Miami sees shadow in groundhog day loss to hokies

Tyler Katz

February 3, 2020

BLACKSBURG, VA. - Miami saw their own shadow on Groundhogs Day, falling to Virginia Tech 69-45 in Cassell Coliseum after shooting 14 of 61 from the floor.

The Hokies (16-5, 6-4 ACC) bounced back from their loss at the hands of Syracuse on Thursday after they gave up a 16-point lead in the second half. The Hurricanes (12-10, 4-7 ACC) could not come from behind for their second straight game, after they fought back from a 18-point deficit on Thursday to beat Georgia Tech.

“We like to play man-to-man,” Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said. “I love accountability… we were going to start in man, and we had it in our back pocket that we were going to go zone.”

At halftime, the Hokies led 24-16, going on a 10-0 run over the last four minutes after trailing 16-14 with 4:02 to play in the second quarter.

Tech never looked back, extending their lead to as large as 25 points in the third quarter.

The Hokies closed the deal in the fourth quarter, something Tech could not do in Syracuse earlier in the week, and walked away with their sixth ACC victory of the season.

Junior forward Trinity Baptiste led the Hokies with 17 points and eight rebounds, hitting five of her eight field goal attempts. It’s the first time scoring in double figures in three games for the Tampa, Florida native.

Virginia Tech shot well from behind the arc as well, making eight of their 20 attempts from downtown. Sophomore Dara Mabrey connected for three of those, helping her to 11 points in Cassell on Sunday.

Aisha Sheppard was Tech’s second leading scorer with 14 points, only making four of ten field goals but getting it done from the charity stripe (5-7). She hit another three on Sunday, extending the school record for most consecutive games with a three-pointer to 28 games.

Lydia Rivers and Elizabeth Kitley had quiet games scoring but lit up the boards, grabbing seven and six rebounds, respectively. Kitley finished with eight points, six of which came in the first quarter, while Rivers scored five.

Graduate transfer Taja Cole recorded nine assists and eight points in the victory for the Hokies, while Cayla King and Chloe Brooks each contributed one three-point basket. Brooks’ three with 1:44 to play in the fourth was her first bucket of her collegiate career after battling a foot injury and redshirting last season.

“When Chloe got her feet set and let it go, I knew it was good, Kenny Brooks, Chloe’s father, said. “I remember Kendyl’s first college three and I’ll remember this obviously.”

Only two players scored in double figures for Miami – Destiny Harden had a career high 13 points, while Sydnee Roby scored 11.

With the win, Tech has now won 16 games in a row in Cassell Coliseum, with the last loss coming last February at the hands of then No. 2 Louisville. They’ll look to extend that streak on Thursday, February 6 when they host No. 7 N.C. State at 7 p.m.

As for the Canes, the loss gives them a 0-6 record in road games this season. They have time to rest with no game this upcoming week, returning home to Coral Gables to face Duke on Sunday, February 9.