Women’s Basketball Featuring Taller Frontcourt This Season

A year ago, Georgia Gwinnett College Women’s Basketball Head Coach Tory Wooley didn’t have a point of reference for expectations as the Grizzlies prepared for their inaugural season on the court.

GGC’s roster is now full of players with a year of NAIA basketball experience from a 20-win season and there are plenty of data points that Wooley can turn to when discussing the upcoming 2026-27 squad.

The team begins the season with its first five games inside the Convocation Center, starting on Thursday, October 22, against Andrew College (Georgia), with the tipoff at 5:30 p.m.

GGCAthletics.com begins its winter preseason position preview series by examining the women’s basketball team’s frontcourt, which features two returning starters and three seniors as wing or post players.

Senior Peyton Hearvey ranked third on last year’s team in scoring and rebounding – 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game – while starting 25 of 27 games and connecting on 50 3-point field goals. She scored 32 points, with eight 3-point field goals, in a win at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (Georgia) last December.

“Peyton can be an asset for us offensively at two (frontcourt) positions. She also understands what we want to do on the defensive side of the ball,” stated Wooley, who has won more than 200 games as a collegiate coach.

Meanwhile, senior Nylaa Fuller made a majority of her 14 starts in the second half of the season. She collected 10 or more rebounds in four games and finished second on the team by averaging 6.6 rebounds per contest. Offensively, Fuller was a double-figure scorer twice and had 43 steals during her junior campaign.

The third senior in the frontcourt is Shayla Sandiford, a 5-foot-11 post player who appeared in 25 games last year. She had a double-double performance with 10 points and 12 rebounds while coming off the bench against Fisher College (Massachusetts) last February.

Three newcomers add size to the team’s frontcourt, with each being 5-foot-10 or taller. The tallest is sophomore Zora Hill, at 6-foot-1, who brought playing experience from Clinton College (South Carolina) while junior Bri Adams, at 5-foot-11, helped Shelton State Community College (Alabama) to a national runner-up finish in 2024-25 and was a 1,000-point scorer during her prep career in Alabama.

Sophomore Jaydah Rainey, at 5-foot-10, earned all-Tennessee Community College Athletic Association honors while averaging a double-double statistically at Volunteer State Community College (Tennessee). She led the TCCAA in rebounds last season.

“Bri is another tough and physical player. She is a great teammate and the girls love playing with her. Jaydah and Zora bring experience and size to our frontcourt,” stated Wooley.