Georgia Amoore's Triple-Double Excels No. 9 Virginia Tech Past Nebraska
As the 3-point shot from Nebraska’s Annika Stewart clanged off the front of the iron with just under a minute to play in the fourth quarter, every Hokie fan in attendance held their breath in anticipation, hoping for Georgia Amoore to rebound the ball.
The Ballarat, Au. product maneuvered her way into the paint, jumping up and beating out Nebraska’s Callin Hake to collect her 10th board of the night. Cassell Coliseum exploded with jubilation.
On that rebound, Georgia Amoore had officially made the record books. Her 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists made her the first-ever Hokie to record a triple-double in the women's basketball program’s history.
“She was phenomenal,” Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said postgame. “To get a triple-double [is] unbelievable. I’m very very proud of her and the way that she executed everything that we needed her to do on both ends of the floor.”
Amoore’s historic night propelled Virginia Tech (7-0) over Nebraska (5-3) 85-64 in the last ACC/Big Ten Challenge the Hokies will play in for the foreseeable future.
The junior guard joins a prestigious list of those who have recorded a triple-double in a Virginia Tech uniform. Only Chris Clarke (2016) and Justyn Mutts (2022) on the men's side have ever hit the mark.
“Honestly I realized with like two minutes left and we had a timeout and everyone was like ‘you need two more rebounds!’ so that’s when I knew,” Amoore said. “It was just honestly a good game and something that wasn’t really on my mind. I just wanted to win.
“It feels really good of course. I love being a Hokie and it’s good that my name is coded alongside with that. But I'm just happy we got the win.”
Up by roughly 14 for the first 15 minutes, Virginia Tech held a comfortable lead until Nebraska’s Annika Stewart nailed a 3-pointer and hit a jump shot to pull the Cornhuskers within eight. That was the closest Nebraska would come to tie with Virginia Tech, as although they would linger and attempt to stay within the game by staying within low double digit points, the Hokies left the Cornhuskers in the dust in the fourth quarter thanks to a 20-0 run.
The Hokies weren’t just fueled by Amoore’s performance to defeat the Cornhuskers. Elizabeth Kitley posted her 40th double-double, posting 24 points and 12 rebounds. Taylor Soule finished third in scoring, putting up 18.
Virginia Tech would be asking a lot from their core group of players against Nebraska, as minutes were stretched high due to pivotal players being out for the game. Kayana Traylor, who has been strong off the bench, was ruled out. Then, Ashley Owusu suffered an apparent injury to her hand with less than a minute to play in the first quarter, sidelining her for the night. Amoore, Kitley and Cayla King were on the court for nearly the entire game for the Hokies.
Owusu will be seeing a hand specialist later this week, Brooks said postgame.
Defensively, Virginia Tech held Nebraska to just 33.9% (20-of-59) from the floor and 30% (6-of-20) from long-range. The Cornhuskers’ leading average scorer Alexis Markowski was shut down by Elizabeth Kitley down low, only racking up seven points. Isabelle Bourne led Nebraska with 15 on the night.
“I think this game proved even further how much we’ve been working on our defense,” Kitley said. “We’ve been saying that a lot, but obviously when we’re not playing as talented teams it’s kinda hard to emphasize that. … We’ve been working on that hard and that’s a big point of emphasis.”
The pendulum of momentum that’s surging the team to new heights is being swung by many. It wasn’t just the triple-double that set the record books: 1052 Virginia Tech students were in attendance in Cassell Thursday night , which shattered the old mark.
“It’s awesome. It really is. … We hope they keep coming back because they can make a really good team a great team,” Brooks said of the energy Thursday night. “Because this atmosphere - I’ve said it about Cassell - You don’t just hear people in Cassell. You feel people in Cassell. … It warms my heart because it makes the kids really happy, but I do think that we have a product that people can get behind and really really enjoy it.”
Virginia Tech will travel down I-81 to take on Tennessee Sunday at 1 p.m. The Hokies lost to the Lady Volunteers in their last matchup 64-58 in Blacksburg in the 2021-22 season.
