After a standout career in Blacksburg, former Virginia Tech women's basketball player Aisha Sheppard has made more history at the professional level, becoming the first Hokie to earn a trip to a WNBA Finals series after helping the Las Vegas Aces win the Western Conference crown earlier this week.
The Aces defeated the Phoenix Mercury and the Seattle Storm en route to the 2022 WNBA Finals, where they will face the Connecticut Sun.
A best-of-five series, the WNBA Finals tip off this Sunday, Sept. 11, in Las Vegas at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
Finals bound. Wow, I am at a loss for words. God is so great, and again. My teammates are so DAWGSSSSSSS
— Aisha Sheppard (@____blessed2) September 7, 2022
Virginia Tech''s highest-ever 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.
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