DMV products Frames & Moore have embraced new opportunity leading women's basketball
By: Eric Detweiler, GW Athletics Communications
By now, Kyra Frames knows what good point guard play looks like. She didn't play basketball growing up but learned the finer points of the sport through the years while dutifully driving her daughter Kyara to practices and games around the D.C. region and beyond.
When Kyara commits a turnover or passes up a quality shot, Kyra is going to speak up from her favored spot directly behind the team bench.
"I always hear her," Kyara Frames said with a chuckle. "She's always calling me 'Frames.' She never calls me by my first name when I'm playing basketball. If I hear 'Frames', I know it's her."
In her final season of college basketball and first at GW, Frames has a newfound appreciation for those pearls of motherly advice.
After spending the past four seasons a six-hour drive away at Albany, the Laurel, Md., native has relished the support from friends and family in her return to the DMV.
In the early going this season, her mother has already been able to see her play in person more than in her entire tenure with the Great Danes, and her grandmother Sharrone has been at every home game at Smith Center, as well.
"Every time I see them in the stands, it makes me want to perform better," said Frames, who has averaged 5.7 points and 1.4 assists over nine games with eight starts. "That's probably the best thing about being in D.C. for me."
Ty Moore can relate. The Southeast D.C. native also signed on to return to her hometown after helping Troy to a Sun Belt Conference title last winter to be part of Head Coach Caroline McCombs' debut season leading the Buff and Blue.
"There's nothing like playing at home," said Moore, who is averaging 7.8 points and a team-leading 8.8 rebounds per game. "The atmosphere is way better than being down South. It's been a lot of fun."
Both local graduate transfers have provided a boost for a new-look squad learning to play together in McCombs' system with their on-court contributions and leadership.
"With Ky and Ty, they just bring that seniority that you like from players that have been in college basketball for a couple years," McCombs said. "We're utilizing those experiences to help with our growth. You don't know things until you go through them sometimes, and they've both gone through so many things throughout their careers where they can add a lot of value by sharing what they've learned with their teammates."
Hailing from Laurel, Md., Frames is averaging 5.7 points and 1.4 assists over nine games.
Frames had a good idea of what to expect from her new program after four years' worth of battles vs. McCombs and her Stony Brook team in the America East Conference.
"I'm definitely seeing why at Albany it was so hard to score against her team," said Frames, who started every game over her final three seasons with the Great Danes.
It's been a good match. Frames has had the opportunity to share a backcourt with sophomore point guard Aurea Gingras and help the Buff and Blue with her steady play on both ends.
She takes pride in the role and has continued to get more comfortable with her responsibilities as she's learned the ins and outs of McCombs' preferred brand of hoops.
"It's more about being a floor general," said Frames, who is closing in on the 1,000-point mark with 944 across 118 collegiate appearances. "I think at this point my job here isn't to be the person that's going off for 20 a night but more to facilitate and make sure that we're staying poised and sticking together."
Frames' impact has been evident through a string of close games in the early going. The Buff and Blue have found a way to buckle down on defense late in games, score timely buckets and grind out wins.
She's been on the floor in the team's most important moments, notably dishing out the assist on Sheslanie Laureano's game-winning 3-pointer with seven seconds left at Old Dominion on Nov. 18.
"Her leadership is so important for us," McCombs said. "I really think her personality is such a big asset. She's a big team player, and she's really supportive of her teammates. I think that's really important coming from a player like her in that role."
A D.C. native, Moore has averaged 7.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
Before being slowed down by injury, Moore was off to a fast start as a member of the Buff and Blue. The 6-foot forward's length and athleticism, combined with a veteran savvy born out of experience on the biggest stages of the college game, has proven a potent combination.
Last March, Moore scored seven points in Troy's win over Louisiana to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament, and then she proceeded to pile up seven points and eight rebounds in the first round of the national tournament in a narrow defeat vs. No. 2 seed Texas A&M.
Looking for a home for her final season of eligibility, Moore was eager to test herself in the Atlantic 10 while helping McCombs and her new staff lay the foundation for the Buff and Blue.
"I love the challenge," Moore said. "It reminds me of being an underdog. I've always been an underdog all my life."
Moore has answered the call. Playing in front of an enthusiastic cheering section in the season opener that included her mother Aretha, brother Tyree and sister Tasha, she came off the bench to record a monster double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in a come-from-behind win over American.
"I saw my family jump every time I scored," Moore remembered. "It was exciting. They were telling me, 'One more rebound. One more rebound to get the double-double.' I could hear them the whole time."
Moore seized a place in the starting lineup and had emerged as a key piece of the GW attack before going down with an injury in the win over James Madison on Dec. 2.
As she nears a return to the lineup, the veteran forward remains ranked among the top 10 in the conference in total rebounds. She's still adjusting to a new style of defense, a new way of running the break off rebounds and a new offensive playbook, but she's consistently found ways to make an impact.
"Ty just has a knack for the ball," McCombs said. "She can get a bucket, she can get a rebound, she does so many things that aren't coachable athletically. She's continuing to learn the system, but there are certain areas that she's very good at on the court, so we're trying to put her in those positions to be successful."
Along the way, Frames and Moore have forged a tight friendship.
The DMV products were aware of each other coming up on the local hoops scene but hadn't formally met before joining the Buff and Blue.
They quickly hit it off over the summer, finding so much common ground, on and off the court. They've gotten to spend plenty of quality time together over the past five months as they are part of the same Sport Management master's program, as well.
When Frames got off to a slow start with just four points through the first three games of the season, it was Moore who recommended a late-night session in Smith Center to reset and then showed up to support her teammate.
"I think that everyone needs a Ty in their life," Frames said. "She's one of those people that if you need some honest feedback you go to her. She does not bite her tongue for anyone. If you're not playing your game, she'll tell you, but it's never harsh. You always know it's coming from a loving place."
"We stay on each other," Moore added. "It's a good thing. She sees when I'm BSing, like 'Get your stuff together, Ty. We need you.' I tell her, 'Play your game. Get out your head.'"
As they continue their final season of college basketball together, Moore and Frames are determined to savor every minute of their opportunity close to home.
A native of Southeast D.C., Moore is excited about the chance to show the kids in her neighborhood what is possible through hard work. Whenever she can, she stops in to see her high school coach James "Boogie" Washington and dole out wisdom learned on her journey from D.C. to junior college in Texas to Troy in Alabama and back home to the next generation.
"I didn't get recruited straight out of high school," said Moore, who was part of two state title teams at Forestville Military Academy just over the District line in Maryland. "I think that's one of the challenges here. It's showing people that there's a lot of talent that they shouldn't look past."
For Frames, the unprecedented family time has been a thrill. Her mother had last seen her play a home game at Albany during her sophomore season, and her grandmother was never able to make the trip. Now, they're Smith Center staples who make sure their favorite player knows that they are there.
Frames took advantage of Sundays off before the season to head home and sleep in her own bed, and her mother occasionally stops by Foggy Bottom after work with food. That certainly never happened over her first four seasons of college hoops
"I'm just grateful, honestly," Frames said. "I can't really complain about anything right now. I've been fortunate to have so many opportunities that I never thought would be possible, and this one right here is definitely one of the best that I've come across."
