Women’s basketball renews in offseason
VCU women’s basketball huddles up during a timeout. Photo by Arrick Wilson.
Hayden Braun, Contributing Writer
The VCU women’s basketball team is on a new path following a disappointing 2024 season, with a 12-19 record and placing 11th in the Atlantic 10 conference. With a refreshed mix of talent and new leadership, the Rams are hopeful for a turnaround soon. This off-season, the Rams brought one of the program’s most celebrated alumni back to the sidelines as an assistant coach, along with a transfer who could be a force within the paint.
Head coach Beth O’Boyle announced Taya Robinson as assistant coach, a move that reconnects the program with one of its greatest players.
Robinson’s legacy at VCU is almost untouchable. She is the Rams’ third all-time leading scorer with 1,673 points, and the only player in program history to reach 1,600 points, 600 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 steals and 70 blocks.
During her career, she led VCU to the 2021 A-10 Championship, an NCAA Tournament berth and the program’s first ever regular season conference title in 2018–2019, according to VCU Athletics.
Robinson’s individual accolades include two-time All-A-10 First Team selection, four-time All-A-10 Defensive Team honoree and 2021 A-10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Since graduating, Robinson has played professionally in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, and briefly served as VCU’s director of player culture.
The Rams also added assistant coach MyNeisha McKenzie to the team after she spent the past four years at Rider University, where she rose to associate head coach and recruiting coordinator in 2024.
McKenzie developed numerous All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference honorees at Rider such as Taylor Langan, Lenaejha Evans and Makayla Firebaugh.
University of Virginia transfer Hawa Doumbouya, a 6-foot-7-inch center, is joining VCU. She brings in three years of eligibility after a redshirt season and a stint at the University of Maryland.
Her size alone will make her one of the most imposing figures in the A-10, but it is her ability to alter shots, control the boards and anchor the defense that could transform VCU’s playstyle. VCU struggled with consistency in the post last season, but Doumbouya’s presence offers both security and opportunity.
Doumbouya is just one of many young transfers, like second-year forward Katarina Knežević from the University of Arizona and third-year forward Lucy Ghaifan from Grand Canyon University. Fourth-year forward Makennah White from Missouri State University is joining VCU as well.
With Robinson on the sidelines and Doumbouya in the paint, VCU appears to be laying the groundwork for a rebound season. The combination of homegrown leadership and high-ceiling talent could help the Rams climb back into the A-10’s top tier.
The pieces of O’Boyle’s revamped roster are starting to form, and fans hungry for change may soon have reasons to believe.
