Kitley Makes History Again, Hokies Win the Battle of the Commonwealth

Coming off of a crushing loss against No. 16 Duke this past Thursday, the Hokies looked to bounce back against their in-state and Commonwealth rival UVa.

Fortunately for the Hokies, they brought their A-game with them into John Paul Jones Arena. Aggressive play from Kayana Traylor as well as smooth work inside by Elizabeth Kitley powered the Hokies to a 72-60 win.

Virginia Tech wasted no time and was hot out of the gates in the first quarter, with baskets from six different players throughout the quarter to close it out leading 26-13. Hitting 10-of-15 (66.7%) of their shots, including 3-of-4 (75%) from long range, which included a three-quarters court heave from Traylor, they came in with a great plan on how to attack the Cavelier defense.

The second quarter served as a tough test for the Hokies as opposing forward Camryn Taylor came to life for Virginia, scoring 11 of her 22 points. The Hokies had no answer for the senior as she pushed the Tech lead down to six. Kitley led her team in the quarter, scoring six of her 12 first-half points, and looked to anchor the defense with a UVa team poised for a comeback.

Both teams battled in the third, closing the quarter 11-10 in favor of the Hokies. In the mix of the defensive showing, Elizabeth Kitley, who shot 8-of-11 (73%) for the game at the end of the third, broke yet another historic program record by becoming the leader in points scored in ACC play. It’s no doubt that Kitley has been huge for the Virginia Tech program, and she continues to dominate, breaking multiple records already this year.

With top forwards Kitley and Soule in foul trouble and the Cavaliers pulling within four at the 5:58 mark, the Hokies looked toward crafty guard Kayana Traylor to close the game, and that she did. Traylor slammed the door shut on the Cavaliers scoring 15 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter, including two threes. She was no match with her quick drives to the hoop and ability to be deadly behind the arc.

With a win on the road, the Hokies move to 17-4 overall and 7-4 in conference play. For UVa, after a strong start to their season, the Cavaliers drop their eighth conference game and move to 14-8 overall.

The Hokies’ next game will be in Cassell Coliseum as they face off against the Syracuse Orange this Tuesday at 7p.m.