Hokies Stumble Against Wolfpack in Quarterfinals, 68-55

Jay Winters

March 6, 2021

GREENSBORO, N.C. — NC State and Virginia Tech gave the ACC two beautiful heavyweight bouts in the regular season, and round three of the ACC Tournament felt like the conclusion to a long, hard fought deciding title match.

Not the prettiest at times with a couple of ugly hooks and jabs thrown from both sides, but the better fighter got the job done in the end.

The Hokies first semifinal appearance under coach Kenny Brooks will have to wait another year, as NC State knocked off Tech 68-55 in a game where both teams were seemingly not at their best.

“Obviously disappointed, but very proud of our kids’ effort,” Brooks said. “Whether it was fighting through injury or the short bench, I thought our kids did a really good job and they kept us hanging around.”

That injury and short bench Brooks mentioned stemmed from Aisha Sheppard’s tweaked ankle in yesterday’s contest against Miami, which limited some of her mobility, as the Wolfpack held Sheppard to just 2 of 15 from the field and a season-low six points.

Sheppard was not the only one who struggled from the field as Tech and State shot under 50%, but the first quarter looked like both might’ve had the potential to go off, notched 16-16 at the end.

Elizabeth Kitley and Elissa Cunane, both Lisa Leslie Award Finalists and high school teammates just 20 minutes down the road at Northern Guilford, went to war from the start of the game.

“We’re both pretty familiar with each other, and it's like being home again,” Kitley said. “I think we both like playing against each other because it definitely makes us both better.”

Kitley and Cunane led both squads in scoring, putting up a similar stat line of 20 points and nine rebounds for Kitley, while Cunane recorded 27 points and 9 rebounds.

The two bigs may have been the only similarity between both teams, as State started to separate from Tech in the second and third quarters and two stats started to show their colors — points in the paint and bench production.

The Wolfpack outscored the Hokies in the paint 42-16, while getting 17 bench points to just three from the Hokies, including seven of eight State players scoring a bucket.

Tech was never out of the contest by any means. The Hokies cut the lead to six multiple times in the second half and as little as four in the third quarter.

However, every time the Hokies got within striking distance after a spurt of four or five points, the Woflpack always had an answer, pushing the lead pack to double digits every time.

“It was really a mental thing, but also physical,” Brooks said. “We just had a couple of breakdowns where we missed a couple of opportunities to get a defensive rebound, but that's what happens when you play really good teams, and they capitalized on our mistakes.”

The last time Tech cut the lead to single-digits was with 4:30 to go left in the game, as State went on an 8-2 run to push the game out of reach for good, finishing 68-55.

Any tournament loss has an extra bite to it, but unlike last year, Virginia Tech will compete for a National Championship in what will be the Hokies’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006.

“It's a different feeling,” Brooks said. “We told our kids this is not the end, and that this should be the second consecutive year we’ve made the NCAA tournament. We’re proving to a lot of people what our program really is, and we’ll go home and take care of ourselves both physically and mentality.”

The Hokies will have to wait until Selection Monday to find out their seed. Charlie Creme’s Bracketology currently has Tech as a nine-seed in UConn’s bracket.

Until then, it’s still a 1-0 mindset for the Hokies.