No. 8 Virginia Tech Falls to No. 3 Iowa in 4th Quarter Thriller

Charlotte’s Spectrum Center was buzzing Thursday, but not for the Hornets. The No. 8 Virginia Tech Hokies headed down to the Queen City to square off with the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes for a marquise matchup. VT ended up beneath the Hawkeyes 80-76, dropping to 1-1 during the season's first week.

Catlin Clark and Georgia Amoore battled it out for four quarters, scoring 44 and 31 points respectively. Clark shot terribly to start the game, missing shot after shot from deep during the early minutes. The Naismith Player of the Year eventually found her stroke, closing out with five threes, eight boards, and six assists to complement her point total.

Liz Kitley had 16 of her own, most coming during the fourth. She struggled on the offensive end, but Kitley still found ways to make her towering 6’6” presence known down low, racking up three blocks and 16 rebounds.

Kitley suffered a minor injury during the game when Cayla King drove in for a layup and the two clashed. She headed into the locker room briefly with a towel over her mouth. She returned moments later following a media break, playing out the rest of the game as normal.

Matilda Ekh, the transfer from Michigan State, also had a brutal night. She shot just 3-11 from the floor and 1-7 from three for seven points.

Iowa became a very streaky team down the stretch, breaking away and letting the Hokies climb right back in it. Tech trailed by as much as nine in the first, but Amoore pulled the team through. She drained three shots behind the arc, one a half-court buzzer beater to close out the quarter to put the Hokies up 18-15.

Tech struggled with foul trouble early on, putting multiple players on edge during their minutes. King and Ekh tallied two in the first half, while Carleigh Wenzel had three in the second quarter alone. Wenzel's defense was solid on Clark throughout, but foul trouble got the best of her in the end, where she fouled out late in the fourth. She and others were forced to hang back a tad on defense, letting Clark take the Hawkeyes soaring with her shooting rhythm back.

Virginia Tech will next take the court on November 16th in Cassell Coliseum as they face the Houston Christian Huskies.