Dribbles and bits: Virginia Tech transfer lands in CAA; Richmond nabs a recruit; New coach at ODU; Paradise at Hampton

From the ACC to the CAA: Same letters, different school.  LaTorri Hines-Allen has signed with Towson. Hines-Allen, who spent two years at Virginia Tech, will have to sit out the 2012-13 season due to NCAA transfer rules, leaving her with two years of eligibility remaining. The No. 88 recruit out of Monclair (NJ) High School, started 26 of 30 games last year for the Hokies, averaging 5.5 ppg and a team-leading 6.9 rpg.

Healy after scoring her 1,000th point.

Spiders grab a scorer: Olivia Healy, a 5-10 guard/forward from Reading (Mass) High has committed to Richmond for the 2013-14 season. The rising senior led her high school team to a 25-0 record and its first Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 state title. UMass, Providence and Holy Cross reportedly showed interest in Healy, who will likely become her school's all-time leading scorer her senior year. Healy's coach Kim Penney was named coach of the year by the Boston Globe.

Paradise for Hampton: Think the Lady Pirates didn't have a tough enough non conference schedule last year when they were snubbed by the NCAA committee by receiving a No. 16 seed in the national tournament? Consider who's on tap this season, starting with the Paradise Jam at the University of the Virgin Islands. The Lady Pirates, 26-5 last season, take on South Carolina on Nov. 22, Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 23 and DePaul on Nov. 24. All three opponents advanced to the NCAA Tournament last  year with South Carolina reaching the Sweet 16.

Richard Fortune

What's new at ODU? An assistant coach. Richard Fortune replaces Adrienne Goodson on coach Karen Barefoot's staff. Goodson slides into the Director of Operations slot. Fortune spent the last two seasons at Central Florida and was an assistant for Boo Williams' AAU Nike Travel team from  2008-10. Fortune was also a previous men's basketball assistant at Virginia State (2004-05).

Changes in Big South: Big South teams will play an unbalanced 18-game schedule with each school playing eight teams twice and two teams once. Most teams will play their first conference game prior to Jan. 1. Beginning in 2012-13, teams move to a 20-game, double round-robin format. Unlike men's basketball, women's basketball will not play in divisions. All 11 teams will participate in the conference championships. Seedings will be based on overall conference record with the top five teams receiving a bye into the quarterfinals. ... Radford assistant coach Katrina Williams has left for the heading coaching job at Tusculum College.

Q: VCU's Quanitra Hollingsworth continues her quest to be an Olympian as part of the Turkish National Team. Turkey will compete in a warmup tournament this weekend in the Czech Republic.

The big three: Tops in attendance in the state during the 2012-13 season? Virginia averaged a state-best 3,152 fans followed by Old Dominion (2,789) and Virginia Tech (2,584). Delaware was the CAA leader (3,907).