The Clemson women’s basketball team returned to Littlejohn Coliseum on Nov. 4 following a busy offseason that looked to boost the team after a 12-19 season and a No. 12 finish in the ACC.
The Tigers began their season at home with a 78-44 victory over Jackson State. The team is looking to bounce back after losing to Boston College in the ACC Tournament and missing the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year last season.
Clemson announced the firing of head coach Amanda Butler on March 12 after six seasons and one NCAA tournament appearance in 2019. Four days later, Clemson revealed the signing of new head coach Shawn Poppie to a six-year contract.
Poppie, who took Chattanooga to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, is the eighth head coach in Clemson women’s basketball history. While at Chattanooga, Poppie accumulated a 48-18 record.
Poppie’s offensive strategy is to space the floor and shoot 3-pointers, as basketball has evolved to shooting a lot of threes. His goal is to develop a team to be able to play in this style. With Chattanooga, the team ranked first in its conference and 12th in the country in three-point field goal percentage (37%). Last year, the Tigers shot 31.8%.
“Three is worth more than two,” Poppie said. “We’ll try to shoot a number of threes and have a roster that has the ability to stretch the floor.”
On defense, Poppie’s focus is for Clemson to be a man-defense that mixes in press and zone defense. Chattanooga had the sixth-best scoring defense in the country, allowing 54.5 points per game, and was tied first in its conference in the lowest field goal percentage allowed at 37.6%. Last year, Clemson averaged 70.3 points allowed, and opponents shot 43% from the field.
Poppie believes the Tigers are a “sleeping giant” that can thrive.
“When you come watch us, and you’re around our program, you will feel ‘it,'” he said during his opening press conference in March. “If we feel ‘it’, how are we loving on each other, what’s our energy level, are we competing, are we doing the things that it takes to win games? The results will take care of themselves.”
The Tigers experienced a few roster departures over the offseason. Guard Ruby Whitehorn transferred to Tennessee, and guard Imari Berry — Clemson’s highest-rated recruit in program history — decommitted. However, Clemson does have some new faces joining the program.
A few of those names include Anya Poole, a 6-foot-2 graduate transfer forward from North Carolina and former five-star recruit. Mia Moore is another; the redshirt junior guard from UAB averaged 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season.
Raven Thompson and Addie Porter followed Poppie from Chattanooga to Tigertown. Thompson, a 5-foot-10 junior forward, averaged 14.2 points and seven rebounds per game and was named first-team all-SoCon last season. Porter, a senior guard, averaged 5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.2 steals per game last season.
Clemson also signed sophomore transfer Hannah Kohn from Chattanooga. Kohn was selected as a 2024 Southern Conference all-freshman team honoree and is often considered one of the best shooters in the nation. By percentage, Kohn is one of the best shooters in the transfer portal, as she is one of three players to shoot over 46% from outside.
Kohn made history at Chattanooga, setting a school record for best single-season three-point percentage, shooting 46.3% from beyond the arc, and setting a program record for most 3-pointers made by a freshman with 68.
For Poppie, Kohn is the perfect player for his offensive scheme.
“Hannah is a great addition to what we are building here at Clemson,” Poppie said. “In today’s game, you better be able to stretch the floor and Hannah does just that.”
Clemson continues its four-game home streak with NC Central, Presbyterian and the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks. Tipoff against NC Central is set for 7 p.m. on Nov. 7.
