirginiaEmma Guy – Boston College Taylor Soule – Boston College Leaonna Odom – Duke Aisha Sheppard – Virginia Tech Ivana Raca – Wake ForestFrancesca Pan – Georgia Tech Aislinn Konig – NC State Taylor Koenen – North Carolina Destinee Walker – Notre Dame Taja Cole – Virginia TechAmari Robinson – Clemson Jakia Brown-Turner – NC State Malu Tshitenge – North Carolina Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame Katlyn Gilbert – Notre Dame Anaya Peoples – Notre Dame Dayshanette Harris – Pittsburgh Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech