Following the Las Vegas Aces' series-clinching 78-71 win over the Connecticut Sun on September 18, former Virginia Tech women's basketball player Aisha Sheppard has been crowned a WNBA champion. The Aces defeated the Sun in four games to win the 2022 WNBA title, its first in franchise history.
Virginia Tech's highest-ever draft selection, Sheppard was taken with the 23rd overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft back in April. She played in 23 of the Aces's 36 regular season games, averaging 7.6 minutes and 1.5 points per game and backing up perhaps the most dynamic back court in the league. The Aces three starting guards, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, have all won Olympic gold medals.
Sheppard, the program's all-time leader in games played and points scored, became the first Virginia Tech student-athlete to be named All-ACC three times. She was also named to the ACC All-Tournament Team in Greensboro in 2022 and was a two-time ACC All-Academic Team selection.
The Alexandria, Virginia native broke her own single-season 3-point mark and the ACC's career 3FG record in 2021-22 with 96 triples made.
She concluded her career in first place all-time in the ACC with 402 3-pointers scored, and she owns the top three single-season performances in that category at Tech. Sheppard earned Honorable Mention All-America honors in 2021 and was also recognized as the Skelton Award for Academic Excellence in Athletics in 2021.
Evan Hughes, the host of the Hokie Sports Insider Podcast had the chance to interview her via Zoom recently to recap what her first season as a professional athlete has been like, as well as reflect on her five years in Blacksburg wearing maroon and orange.
Interview highlights:
Aisha on 'taking it all in since winning the WNBA championship': It's hard to wrap your mind around what just happened to you. Six months ago, I was a Hokie. I was enjoying time being a college student and playing basketball and now I'm a professional athlete and I just won my first major championship after a childhood full of dreams to do so. It's been incredible.
Aisha on being coached by Becky Hammon: She reminds me a lot of Coach Brooks. What you see is what you get. I love that for myself especially because it was seamless going from one program to the league so it's just been awesome.
Aisha comparing the styles of Kenny Brook and Becky Hammon: We're going to shoot the three and we're going to pound it inside. It's just been seamless, she loves spacing the floor and she loves her shooters, she absolutely loves her shooters.
Aisha on the transition to the WNBA and working with Coach Hammon: She didn't ask me to do anything that was outside of what I do. She wanted me to shoot the three. If they ran me off the line, get to a pull up. If they take that away, drop it off to a teammate. Those are things I worked with Coach Brooks on my whole entire career up until this moment, so it's just been tremendous.
Aisha on Coach Brooks wearing her VT jersey in the office to celebrate her achievement: I think that Coach in this moment he's like a proud papa. I left the nest and now I'm coming back a champion and he has had a hand in it all. I wouldn't be where I am without his help and allowing me to start a new culture and just all the things that he allowed me to do while I was at Tech. I wholeheartedly believe I wouldn't be here without him.
Aisha on her time at VT leading to WNBA success: It taught me how to be resilient. There were times early on in my career where I didn't get a lot of the minutes, there were other people ahead of me and it just wasn't my time, but I continued to persevere. I think that resiliency has been my motto and my mantra for the past year and a half. I went through some stuff, especially with my ankle injury and I don't think that I played the way that I really wanted to play my last year at Tech. Of course, I walked away with some incredible accolades but I just didn't feel like myself and I was extremely hard on myself and then I got drafted.
