Virginia Tech has come a long way during the tenure of Kenny Brooks so far, but one thing they hadn't done yet (nor anyone previously) is win on the road at NC State. Tonight, the #11 Hokies changed that led by a pair of tremendous games from superstar center Elizabeth Kitley and star point guard Georgia Amoore.
#11 Virginia Tech beat #22 NC State 73-61 to improve to 19-4 on the season including 9-4 in ACC play with the Hokies only 1.5 games behind ACC leaders Duke with the Blue Devils still to come to Cassell Coliseum. This was also the first win in program history for the Hokies in Raleigh against the Wolfpack.
There were a pair of runs that were critical in this game starting with the 13-2 run to open this game that gave the Hokies a lead they would never relinquish. The more important run came in the third quarter after the Wolfpack went on a 7-0 run to trim the lead to 2. Tech responded with an 8-0 run to give themselves a 58-48 lead going into the fourth quarter that would never go under 7 in the fourth quarter.
Tech shot the ball quite well making 49.1% of their attempts including 47.4% (9-19) of their threes plus an impressive 12-13 at the free-throw line. They also had a strong defensive performance holding the Wolfpack to 40% from the field at home including under 30% in the second quarter and under 40% in the fourth quarter.
The Hokies' two most well-known stars also put together an incredible performance starting with last year's ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley. The veteran center was dominant throughout as she had 25 points on an efficient 9-15 from the field and 7-8 from the free-throw line while adding 14 rebounds for another double-double plus 3 blocks and 2 assists.
Meanwhile, Georgia Amoore had a huge game especially in the second half where she scored or had an assist on 26 of Tech's 34 points in the final 2 quarters.
Georgia Amoore scored or assisted on 26 of Virginia Tech’s 34 second-half points to lead the Hokies to a 73-61 win over NC State https://t.co/TZPPHucvZx
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 7, 2023
That's simply insane stuff as the Australian star once again showed why she will easily be joining Kitley on the All-ACC teams this year. She finished the night with a career high 27 points on 11-21 shooting from the field including 5-11 from three plus 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal.
Cayla King was big early on in this game with a pair of early threes on her way to having 10 points (3-5 from three-point range overall) plus 3 rebounds. Taylor Soule was once again Tech's do-it-all player as though she only had 2 points, she added 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 rebound. Meanwhile, D'Asia Gregg was big off the bench with 5 points and 8 rebounds while Kayana Traylor had 4 points and 3 rebounds, and Ashley Owusu had a 1 rebound and an assist in limited minutes.
This is a huge win for the Hokies kicking off this stretch of five-straight games against currently ranked opponents with the next three all at home against Florida State, Duke, and #22 NC State before finishing it with a trip to #14 North Carolina. This should mean that Tech is comfortably within the first top 16 ranking that the NCAA will reveal on Thursday meaning that they are right on track to host NCAA Tournament games this season.
It also keeps Tech's hopes of winning at least a share of the ACC regular season title alive especially with Duke and Florida State both having to come to Cassell Coliseum.
After some injuries slowed Tech down, the Hokies have found their rhythm and are starting to show the type of elite team they can be that rightly can have fans dreaming of a trip to the Final Four this year.
