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pared and excited to get rolling." Second-year forward Lauren Moses returns after having started 30 games last season, averaging 6.1 points per outing, finishing second on the team in rebounds (5.7 per contest) and leading UVA with 34 blocked shots. "Moses looks great with a year under her belt," Boyle noted. The Hoos return their entire stable of backcourt players, including starters Faith Randolph, Breyana Mason and Mikayla Venson. The trio combined to score 56.2 percent of Vir- ginia points last season, with the fourth-year Ran- dolph leading the way at 16.4 points per game and earning second-team All-ACC accolades. In addition, Randolph was first on the team in steals (1.4 per game), third in rebounds (3.9), and third in assists (2.2). She also led the ACC in free throw percentage (90.7). Mason, a third-year, averaged 9.5 points per contest and paced the team with 112 assists. Ven- son, an ACC All-Freshman performer in 2014-15, was third on the team in scoring (11.9 points per game), third in steals (34) and connected on a school rookie-record 61 of Virginia's 175 three- pointers. She also ranked second among all ACC players with her 41.2-percent accuracy from three- point range. The Cavaliers also add East Carolina transfer and redshirt second-year J'Kyra Brown, who averaged 5.9 points per game in her one season with the Pirates and can rebound from the guard position. "We also have Aliyah Huland El, who's back and has been a great scorer," Boyle said of the second-year that contributed 5.6 points per game as a rookie in 2014-15. With three true frontcourt players, experience and depth, Boyle is hoping these elements com- bined with a strong team chemistry will be the key to a NCAA Tournament season. "The girls have done a lot of great work since April, you feel the team chemistry and we're a year older," Boyle said. "We're a much better condi- tioned team. This is our first team with all of our own players. We've been recruiting these girls two, three, four years, and they understand the philoso- phy and what we're trying to put forth." Veteran guards Venson and Randolph both see the team chemistry making a big difference this season. "I think it really started in the summertime with us doing a lot of conditioning, working with a Navy Seal — he taught us a lot about ourselves and re- ally holding one another accountable and holding ourselves accountable," Venson explained. "I think we've improved a lot on finishing and being consis- tent. We saw last year how the little things hurt us." Randolph agreed, saying the team is thinking more about each other and how they can build off each other's strengths. "We've been pushing each other, and I think we see the complements we bring to one another," "There's a grind to this team. They're gym rats — they spend a lot of time in the gym on their own. They want to perfect their game. They're not afraid to talk about success. They want to be more consistent and they're a coachable team. When you get a group of 10 to 12 young women all committed to the same thing, that's when things change." HEAD COACH JOANNE BOYLE