Hokies blow past george washington after a record-tying 16 threes

Jay Winters

December 2, 2020

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Not even the first snowfall of the year could cool down Virginia Tech as the Hokies cruised past George Washington 92-57 on Tuesday night in Cassell Coliseum.

The Hokies hit 16 three- pointers, tying the record for the most made in Cassell Coliseum, which came in the 2018-2019 season against Longwood.

Five different Hokies hit from beyond the arc, and of the nine Hokies who attempted a three, five shot 50% or better.

“These kids can shoot,” Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said, reflecting on the hot shooting. “Tonight, we tied the Cassell Coliseum record for most threes, and it didn’t even feel like that for us because we just know we’re capable of shooting the ball extremely well.”

Aisha Sheppard rebounded from a 6-for-20 game against Liberty with a 7-for-12 showing, leading the team with 22 points and four assists.

“When we’re all clicking on all cylinders like that, it almost feels like we’re unguardable,” Sheppard said about the team's collective shooting. “It’s going to put a lot of people on notice, but it’s a great feeling to know we can knock down threes as much as we do.”

As if the three ball wasn’t enough, Elizabeth Kitley joined in on the party and tallied her third straight double-double for the first time in her career, recording 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Kitley, along with Aisha Jones, forced GW’s Neila Luma, who entered the game averaging a double-double, into foul trouble and a final mark of two points and no rebounds.

Jones and Kitley also out-rebounded the Colonials by themselves, accounting for 20 of the team’s 48 rebounds, compared to George Washington’s 19.

Bench points also played a huge role for the Hokies, as the bench contributed 20 points with Da’ja Jones netting eight and Makayla Ennis adding six.

“We got to see some other kids with the lights on be able to play,” Brooks said. “I saw some valuable minutes from our bench. Our bench has gotten better every game and it just shows that we have kids capable of playing at a high level.”

As for the Colonials, Jasmine Whitney and Ali Brigham led with 13 apiece.

The Hokies stormed off to a 13-0 start that saw George Washington go scoreless for the first four minutes and fifteen seconds of the game.

The Colonials pulled within seven around halfway through the first quarter, but would never get any closer the rest of the game.

The Hokies pushed the lead to 49-27 at half, and eclipsed the average points-per-game that George Washington allowed opponents in their first two games, which was 37.5.

Tech fed off their momentum from the first half and produced their best quarter in the third, outscoring the Colonials 27 to nine, and sealed the deal in the fourth, closing with a 92-57 victory.

The Colonials fall to 2-1 on the year while the Hokies move to 3-0.

Virginia Tech will look to continue the hot streak against 2-0 Appalachian State on Friday at 4 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum.