Aisha Sheppard

American basketball player
Aisha Sheppard
Personal information
Born (1998-11-13) November 13, 1998 (age 25)
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Career information
High schoolSt. John's College
(Washington, D.C.)
College
WNBA draft2022: 2nd round, 23rd overall pick
Selected by the Las Vegas Aces
Playing career2022–present
PositionGuard
Number4
Career history
2022Las Vegas Aces
Career highlights and awards

Aisha Sheppard (born November 13, 1998) is an American professional basketball player. She was drafted and most recently played for the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA. She played college basketball at Virginia Tech.

College career

Sheppard came out of high school as the Gatorade Player of the Year for Washington, D.C., as well as the 34th rated recruit of the 2017 Class per ESPN's HoopGurlz rankings.[1]

During Sheppard's freshman year, she became known as a 3-point sharpshooter. She led the team with 76 3-pointers made during the year.[2] On February 22, 2018, Sheppard rained in 7 3-pointers vs. Notre Dame - which tied the program record for most 3's in a game.[3]

Sheppard began her sophomore campaign doing similar things as her freshman year - being a shooter. She continued her be a sniper from outside knocking down 59 threes this year to move into 8th place All-Time in program history. Sheppard scored 17 points against 13th rank Miami on February 21, to give the Hokies a signature win.[4]

During her junior year, Sheppard moved into the starting lineup full-time and averaged double digits for the first time in her career. Sheppard averaged 14.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. Once again, she proved to be one of the best shooters in the ACC, as well as the NCAA.[5] She finished behind Dana Evans in both percentage and 3-pointer made per game. Sheppard was named to the All-ACC Second Team for her outstanding year.[6]

Sheppard continued her upward trend into her senior year, once again starting all the games for the Hokies. She averaged 17.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.[7] On January 28, 2021, Sheppard helped led the Hokies to a win over #2 NC State. She scored 28 points to help the Hokies to Virginia Tech's high ever AP ranked win.[8]

After graduating from Virginia Tech, Sheppard decided to use her extra-COVID year of eligibility and return to the Hokies for one more year.[9] Sheppard cemented her status on one of the best 3-point shooters in ACC History on February 13, 2022, when she passed AD's ACC record for career 3-point field goals made with 375.[10] Sheppard was named to the All-ACC Second Team once again this year.[11]

Sheppard finished her career as the program's All-Time Leading Scorer with 1,883 points, as well as taking over the ACC 3-Point Record for Makes with 402.[12]

College statistics

Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Virginia Tech 37 308 .389 .374 .743 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.4 8.3
2018–19 Virginia Tech 34 252 .379 .378 .825 1.9 1.5 0.7 0.3 7.4
2019–20 Virginia Tech 30 443 .387 .370 .772 3.1 1.6 1.2 0.1 14.8
2020–21 Virginia Tech 25 442 .382 .354 .842 2.7 3.0 1.1 0.1 17.7
2021–22 Virginia Tech 33 438 .394 .387 .889 3.3 2.6 0.7 0.2 13.3
Career 159 1883 .387 .372 .821 2.5 1.9 0.9 0.2 11.8

WNBA career

Las Vegas Aces

In the 2022 WNBA draft, Sheppard was taken 23rd overall by the Las Vegas Aces.[13] Sheppard appeared in 23 games for the Aces during her rookie season and was a part of their 2022 WNBA Championship run.

Sheppard was waived by the Aces during training camp prior to the 2023 season.[14]

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
† Denotes seasons in which Sheppard won a WNBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022† Las Vegas 23 0 7.6 .238 .273 .750 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.3 1.5
Career 1 year, 1 team 23 0 7.6 .238 .273 .750 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.3 1.5

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022† Las Vegas 4 0 4.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0
Career 1 year, 1 team 4 0 4.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0

References

  1. ^ "2017 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  2. ^ "Aisha Sheppard". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  3. ^ "Virginia Tech vs. Notre Dame". hokiesports.com. VT Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "Virginia Tech upsets No. 14 Miami women 73-65". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "2019-2020 Women's Basketball Overall Statistics". theacc.com. ACC Conference. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "2019-2020 All-ACC Women's Basketball Teams Announced". theacc.com. ACC. 2 March 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  7. ^ "2020-21 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics". hokiesports.com. VT Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "Virginia Tech women upset No. 2 NC State 83-71 in OT". clickondetroit.com. Associated Press. 28 January 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  9. ^ "Aisha Sheppard returning to Virginia Tech for one final year". Roanoke.com. Roanoke Times. 29 March 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Ward, Zack (16 February 2022). "Around the NCAAW Weekly: Aisha Sheppard is the new ACC sharpshooter queen". swishappeal.com. Swish Appeal. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  11. ^ "ACC Women's Basketball Announces 2021-22 Award Winners". theacc.com. ACC. March 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  12. ^ "Aisha Sheppard". hokiesports.com. VT Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  13. ^ Regal, Patrick (12 April 2022). "Hokie Aisha Sheppard Chosen in WNBA Draft". fightinggobbler.com. Fansided. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  14. ^ "Aces Waive Davis, Range, Sheppard". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 13 May 2023.

External links

  • WNBA bio
  • Virginia Tech Hokies bio
  • v
  • t
  • e
Las Vegas Aces 2022 WNBA champions