On Sunday evening, the #16 Virginia Tech Hokies traveled to New Jersey and got a 84-59 road win against the reeling Rutgers Scarlet Nights in a memorable night for Tech’s head coach Kenny Brooks.
Kenny Brooks notched his 500th career victory in the blowout, as he improved his overall record at Virginia Tech to 163-76. After leaving JMU as their all time winningest coach in 2016, Brooks has continued his brilliance on the sidelines, leading the Hokies to 20-win seasons in 6 of his first 7 seasons as head coach. At just 54 years old, the Hokie faithful have much to look forward to as Kenny Brooks will likely continue coaching for many years to come.
The Hokies' passing and three-point sharpshooting once again proved to be the difference in this meaningful win. While Rutgers shot a respectable near 38% from distance, they did this on only eight attempts, while the Hokies drained 17 of their 37 three point bombs, which checks in at a sizzling 46% for the night. While it was clearly a hot night for the Hokies, the main reason for their three-point accuracy is that almost all of their threes came off of the catch.
In fact, 22 of their 29 field goals made all game were assisted, compared to just 5 assists for Rutgers. The lack of ball movement forced the Scarlet Knights into many tough shots off of the dribble, and contributed to their putrid 30% shooting from the field.
This ball movement was evident in the 20-1 run the Hokies went on spanning from the end of the first quarter througu much of the second quarter. This run proved to be the difference in the game as Rutgers could never recover and the Hokies ran away to a 25-point win.
In terms of individual performances, this win was all about the shooting of Georgia Amoore, Matilda Ekh, and Olivia Summiel. Those three went a combined 16 for 27 from three-point range, and scored 61 of Tech’s 84 points, as Ekh dropped 25 while Amoore and Summiel had 18 apiece.
Just a few weeks ago, when the Hokies drained 17 threes against LIU, Cayla King and Carys Baker were the sharpshooters. All of this just goes to show the depth that the Hokies are developing.
Everyone knows how great Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore are, but early in the season, they were forced to carry the team due to mediocre play from the surrounding players. At this point in the season, that couldn't be further from the truth as it feels like any player has the potential to have a big game on any given night for the Hokies.
The fact that Virginia Tech just blew out a major conference opponent in a game where Kitley only had 11 points and 8 rebounds is very telling of the chemistry this team is playing with right now and the depth of talent they have While the Hokies had two unfortunate losses to two of the other top teams in the country in Iowa and LSU earlier this season, it feels like they are rounding into form at the perfect time, as they are about a week away from the start of ACC play, which includes big games against 24th ranked Miami, 22nd ranked Florida State, and the number 3 team in the country, the NC State Wolfpack.
This gauntlet will show just how much the Hokies have improved in the last few weeks, during which they will need the supporting cast to come through in order to get some big wins.
The Hokies will look to keep rolling against the 4-6 William & Mary Tribe at 2 pm on December 21st.
