No. 11 Virginia Tech Explodes Past Miami in the Second Quarter
No. 11 Virginia Tech defeated Miami 76-52 Thursday night to stay a pristine 4-0 in the ACC amid an eight-game win streak.
Coming off a massive last-second win against the “formerly” undefeated No. 3 NC State Wolfpack, the Hokies got right back to it against Miami.
“Miami is a really good team, so coming away from a game like this and winning by this margin means a lot,” said Liz Kitley.
The Hurricanes got off to a solid start in Cassell with a quick jumper from Ja’Leah Williams off the opening tip. The Hokies came up empty-handed on their first set, Rose Micheaux missing a hook shot at the block.
Hustling back on defense, Georgia Amoore turned it back with a steal from Williams, the ball eventually ended in Liz Kitley’s hands for a rattled-out jumper. Micheaux got up for the board and drew a foul from Kyla Oldacre, making her second free throw to put the Hokies on the board.
Other than that one free throw, it was all Kitley in the first. Several jumpers, a layup, and five from the charity stripe left #33 with 13 points by the end of the first quarter, the two teams tied at 14 apiece.
The second quarter was when it started getting out of hand. The team kept feeding Kitley’s hot hand, and with another four points, she had 17 straight for VT. Miami was already stepping into foul trouble with a litany of whistles through the first and second quarters, and the big presence down low did nothing to slow it down.
“The second quarter was really big for us. We were able to push it open a little bit, but I thought Elizabeth was great,” said Head Coach Kenny Brooks. “She was good down low, caused a lot of problems for them.”
“My shot was just feeling good,” said Kitley. “Whenever someone is like that we’re really good at giving the ball to them. My teammates were looking for me a lot, Coach Brooks was running sets to use actions to get me open so that I’d have that shot, so it’s really a whole team effort.”
With so much focus on the post, Virginia Tech finally shifted out to the three-point line with a trio of treys in the final minutes of the half. The Hokies up 16 after a 15-0 run, Miami was under pressure and it was showing. Their final possession ended without a shot attempt, the players unaware of the expiring clock while the Hokie faithful roared in the stands.
The third quarter opened with a pair of threes from Kitley and Matilda Ekh, the crowd on their feet once again. Miami now down 46-24, and the frustration from the Hurricanes was apparent to all. Fouls got progressively more chippy, which soon turned into intentional and technical fouls.
“We always emphasize trying to have a third-quarter blitz, which means just at the start coming out hot and confident. I think we very much did that,” said Amoore.
The fourth quarter saw more cheers for free Bojangles biscuits than it did buckets for Miami. The Hokies' lead steadily grew, and they closed it out with a 24-point margin to take home an eighth straight win.
“It feels good right now it’s clicking,” said Amoore. “We’re gelling at the right time and we’re discovering each other’s roles. I think that’s really important, especially when you have a bunch of new people coming in, they have to find their role.”
“Not a lot of people are going to come in here and get a win, but a lot of people are gonna play better than Miami did tonight,” said Miami Head Coach Katie Meier. “I’m disappointed in our maturity level.”
Shayeann Day-Wilson led Miami with 19 points, and Williams finished with 10 as the only Hurricanes players in double-figure.
Kitley ended with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and a steal in yet another dominant performance for one of the best to ever do it. Amoore had 16-3-6 with two steals, but had seven turnovers against the aggressive Miami defense. Ekh ignited the team with 12 from her four triples.
Virginia Tech heads to Tallahassee next for a matchup with No. 21 FSU (13-4, 4-1 ACC) on Sunday, January 14th, and then up to Durham for Duke (10-5, 2-2 ACC) on January 18th.
