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18 ◆ CAVALIER CORNER BY GREG WATERS H EAD COACH JOANNE BOYLE is hoping some key returning players and some highly touted new additions to the team will make a difference for the UVA women's basketball program in 2016-17. The Cavaliers are coming off a season that saw them post an 18-16 record, finish ninth in the ACC and advance to the quarterfinals of the WNIT. With that in mind, the league's coaches projected the Hoos to finish 10th in this year's preseason poll. However, there is reason for optimism. Boyle returns seven letter winners from last season, including two members of the starting lineup — fourth-year guard Brey- ana Mason and third-year forward Lauren Moses. In addition, third-year guard Aliyah Huland El — the Cavaliers' first player of the bench last season, who appeared in ev- ery game with 10 starts while averaging 9.6 points in 25.1 minutes per game — is back. The new additions include four true first- years and a redshirt first-year, including the Gatorade High School State Players of the Year from both New York and New Jersey in Dominique Toussaint, a 5-9 guard, and Jocelyn Willoughby, a 6-0 guard. Toussaint, who attended USA Basketball U18 National Team Trials this summer, was also 2016 Miss New York Basketball. The other newcomers are 6-9 center Feli- cia Aiyeotan, 6-3 forward Lisa Jablonowski and 6-1 redshirt forward Shakyna Payne. Aiyeotan is a native of Lagos, Nigeria, but attended Nuemann Goretti High in Phila- delphia, winning the national title when the team went 30-0 her junior season, before transferring to Blair Academy in New Jersey for her senior year. Boyle admits that you really can't be sure if high school success translates to the col- legiate level, but Virginia's head coach likes what she sees thus far. "You don't know until you get in there, and they start playing and you see how they handle that when the lights are on," the coach noted. "But I will tell you in the time that we've had with them and the scrim- mages, they hold their own." Huland El agrees with her coach that the rookies are figuring things out. "The new players have adjusted very well. They're all hard workers, and they're all in tune with what we're trying to accomplish at UVA," Huland El said. "Jocelyn is doing a great job on the offen- sive and defensive end, but all the first-years have done their jobs in terms of being ready to play and having a great mindset." The new players have added depth, length and versatility to a roster that desperately needed it. Last season, the 6-1 Moses was the fourth- tallest player on the team. "This year we have lot of length," Moses said. "We have Felicia who's 6-9, and Joc- elyn who's very athletic and long . "Changing up defenses is definitely one of the things I'm looking forward to this year. We have more depth on the bench this year, and we have more than a seven-man rotation. "Everyone can play any spot on the floor, and our guards are knock down shooters. Everyone is pretty reliable with the ball in their hands." The added size is something Boyle ap- preciates as well. "I like the fact that we have a lot of length on our team this year," Boyle said. "I like the fact that we have a lot of versatility on the team this year." Boyle also appreciates the effort she is seeing in practice. "The girls have been working really hard, but we have got to be a better rebounding team to win more games in this conference," Boyle said. "We struggled in the first couple years in the recruiting wars to get the girls that we've wanted. "It's a really tough conference to play in if you're not big." When it comes to the starting five, Boyle has options. "Aliyah, Lisa, Jocelyn and Dom — they can play multiple positions, so it's really trying to work through rotations more than it is anything else right now," Boyle explained. "Obviously, that will be based off of who we are playing and just who's playing well that night." In the season opener against Middle Ten- nessee State Nov. 11, a 63-51 UVA victory, the Hoos opened with a four-guard lineup including two rookies. Huland El and Mason — who is coming off a season in which she averaged 10.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, dished out 78 assists and collected 52 steals — both started at guard, and so did the rookies Toussaint and Willoughby. Moses was the lone post player in the starting lineup after netting 9.4 points and 6.9 boards per game, while tallying 33 assists, 52 steals and 24 blocked shots in 2015-16. Mason split time at point guard last sea- son, taking over those primary responsibili- ties during the Cavaliers' postseason run. Huland El who moved into the starting lineup late last season and is expected to be a leader and a scorer this fall, says she understands the expectations of being a full- time starter. Third-year guard Aliyah Huland El served as UVA's top reserve last year and aver- aged 9.6 points in 25.1 minutes per game. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA TALENT INFUSION Touted Newcomers Join With Veterans To Boost The Cavaliers "You don't know until you get in there and they start play- ing and you see how they handle that when the lights are on. But I will tell you in the time that we've had with them and the scrimmages, they hold their own." HEAD COACH JOANNE BOYLE ON THE NEWCOMERS