No. 13 Hokies Topple No. 3 NC State at the Buzzer
No. 13 Virginia Tech took down the undefeated No. 3 NC State Wolfpack 63-62 on Sunday in Blacksburg.
The Hokies had one huge advantage heading into the game. River Baldwin, NC State’s 6’5” graduate center, was injured in the second half of the Thursday matchup with No. 22 FSU. She’s been outstanding this year and was a huge loss for the Wolfpack against such a talented VT squad.
NC State got layups off with ease right off the opening tip, snatching a quick lead in the first quarter. Three quick ones got the Wolfpack a 6-2 lead in the first 2.5 minutes, which they soon followed with four threes. With 2:40 left in the first, things were looking gloomy for the Hokies in a 10-point deficit.
A pair of free throws and a jumper from Liz Kitley helped rein in the score before the second quarter came around. Carys Baker came in with two quick threes to open the quarter, and just like that it was tied at 19.
The two teams battled until the half ended, each having an answer for the other. Kitley’s 12 points kept Tech right in the thick of it, the half closing with NC State up three.
The Hokies got off to a slow start in the back half, quickly finding themselves down 10 again after just two minutes. The Wolfpack seemed to return to their opening form, making shot after shot from everyone on the roster.
With five left in the third quarter, Georgia Amoore found her stroke and did what she does best, dominating the game with crafty shots and drives. The star duo of Amoore and Kitley drew energy off a packed Cassell Coliseum, slowly pulling the Hokies back into the game.
The final minutes were nothing short of stressful, the Hokies down one with 3:00 on the clock. Neither team could get a good shot off, but Virginia Tech got their way on the offensive boards. Baker pulled from three and clanked off and Cayla King snagged the board. Amoore tried a three of her own, again unsuccessful. Kitley grabbed her rebound and laid it in for two. The Hokies had their first lead of the game with 1:28 remaining.
A few possessions crawled by without a bucket. Carys Baker managed a block on Saniya Rivers to hold the game at 61-60, and NC State was in trouble.
With seven seconds on the clock, NC State Head Coach Wes Moore called a timeout to get settled for an inbounds play. They went back to Rivers, who drove up the right side and down the baseline, laying in the reverse over Kitley to get back on top.
The Hokies had just 2.1 seconds left, and Head Coach Kenny Brooks knew he had to go to Kitley. King was set to inbound and lobbed it up to the 2x ACC POTY, who quickly tossed it off the glass for an easy two.
NC State inbounded with less than a second, but couldn’t get a shot off in time, leaving the Hokies victorious against what some would call their most difficult opponent to date.
Kitley led the way for Tech with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Amoore followed with 21 points, seven assists, a block, and two steals. No other Hokies reached double-digit scoring, but Baker’s two threes were huge in the long run.
Madison Hayes had 21 for the Wolfpack, shooting a startling 7-9 from the field, and 4-5 from 3PT. She also had nine rebounds, a block, and a steal. Saniya Rivers had 12, with two blocks, and one steal.
Virginia Tech (12-2, 3-0 ACC) will continue ACC play with Miami (10-3, 0-2 ACC) on Thursday at home and No. 22 FSU (11-4, 2-1 ACC) on Sunday, January 14th in Tallahassee.
