Shemera Williams, Kylie Kornegay-Lucas to transfer from Virginia

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Kylie Kornegay-Lucas defends UNC’s Taylor Koenen during a game in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Jan. 30, 2020. (Mitchell Northam / The Next)

The Virginia Cavaliers could be losing two players who showed promise as freshmen last season.

Multiple sources told The Next that Shemera Williams has entered the transfer portal. Additionally, Kylie Kornegay-Lucas also has intentions to transfer, a source close to the situation said, but she had not officially entered the portal as of Monday afternoon.

Williams, a 5’8 guard from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was third on the team in scoring last season with an average of 8.9 points per game. Williams appeared in 21 games and started twice, playing an average of 22 minutes per-game. She also posted 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

In high school in Wisconsin, Williams was her state’s two-time USA Today Player of the Year and was ranked as the 54th best recruit in the country by ESPN for the 2019 class. A four-star talent, she also had offers from Arizona State, Georgia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Minnesota and DePaul.

Some of Williams’ best performances as a Cavalier included a 20-point outing against Louisville, a 17-point performance against Boston College, and a home win over Duke in which she tallied nine points, nine steals, a block and three assists.

A 5’10 guard from Camden, Delaware, Kornegay-Lucas was second for the ‘Hoos in rebounding last season with 5.5 boards per game. She was also second on the team in steals with 41, first in blocks with 18, third in assists with 60 (and 2.07 per game), and scored about 5.1 points per game.

Kornegay-Lucas appeared in all but one game for Virginia and started in four. Her best performance came in a non-conference overtime win vs. Old Dominion, in which she racked up 31 points, 12 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal in 41 minutes. She was named ACC Freshman of the Week following that performance.

She also had a double-double in her first collegiate start, logging 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with four points in a home win over Notre Dame.

Kornegay-Lucas jumped around a bit in high school, playing one season Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, California, two seasons at Caesar Rodney in Delaware, and her final year at New Hope Academy in Maryland’s Prince George’s County. A three-star recruit, she was previously committed to East Carolina before jumping to UVA.

Led by Jocelyn Willoughby, now with the New York Liberty — but certainly aided by Williams and Kornegay-Lucas — Tina Thompson’s Cavaliers went 13-17 last season and 8-10 in ACC play, her second season on the job.

The ‘Hoos also lost Yanni Hendley to transfer earlier this year, as the former three-star 2019 recruit landed at Rhode Island.

Virginia did bring in a pair of transfers in FSU’s London Clarkson and Liberty’s Emily Maupin. Clarkson will have to sit a year, but Maupin is eligible immediately and the ‘Hoos may have to lean on the 6’3 former All-CAA selection for big minutes in the paint.