HOKIES GRIND OUT A GUTSY 70-64 WIN TO EXTEND WIN STREAK TO SIX

Jay Winters

February 26, 2021

Clemson, S.C. — Two straight games of forty minutes of press, and two almost identical outcomes: gritty Virginia Tech victories.

It’s what you get when you mix ACC basketball in February with a Clemson squad categorized as one of the “Last Four Out,” and a Virginia Tech team that currently rides a six-game win streak.

“Fantastic win for our program,” head coach Kenny Brooks said. “We’re in a stretch now where we’ve played four teams in a row that, as we like to say, ‘muddy the waters,’ meaning they don’t want you to get comfortable and they press, and we’ve handled all of that and have come through with tremendous wins.”

Grit and grind of course are never pretty, but that might be the beautiful thing about them, and those attributes that shined in Tech’s 70-64 win over Clemson.

It wasn’t pretty in the sense that Tech had to get through 19 total turnovers, including eight from Aisha Sheppard, but beautiful in the way freshman Georgia Amoore weaved and broke through 40 minutes of face-guarding from the Tigers.

“She’s fast, she’s crafty, she’s grown up,” Brooks said. “She was a big piece to breaking that press by herself. She’s probably exhausted after this game, Syracuse, and even Miami and Pitt, and she's really done a tremendous job during this stretch.”

At first, the Tigers’ press did minimal damage, giving the Hokies whatever they wanted on offense through the first half, with Elizabeth Kiltey and Aisha Sheppard both scoring 14.

Tech extended the lead to as much as 17 in the early portions of the third, but thanks to Clemson’s press and Amoore foul trouble, the Hokies went scoreless for over five minutes, letting the Tigers back in the game.

Clemson went on an 18-2 run to cut the lead to just one in the early portions of the fourth, and the game picked up the feel of a heavyweight fight, with both teams throwing punch after punch.

Cayla King and Sheppard combined for the knockout blows, however, as each combined for three straight threes and made free throws down the stretch.

“Our resilience was key, from the start of the game to the end of the game,” Sheppard said. “The fact they cut it to three a few times and we were able to continue to run our game plan and stay poised was really good for us. I feel like we’re growing up.”

Clemson would throw their last round of desperate heaves in the final minute, but it was too little, too late, as the Hokies closed it out 70-64.

Sheppard finished with 27, two points shy of her season-high, while Kitley posted her 13th double-double on the season with a monstrous 24-point and 13-rebound statline.

“This is one step closer to our ultimate goal,” Brooks said. “We’re playing really well right now. This is a nice streak we’re on, the kids are growing up, and we came up with some really big plays when we needed them.”

Tech now sits at seventh in the ACC at 8-7 with a single game left, and barring a crazy finish to the season, Tech could land from as low as eighth to as high as fifth, with just a miniscule chance of finishing fourth.

The Hokies’ last regular season contest will be senior night for Aisha Sheppard and round three against UNC on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum.