2021–22 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season

The 2021–22 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in November 2021 and will conclude on February 27, 2022. After the regular season, the 2022 ACC women's basketball tournament was held at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC for the 22nd time in 23 years.

Head coaches

Coaching changes Sue Semrau will return as head coach of Florida State after taking a leave of absence for the 2020–21 season to care for her mother. Interim Head Coach Brooke Wyckoff will return to her role as Associate head coach. Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman resigned amid investigations into allegations of inappropriate behavior on August 2, 2021. Associate head coach Vonn Read was named the interim head coach for the 2021–2022 season on August 4, 2021.

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 4 41–40 16–31 0 0 0 0Clemson Amanda Butler Florida 4 40–50 18–34 0 1 0 0Duke Kara Lawson Boston Celtics (Assistant) 2 3–1 0–1 0 0 0 0Florida State Sue Semrau Wisconsin (Assistant) 24 475–257 207–151 2 15 0 0Georgia Tech Nell Fortner Auburn 3 37–20 22–14 0 1 0 0Louisville Jeff Walz Maryland (Assistant) 15 386–107 175–54 1 6 3 0Miami Katie Meier Charlotte 17 303–198 126–124 1 8 0 0NC State Wes Moore Chattanooga 9 190–64 90–39 2 5 0 0North Carolina Courtney Banghart Princeton 3 29–25 15–20 0 1 0 0Notre Dame Niele Ivey Memphis Grizzlies (Assistant) 2 10–10 8–7 0 0 0 0Pittsburgh Lance White Florida State (Assistant) 4 21–60 6–43 0 0 0 0Syracuse Vonn Read (interim) Syracuse (Assistant) 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0Virginia Tina Thompson Texas (associate head coach) 4 25–41 13–23 0 0 0 0Virginia Tech Kenny Brooks James Madison 6 101–59 35–47 0 1 0 0Wake Forest Jennifer Hoover High Point 10 126–153 45–104 0 1 0 0 Notes: Year at school includes 2021–22 season. Overall and ACC records are from time at current school and are through the end the 2020–21 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. LiebermanDrysdaleMillerMcClainLeslieNaismithWooden Hailey Van Lith – LouisvilleRaina Perez – NC StateDiamond Johnson – NC State Kiara Lewis – ClemsonCeleste Taylor – DukeKianna Smith – LouisvilleJakia Brown-Turner – NC State Taylor Soule – Boston CollegeElizabeth Balogun – DukeEmily Engstler – LouisvilleAlyssa Ustby – North Carolina Lorela Cubaj – Georgia TechOlivia Cochran – LouisvilleSam Brunelle – Notre DameKayla Jones – NC State Elissa Cunane – NC StateEleah Parker – VirginiaElizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech Lorela Cubaj – Georgia TechHailey Van Lith – LouisvilleElissa Cunane – NC StateJakia Brown-Turner – NC StateAisha Sheppard – Virginia TechElizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech Jakia Brown-Turner – NC StateLorela Cubaj – Georgia TechElissa Cunane – NC StateElizabeth Kitley – Virginia TechLotta-Maj Lathinen – Georgia TechAisha Sheppard – Virginia TechHailey Van Lith – LouisvilleMaddy Westbeld – Notre Dame

ACC Women's Basketball Tip-off The Preseason Media Poll and Preseason All-ACC teams were voted on after a tipoff event held at the Charlotte Marriott City Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 13, 2021. At the media day, the head coaches and the Blue Ribbon Panel voted on the finishing order of the teams, an All-ACC team, a Preseason Player of the Year, and Newcomers to watch. 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 NC State would be league champion.

ACC preseason polls 2021 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason Polls Head coaches Blue Ribbon Panel NC State – 224 (14) Louisville – 207 (1) Georgia Tech – 192 Virginia Tech – 172 Florida State – 152 Notre Dame – 149 North Carolina – 127 Duke – 125 Miami – 92 Clemson – 83 Boston College – 78 Syracuse – 60 Wake Forest – 59 Pittsburgh – 47 Virginia – 33 NC State – 847 (50) Louisville – 789 (7) Georgia Tech – 691 Virginia Tech – 644 Florida State – 607 Notre Dame – 580 North Carolina – 488 Duke – 464 Miami – 355 Clemson – 324 Boston College – 297 Wake Forest – 250 Syracuse – 227 Pittsburgh – 160 Virginia – 117

First place votes shown in parentheses.

Preseason All-ACC Teams 2021 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason All-ACC Teams Head coaches Blue Ribbon Panel Taylor Soule – Boston College Delicia Washington – Clemson Lorela Cubaj – Georgia Tech Lotta-Maj Lahtinen – Georgia Tech Hailey Van Lith – Louisville Jakia Brown-Turner – NC State Elissa Cunane (13) – NC State Maddy Westbeld – Notre Dame Elizabeth Kitley (2) – Virginia Tech Aisha Sheppard – Virginia Tech Taylor Soule (1) – Boston College Delicia Washington – Clemson Lorela Cubaj (1) – Georgia Tech Lotta-Maj Lahtinen – Georgia Tech Hailey Van Lith (1) – Louisville Jakia Brown-Turner (1) – NC State Elissa Cunane (42) – NC State Maddy Westbeld – Notre Dame Elizabeth Kitley (10) – Virginia Tech Aisha Sheppard (1) – Virginia Tech

Preseason Player of the Year votes shown in parentheses.

Preseason ACC Player of the Year 2021 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year Head coaches Blue Ribbon Panel Elissa Cunane – NC State

Newcomer Watchlist 2021 ACC Women's Basketball Newcomer Watchlists Head coaches Blue Ribbon Panel Celeste Taylor – Duke Payton Verhulst – Louisville Diamond Johnson – NC State Olivia Miles – Notre Dame Sonia Citron – Notre Dame Payton Verhulst – Louisville Teonni Key – North Carolina Diamond Johnson – NC State Olivia Miles – Notre Dame Sonia Citron – Notre Dame

Regular season

Records against other conferences 2021–22 records against non-conference foes as of (April 1, 2022):

Regular season Power 7 ConferencesRecordAmerican 2–3Big East 4–1Big Ten 13–7Big 12 2–0Pac-12 4–4SEC 4–10Power 7 Conferences Total 29–25Other NCAA Division 1 ConferencesRecordAmerica East 4–0 A-10 9–4ASUN 7–1Big Sky 0–0Big South 11–0Big West 2–0CAA 7–1C-USA 3–0Horizon 3–0Ivy League 4–1MAAC 1–0MAC 3–1MEAC 4–0MVC 1–1Mountain West 1–0NEC 5–0OVC 4–0Patriot League 5–2SoCon 7–0Southland 0–0SWAC 5–0Summit 1–1Sun Belt 4–0WAC 0–0WCC 1–1Other Division I Total 92–13 Division II Total 0–0NCAA Division I Total 121–38

Post Season Power 7 ConferencesRecordAmerican 1–0Big East 0–1Big Ten 1–0Big 12 2–1Pac-12 1–0SEC 1–3Power 7 Conferences Total 6–5Other NCAA Division 1 ConferencesRecordAmerica East 2–0 A-10 1–0ASUN 0–1Big Sky 0–0Big South 1–0Big West 0–0CAA 0–0C-USA 0–1Horizon 0–0Ivy League 0–1MAAC 1–0MAC 1–0MEAC 0–0MVC 0–1Mountain West 0–0NEC 0–0OVC 0–0Patriot League 0–0SoCon 0–0Southland 0–0SWAC 0–0Summit 0–0Sun Belt 0–0WAC 1–0WCC 1–0Other Division I Total 8–4NCAA Division I Total 14–9

Record against ranked non-conference opponents This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):

Date Visitor Home Site Significance Score Conference record Nov 9 No. 1 South Carolina No. 5 NC State Reynolds Coliseum ● Raleigh, NC — L 57–66 0–1 Nov 12 No. 6 Louisville No. 22 Arizona † Sanford Pentagon ● Sioux Falls, SD Mammoth Sports Construction Invitational L 59–61OT 0–2 Nov 17 Clemson No. 1 South Carolina Colonial Life Arena ● Columbia, SC Rivalry L 45–76 0–3 Nov 20 Syracuse No. 23 South Florida † Imperial Arena ● Paradise Island, Bahamas Battle 4 Atlantis L 53–77 0–4 Nov 21 Virginia No. 20 UCLA Pauley Pavilion ● Los Angeles, CA ― L 57–69 0–5 Nov 25 No. 5 NC State No. 2 Maryland † Baha Mar Convention Center ● Nassau, Bahamas Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship W 78–60 1–5 Nov 25 No. 23 Texas A&M Pittsburgh † Sports and Fitness Center ● Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam L 46–57 1–6 Nov 27 Miami (FL) No. 4 Indiana † Baha Mar Convention Center ● Nassau, Bahamas Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship L 51–53 1–7 Nov 27 No. 16 Oregon State Notre Dame † Ocean Center ● Daytona Beach, FL Daytona Beach Invitational W 64–62 2–7 Dec 1 No. 18т Ohio State Syracuse Carrier Dome ● Syracuse, NY ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge W 97–91 3–7 Dec 2 No. 2т NC State No. 6 Indiana Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall ● Bloomington, IN ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge W 66–58 4–7 Dec 2 No. 12 Michigan No. 10 Louisville KFC Yum! Center ● Louisville, KY ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge W 70–48 5–7 Dec 2 Miami (FL) No. 8 Maryland Xfinity Center ● College Park, MD ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge L 74–82 5–8 Dec 2 No. 9 Iowa Duke Cameron Indoor Stadium ● Durham, NC ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge W 79–64 6–8 Dec 5 No. 24 Notre Dame No. 2т Connecticut Gampel Pavilion ● Storrs, CT ― L 54–73 6–9 Dec 5 No. 11 Tennessee Virginia Tech Cassell Coliseum ● Blacksburg, VA ― L 58–64 6–10 Dec 5 Georgia Tech No. 20 Georgia Stegeman Coliseum ● Athens, GA Rivalry W 55–54 7–10 Dec 9 No. 3 Connecticut Georgia Tech McCamish Pavilion ● Atlanta, GA ― W 57–44 8–10 Dec 12 No. 14 Kentucky No. 7 Louisville KFC Yum! Center ● Louisville, KY Jimmy V Classic W 64–58 9–10 Dec 15 No. 1 South Carolina No. 15 Duke Cameron Indoor Stadium ● Durham, NC ― L 46–55 7–11 Dec 16 No. 17 Georgia No. 2 NC State Reynolds Coliseum ● Raleigh, NC ― L 80–82OT 7–12 Dec 19 No. 6 Louisville No. 7т Connecticut † Mohegan Sun Arena ● Uncasville, CT Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase W 69–64 8–12 Dec 20 Clemson No. 21 LSU † Massimino Court ● West Palm Beach, FL West Palm Beach Invitational L 56–70 8–13 Mar 18 No. 16 Virginia Tech No. 23 Florida Gulf Coast † Xfinity Center ● College Park, MD NCAA First Round L 81–84 8–14 Mar 20 Miami (FL) No. 1 South Carolina Colonial Life Arena ● Columbia, SC NCAA Second Round L 33–49 8–15 Mar 21 No. 17 North Carolina No. 19 Arizona McKale Center ● Tucson, AZ NCAA Second Round W 63–45 9–15 Mar 21 No. 21 Notre Dame No. 22 Oklahoma Lloyd Noble Center ● Norman, OK NCAA Second Round W 108–64 10–15 Mar 25 No. 17 North Carolina No. 1 South Carolina † Greensboro Coliseum ● Greensboro, NC NCAA Sweet Sixteen L 61–69 10–16 Mar 26 No. 4 Louisville No. 18 Tennessee † Intrust Bank Arena ● Wichita, KS NCAA Sweet Sixteen W 76–64 11–16 Mar 28 No. 3 NC State No. 5 UConn † Total Mortgage Arena ● Bridgeport, CT NCAA Elite Eight L 87–912OT 11–17 Mar 28 No. 4 Louisville No. 12 Michigan † Intrust Bank Arena ● Wichita, KS NCAA Elite Eight W 62–50 12–17 April 1 No. 4 Louisville No. 1 South Carolina † Target Center ● Minneapolis, MN NCAA Final Four L 59–72 12–18

Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking

† denotes game was played on neutral site

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

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