No. 15 Virginia Tech Outlasts William & Mary
No. 15 Virginia Tech defeated William & Mary 76-43 on Thursday in a tale of two halves.
After making 17 threes against Radford last week, it was as if the gravitational pull in Blacksburg had shifted and Tech didn’t know what to do. The Hokies opened up the game exceptionally slow, going down 11-3 in the first six minutes of play. The abysmal 1-12 from three and lackluster defense allowed the Tribe’s second-in-command Bella Nascimento to push, scoring all 11 points.
At 3:08 in Q1, the Tech finally got active on the offensive end, dropping in a string of shots to go up a bucket with a few seconds on the clock. Nascimento once again got to work, putting up a three with six seconds left to close out the quarter on top.
The second quarter went a bit smoother for VT, although the shooting still hadn’t worked itself out. 90 seconds into the quarter, Tech had six more points on the board; the following four minutes, none. All of a sudden, a five-point lead was a one-point deficit. A few mistakes from W&M allowed Liz Kitley and Georgia Amoore to each drop in a layup, regaining the narrow lead into halftime.
When the buzzer sounded to start the third quarter, the team finally looked a bit more like themselves. They shot 50% from the floor and made 4-6 from deep to snatch a commanding lead up 47-33. The whole team was active, with six Hokies putting points on the board.
The Hokies we all know and love finally stepped on the hardwood in the fourth quarter. A perfect 5-5 from deep, 8-13 from the floor, and a +19 point differential in the fourth, the Hokies looked great to close out the game up 33.
Liz Kitley led the squad with 23 points, 17 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. Kitley now has 1304 rebounds in her career, surpassing Regan Magarity as the VT and ACC all-time leader in the category.
Carys Baker continued her impressive freshman campaign with 13 points, shooting 3-5 from three. She continues to become a game-changer off the bench, providing a spark for the Hokies when they need it most.
Virginia Tech invites Pitt (5-7) to Cassell on New Year's Eve for the Hokies’ first game of ACC play.
