No. 9 Virginia Tech Drops Final Four Rematch to No. 7 LSU
No. 9 Virginia Tech lost to No. 7 LSU 82-64 in a rematch of last season’s Final Four meeting.
The Hokies came out hot and ready to get their revenge in the first quarter. Liz Kitley and Georgia Amoore opened up with a pair of jumpers, while LSU’s Mikaylah Williams had two turnovers. VT kept it going through Q1 where the Hokies lead by as much as nine.
The second quarter was a different story. Nothing would fall, connecting on just three shots and two free throws over the 10 minutes. On the other hand, LSU put up 22 points off of two unanswered runs of seven and eight points. All of a sudden, the 20-13 lead for VT became a six-point deficit that the Hokies would never recover from. At this point, the whistles started to really add up as Clara Strack fouled out. She picked up three fouls in 2.5 minutes, exiting the game for good with 2:03 left in the half.
LSU’s third quarter sealed the deal. The Tigers missed only six shots to garnish a 13-point lead. Amoore was the only Hokie getting buckets comfortably, snatching 10 of VT’s 19 points with a combo of blowby layups and pull-up shots. Kitley dropped in a few along with a Cayla King three, but neither found much consistency.
VT battled through the fourth, but the Tigers couldn’t be stopped on the offensive end, slowly adding to the lead. Kitley got charged with her third, fourth, and fifth fouls in a 1:15 span, the last four minutes a lost cause.
Angel Reese didn’t disappoint in her return to the team. She managed 19 points and 9 rebounds despite facing foul trouble herself. Aneesah Morrow and Williams stole the show, combining for 39 points. Morrow pulled in 15 boards for the double-double, along with two blocks and three steals.
Amoore put up 25 in a valiant 40-minute effort to keep Tech in the game, but the poor shooting for VT held her back. The team was 26-64 (40.6%) from the floor and a brutal 4-21 (19%) from 3PT. Virginia Tech struggled statistically, losing the rebound battle by 14, assists by nine, and both fouls and steals by eight. LSU’s 17-26 from the charity stripe hurt as well; Tech only 8-11.
Virginia Tech will look to rebound on Wednesday against LIU at home. They’ll then face local opponent Radford on December 10th.
