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Virginia Women's Basketball: Edessa Noyan Enters Transfer Portal

Matt Newton

Virginia Athletics

Coach Mox and the Virginia women's basketball program seems to be preparing for a total overhaul of its front court this offseason. Three Cavaliers have entered the transfer portal and another has exhausted her eligibility; all four of those departing players were forwards or centers. The latest transfer is sophomore forward Edessa Noyan, who entered the portal on Tuesday afternoon (March 25), as reported by On3's Talia Goodman.

A 6'3" forward from Sweden, Noyan arrived at Virginia in 2023 as part of a recruiting class that included Virginia natives Kymora Johnson and Olivia McGhee. As a first year, Noyan played in 28 games and logged three starts, averaging 2.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in 13.7 minutes per contest. This season, Noyan seized a spot in the starting lineup, starting 23 out of the 26 games she played in. Noyan recorded 5.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game and shot 32.8% from beyond the arc.

Noyan scored in double figures five times this season, including her best game in a Cavalier uniform in the regular season finale, as she posted 16 points and five rebounds and knocked down four three-pointers in Virginia's upset victory at North Carolina. Noyan did not fare well in the ACC Tournament, though, shooting 4/17 and scoring a combined eight points in UVA's two games.

Noyan's entrance into the transfer portal completes what has been a rather sudden exodus of most of Virginia's front court players. 6'7" graduate center Taylor Lauterbach is the only player on the roster who definitively exhausted her eligibility this season, but the Cavaliers have seen 6'7" sophomore center and former Maryland transfer Hawa Doumbouya, 6'4" forward and former Miami transfer Latasha Lattimore, and now Edessa Noyan enter the transfer portal. Doumbouya leaves Virginia after never playing a single minute as a Cavalier, as she redshirted this season.

That leaves 6'4" sophomore and former North Carolina transfer RyLee Grays and 6'2" freshman forward Breona Hurd as the only two forwards left on the current roster. With that said, Coach Mox and company now have plenty of room to go to work in the transfer portal this offseason armed with the first installment of Alexis Ohanian's record-breaking donation to the UVA women's basketball program back in December.

Even with the aforementioned front court pieces, Virginia was often at a disadvantage against ACC opponents at those positions. Now, the Cavaliers will look to upgrade their roster with at least a few experienced and talented forwards and centers to complement Virginia's returning corps of Kymora Johnson, Paris Clark, Breona Hurd, Olivia McGhee, and others.

Stay tuned to Virginia Cavaliers On SI for all the latest updates regarding Virginia's offseason activity in the transfer portal.

More UVA Women's Basketball News & Content

UVA Women's Basketball: Latasha Lattimore Enters Transfer Portal

Virginia Women’s Hoops at the Crossroads

UVA Women's Basketball: Hawa Doumbouya to Enter Transfer Portal

Virginia Falls to Cal 75-58 in ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament 2nd Round

UVA Women's Basketball's Kymora Johnson Named to All-ACC First Team

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.