Hokies Cruise Past The Yellow Jackets 87-69 (1-25-24)
By: Joey Raymond
All Photo Credit: Katie Lovell-LMS Network
Blacksburg, VA –After getting a much-needed win to avoid a three-game losing streak the Queens of the Cassell are back at it tonight against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Virginia Tech’s starting five will once again be reunited with Georgia Amoore. An extremely welcome sight for the Hokies after having to go a game without her. Cayla King is also back in the starting five after a scary injury made her miss the rest of the last contest. The battle of the Techs is always an interesting matchup and this one stands to be no different. Georgia Tech is also coming off of a game where they snapped a two-game losing streak. They managed to snag a dominating win against the Boston College Eagles and will look to bring that momentum into this game.
First Quarter Recap:
The ever-reliable Liz Kitley gets the scoring started shortly after tip-off as the Hokies score twice, both off the hands of Kitley. Cassell Coliseum is in this game from the jump as you can feel the energy in the building in the early portion of the game. With 5 minutes left in the quarter, the Hokies would lead it 16-6 in large part off the back of Liz Kitley. Who would go on to have 8 points at this part of the game? Georgia Tech would look lost on offense up to this point, only shooting 30% from the line. As the game continued, we’d see more of the same. Liz Kitley would dominate the floor as the Hokies would continue to find her in open space. She’d have 14 points as the Hokies would stretch their lead further and further, with a minute left they’d have a 24-11 lead. The quarter would come to a close with the Hokies continuing to dominate offensively. When the clock hit all zeros, the Hokies would have a 28-13 lead.
Second Quarter Recap:
Georgia Tech would score first to start this quarter, and Kayla Blackshear would put up a layup that would find the net. The Yellow Jackets would try to crawl back into this game by going on a 5-0 run before the Hokies would respond. Virginia Tech would attempt to squash the momentum of the Jackets as quickly as possible. Georgia Amoor and Liz Kitley would start showing some experience, getting off some clutch shots and a couple of turnovers. The Yellow Jackets would find some love beyond the arch and at the free throw line though, finding themselves down 10 with 3:30 left to go. As we continued to the minute mark, the Yellow Jackets would find themselves inching closer to the Hokies. The score with a minute left to go would be 42-33, with the Hokies out front. Georgia Amoor would put her name on the final seconds of the quarter, scoring twice, the second shot happening to be a buzzer-beater as the half would come to a close. The Hokies would be in the lead heading into halftime, leading 46-35.
Third Period Recap:
Both teams would complete two pretty egregious turnovers to start the second half off before Georgia Amoore would sink two free throws to get the scoring started. She’d double down on the scoring with a massive three not but a little while after. As the Hokies would stretch their lead, Georgia Tech had gone silent on offense to this point in the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets would find themselves 0-10 in scoring chances in the third quarter except for free throws. With five minutes left the Hokies would lead 57-38. The Hokies offensive onslaught would continue but the defense would be extremely impressive for the Hokies down the stretch in this quarter. Virginia Tech would find themselves with a 63-45 lead as the quarter would come to a close.
Fourth Quarter Recap:
The first score of this period would belong to the Yellow Jackets Tonie Morgan. She’d hit a layup to get us started in this final quarter. The Hokies would respond with a barrage of three-pointers. Thanks to those threes, very quickly in the last quarter the Hokies would find themselves with a 72-49 lead. The Hokies offense would be feeling it this quarter. They’d manage an 81-61 lead with 3 minutes left. The Yellow Jackets would keep fighting though, but the Virginia Tech defense would prove to cause issues. The Jackets would be more accurate from the field, but the Hokies would have significantly more chances to shoot the ball. By the time we’d have a minute left, the Hokies lead would be up to 87-66. Head coach Kenny Brooks would let the last couple of minutes play with strictly freshmen. The Hokies would only allow 3 more points, finishing the game with a score of 87-69.
What’s Next?
The Hokies had three players score in double digits in this game, led by Kitley, who had 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Amoore added a double-double with 24 points and 13 assists and Olivia Summiel helped out with 12 points and 9 rebounds. They dominated offensively in the game and will take that and move to the next game. Next up for the Hokies is a tough one. They get to travel up to Syracuse to take on the 22nd-ranked team in the country. That’ll be a noon tip-off on Sunday, January 28th. As for Georgia Tech, they will try to take this game and use it as a stepping stone for the next one. They’ll head back home to Atlanta and get ready to welcome the 23rd-ranked Florida State. A team looking to have a revenge game after getting crushed against Duke. That game will also be on the 28th, tipping off at 4 pm.
