Clemson Tigers Women’s Basketball Off to Terrific ACC Start Under New Coach

The first-year coach as the Clemson Tigers pointed in the right direction after their first four ACC games of the season.

Clemson Coach Shawn Poppie smiles in the game with South Carolina Gamecocks during the first quarter at Littlejohn Coliseum Wednesday, November 20, 2024; Clemson, SC, USA. / Ken Ruinard - The Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last year at this time Shawn Poppie was guiding the Chattanooga Mocs to a 28-win season that would result in the program’s second straight NCAA Tournament berth.

Now, he’s guiding Clemson women’s basketball past one of the game’s true powerhouses.

The Tigers’ 65-61 win over Stanford on Sunday at Littlejohn Coliseum was proof that what Poppie is trying to build in his first season can help Clemson (10-5, 3-1 in ACC) reach the NCAA Tournament in his first season.

The victory ensured Clemson’s first 3-1 start in ACC action since 2020-21 and its first overtime victory in nearly four years.

It also came in the Tigers’ first meeting with Stanford, a program that has won three national championships, most recently in 2021, and has set the standard in women’s basketball for decades.

It’s enough to even impress Poppie.

“You pinch yourself as you think about trying to build this thing the right way,” he said after the game.

Poppie knows ACC basketball and he knows Clemson well. Before Chattanooga, he was an assistant coach, and later the associate head coach, at Virginia Tech. He spent time as an assistant coach at Division II Limestone, followed by USC Upstate and Furman.

One of his best moves was luring in transfer Loyal McQueen, a Florence, S.C., native who had been at Alabama for the previous two seasons under coach Kristy Curry. But she has never had a season like the one she’s having right now.

The fifth-year collegiate is averaging nearly 15 points per game, the first time she’s averaged double figures in a season. Sunday’s game might have been her defining game with the Tigers so far.

She heavily contributed to the Tigers’ 6-0 run at the end of overtime to take control of the game. Her jumper, followed by a pair of free throws, made it a two-possession game with 17 seconds left. She hit two more free throws after that.

McQueen scored 26 points, which is now her career high, and her performance at the free-throw line was critical. She went 12-of-14 from the stripe.

Now, Poppie wants for fans at Littlejohn Coliseum. There were 2,418 in attendance for the Cardinal game, and next up is Virginia on Thursday at 7 p.m. eastern.

“Hopefully [fans] start to believe as much as we do. Come be a Clemson women’s basketball fan…because it’s the next game on the schedule not because of the opponent,” he said.