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FEBRUARY 2018 19 BY GREG WATERS O N JAN. 25, THE VIRGINIA women's basketball team secured its seventh Atlantic Coast Conference win and its 14th victory overall. The Hoos entered the fourth quarter with a 69‑50 lead over North Carolina, but the Tar Heels cut the deficit to 12 with 5:40 left in the game thanks to a 9‑2 run. That's when second‑ year guard Dominique Toussaint took over. At the 5:11 mark, Toussaint drained a long three with a second left on the shot clock. On UNC's ensuing possession, the defense held and Toussaint hauled down the defensive rebound. On the other end of the floor, she delivered the assist as fellow second‑year Felicia Aiyeotan drove the lane for a layup and 17‑point advantage. Over the final three minutes, Toussaint added two more assists and UVA won 82‑70. Head coach Joanne Boyle said she has earned the right to be in control at that time. "A lot of times, we put the ball in her hands at the end of the game and trust her that much," Boyle noted. Last year, the Staten Is‑ land, N.Y., native claimed All‑ACC Freshman Team honors and was third among ACC rookies in points per game (9.5). This year, she ranked 31st in the conference in scoring overall (11.1) and 12th in assists (3.7 per game) for the Cavaliers (15‑7, 8‑1 ACC) through Jan. 28. Despite an excellent 2016‑17 season, Toussaint identified several areas where she wanted to see her game progress during the offseason. "I wanted to be a more consistent player and be more efficient on the offensive end," Toussaint said. "Being in the point guard role and being a leading scorer … that's just a couple of the things I focused on coming into this year compared to last year." Assistant coach Katherine Graham said Toussaint has made great strides because of her work in the gym. "I think the difference has been her con‑ sistency in practice," Graham said. "Once you have it figured out, the maturity level of bringing it every day in practice and having that mindset of getting better every day in practice is something that I think she took to heart. "We had conversations with her in the spring about carrying it through summer and being a leader for the team." "I think she played so many minutes last year as a freshman — sometimes when they play so many minutes, it's almost like they are a junior because they have such a great feel," Boyle added. "It's not like she was playing 15 minutes a game for us. "She played a significant amount of min‑ utes for us, so she's very seasoned. That's just really helped her." Toussaint came to Virginia as a scoring guard. She was tabbed as the 2016 Miss New York Basketball and the 2016 Gatorade New York State Girls' Basketball Player of the Year after averaging 19.7 points per game as a senior. She was espnW's No. 12 shooting guard nationally, and also was ranked as the No. 25 overall prospect in the 2016 class by Prospect Nation. "I feel like in my mind I am a scorer, but I have to step back from that a little because of the point guard role," Toussaint said. "Being on the court, I can get to the basket, can shoot the ball and that's about it. "I kind of just play basketball." Yet she's made the transition to being a ball distributor for her teammates and played well, sitting at eighth in assist‑to‑ turnover ratio in conference games (4.3) and leading the team with 82 assists through 22 contests. "It is a tough transition for a player," Boyle explained. "Nicky really understands the game and she really sees the game. That's two different things. She understands it, but she also sees it from her teammates' perspective. "When she's at the point, she understands that she needs to get her teammates more involved. When she's playing the off guard, she knows she needs to score a little bit more. Her growth has been just being able to find the balance." Asked how she's worked through adjust‑ ing to becoming what Boyle called "a really good floor general" Toussaint talked about the work ethic she employed as a second‑ year. "It's not on a whim. It's just constant practice," she said. "Working at the plays that we run, watching film, ball‑handling drills, working on the shooting gun and knowing what the other team is going to do on defense. "It's being mindful when I have the ball that I don't need to rush. Coach Tim Taylor said that the game kind of slowed down for Toussaint averaged 11.1 points and 3.7 assists per game to help the Cavaliers get off to their best start in ACC play (8-1) since 1999-2000 (9-1). PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA "A lot of times, we put the ball in her hands at the end of the game and trust her that much." HEAD COACH JOANNE BOYLE ON TOUSSAINT