Hokies Run Past Orange for Program-Best Fifth Straight ACC Win

Topher Wagner

February 22, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. — The hottest team in the ACC continues to roll as Virginia Tech won its fifth straight contest on Sunday afternoon, handling Syracuse, 76-68.

For a team that lost so many close games earlier in the season, combined with roster attrition, winning a program-best fifth straight ACC game is impressive for this Tech squad.

Despite 10 days off because of games being postponed due to COVID-19, the Hokies didn’t look rusty. Instead, they manhandled the Orange on both sides of the ball.

“It was a really big win for us in so many different ways,” Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said. “Coming off of a 10-day stretch where we had no games, you really don’t know how your kids are going to respond. I thought in the first half they were phenomenal — we controlled the narrative of how the game was gonna be. We kind of let that slip away a bit in the second half and let them hang on, but all in all, I thought our kids did a tremendous job.”

Much like they have the last few games, the Hokies started off fast, jumping out to an early 18-6 lead behind a combination of hot three-point shooting and a smothering defense.

The Hokies’ defensive prowess was felt early and often as they held Syracuse to just eight points in the first quarter on 30% shooting from the field while forcing four turnovers.

“In all of the wins we’ve had, we’ve sort of had a defensive focus,” Tech point guard Georgia Amoore said. “We just have to make sure to lock in on defense and focus because we can outscore anyone in the country, but it’s not going to matter if we don’t stop them from scoring.”

After a strong start to the game, the Hokies didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal to begin the second quarter. Tech continued to move the ball around, dishing it down low to Elizabeth Kitley before kicking it back out to the wings, making it difficult for the Syracuse zone to stop the lethal attack.

Amoore also picked up right where she left off after earning ACC Freshman of the Week honors before the Hokies’ hiatus, nailing shot after shot while directing the offense up and down the floor. She also proved that she could make plays on the defensive side of the ball when she took a huge charge midway through the second quarter that brought the entire Tech bench to their feet in celebration.

The dominant quarter was capped off by an outstanding stepback three-point shot from star Aisha Sheppard with four seconds remaining as the Hokies went into the break up 44-22.

“We just want to make sure that we are always ready for someone to throw the next punch because we used to lose plenty of games in the second half and the fourth quarter,” Sheppard said. “We really want to make sure that we can lock in during the second half and it really helped that we built such a great lead in the first.”

Up by 22 points and having just doubled Syracuse’s score in the first half, Virginia Tech appeared to be running away with the contest. Then, the Orange started to shoot their way back.

After putting up eight points in the entire first quarter, Syracuse went on an 8-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half to make it a game again. Tiana Mangakahia was particularly impressive as the guard dropped 14 points, including three three-pointers in the quarter.

However, just as Syracuse cut the deficit to nine, the Hokies exploded with a three-point outburst of their own to bring the lead back to 13. After a difficult start handling Syracuse’s full court press, Tech made some adjustments to extend its lead.

“Coach did a great job of getting us into our press attack, but really we just figured that we needed to attack them the same way they were attacking us,” Sheppard said. “Once we got an angle on them, we knew that we could go right by and get into our offense. They’re very long so we couldn’t just hold the ball and wait for them to come get us, we had to attack them.”

By the start of the fourth quarter, it was clear how physical and gritty both teams were playing in order to try to win the game. Bodies flew all over the place and there were fouls galore as the two ACC foes went back and forth.

A costly turnover by Sheppard reopened the door for Syracuse, cutting the lead to single digits, but a deep three-pointer by Cayla King quickly slammed it shut and the Orange didn’t threaten again.

Sheppard had another great game, finishing with 23 points to lead the Hokies in another clutch ACC win.

“It makes your steak taste good at night when you eat you’re in a bit of a better mood,” Brooks said about the team’s winning streak. “Once the game is over with, you’re already looking towards the next one. I’ll watch this game tonight and probably have an adult beverage and then tomorrow it’ll be onto Clemson. We kind of adopted the mantra that the football team has of ‘let’s just go 1-0.’”

The Hokies have certainly taken that mantra to heart, as they have won five straight contests and are red hot going into their final two regular season games. Everything is clicking at the right time and they have officially become a team that no one will want to play down the stretch.

The Hokies improved to 12-7 and have three days off before traveling to face Clemson on Thursday. Syracuse drops to 11-8 and will return home to play Boston College that same evening.