Forward Alyssa Thomas, who was named ACC Player of the Year yesterday, will be key for the Terps tonight in their ACC Tournament quarterfinals matchup with Virginia.

For a player of considerable talent, Alyssa Thomas is as modest as they come. Whether she’s posting career-best numbers in a win or earning first-team All-ACC honors, the sophomore forward is much happier talking about the Terrapins women’s basketball team than she is about her individual accomplishments on it.

So her unassuming reaction to receiving the conference’s highest honor yesterday came as no surprise.

A day before the third-seeded Terps (25-4, 12-4 ACC) begin a quest for their first ACC Championship since 2009, their gifted forward became just the second sophomore in conference history to be named ACC Player of the Year.

“I definitely didn’t expect this at all,” Thomas said. “I was just coming in to play basketball and try to do better than last year.”

Thomas is the fourth player in Terps history to receive the honor, joining Vicky Bullett, Crystal Langhorne and Kristi Toliver.

“We’ve built on a legacy that they started,” Thomas said. “For me to follow in their footsteps and be with them is a huge honor for me.”

Thomas proved to be one of the league’s most consistent all-around performers in her award-winning season. She finished first in the conference with 17 points per game and fifth with 8.2 rebounds per game, also ranking fourth in free-throw percentage, 11th in assists and 15th in steals.

“As a person and a player, she’s one of the people you want to wear your uniform and to represent your school,” coach Brenda Frese said in a statement. “I think Alyssa’s had more legendary-type moments in one season than most have in a lifetime. Her will to win is unsurpassed, and I don’t think anyone plays harder for her team.”

The Harrisburg, Pa., native was also the No. 6 Terps’ go-to scorer down the stretch in tight games. She nailed a game-winning jumper with 17 seconds left in a 77-74 win over No. 15 Georgia Tech on Jan. 6 and scooped in a game-tying layup at the buzzer in an eventual overtime win over North Carolina two days later.

She also sealed the Terps’ Feb. 19 victory over No. 5 Duke in dramatic fashion, blocking Haley Peters’ 3-point attempt at the buzzer to preserve a 63-61 win.

“Those probably definitely helped me out a little bit,” Thomas said. “My teammates look for me to have the ball in my hands. For them to have that confidence in me, that gives me the confidence to have the ball in those situations.”

Tonight, Thomas will lead her team into the ACC Tournament with hopes of avenging last year’s forgettable showing in Greensboro Coliseum. The Yellow Jackets upset the Terps, 70-64, in the quarterfinals, a fate they want to avoid repeating tonight.

First up for the Terps will be sixth-seeded Virginia (21-9, 9-7), a team they have already beaten twice this season — first in a 68-61 win on Jan. 16, then a 73-56 victory exactly one month later. But even with two wins they can draw on for preparation, getting through Virginia’s conference-best scoring defense a third time could prove difficult.

“Virginia is a very scrappy type of team,” Frese said. “They’re very active in terms of leading the conference in steals. You really have to value the basketball.”

Should the Terps handle the Cavaliers tonight, they face a likely matchup with No. 2 seed Miami (25-4, 14-2) tomorrow. The No. 7 Hurricanes have been an Achilles’ heel for the Terps all season, ending their 16-0 start with a 75-63 win in Coral Gables, Fla., on Jan. 12 before toppling them again, 76-74, a month later.

Miami’s All-ACC guard trio of Shenise Johnson, Riquna Williams and Stefanie Yderstrom keyed both of those efforts, averaging a combined 56.5 points per game in the two victories.

“They’re very guard-heavy. Their guards supply them with most of their points,” guard Laurin Mincy said. “It’s going to be up to [our guards] to stop and defend them.”

Said center Lynetta Kizer: “It’s hard to beat a team three times.”

For Thomas, it doesn’t matter who the Terps’ opponent is or how many times which team has beaten the other. For the newly named ACC Player of the Year, this weekend is just business as usual.

“We know that [Miami] is right there, but we’re just focusing on our first game,” Thomas said. “Right now, we’re just taking it one game at a time.”

vitale@umdbk.com