No. 11 Hokies Avoid The Season Sweep, Take Down No. 9 Duke 61-45
By Josh Collier
Staff Writer
February 16, 2023
Georgia Amoore scored 20 points in the Hokies' 61-45 thumping of Duke on Thursday night. (Virginia Tech Athletics)
BLACKSBURG — Last time out against the Blue Devils on Jan. 26, Virginia Tech’s two leading scorers were held to just 11 points on 3-of-21 shooting combined, as the Hokies lost 66-55. This time around, things went a bit differently.
Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore both posted identical shooting lines last night, with 20 points each on 8-of-18 from the field. This helped lead Tech to a 61-45 win against a ninth-ranked Duke team.
This is especially impressive against a Duke basketball team that has allowed the second fewest points per game to opposing teams in the nation this season, at 50.2. This is only behind the No. 1 ranked team in the nation who is undefeated at 26-0, South Carolina.
Something that Virginia Tech had to deal with all game was Duke’s physicality and their full-court press. “Hands down, they’re the most physical team in our league and they use it to their advantage,” Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said. “They come out and they pressure you 90 feet away from the basket. They put a lot of pressure on you both ends of the floor.”
Then he went on to explain how Tech was able to counter this pressure.
“I thought we handled it well, and that was our focus,” Brooks said. “We knew we had to change some things after we played them the first time. … You can’t allow them to knock you off your spots. They did that at their place; I thought we handled it much better here. The kids understood the assignment and they went out and executed it and you have to do that against a team like Duke.”
The win not only marks a five-game winning streak for the Hokies, but also three straight double-digit wins against top-25 teams. Brooks believes that this is a sign of the team already being in postseason form.
“We’re playing postseason basketball right now. You know, the last three games, postseason basketball,” Brooks said. “The one on Sunday [against N.C. State] is going to be like a postseason basketball game. The one on Thursday [at North Carolina] is going to be like a postseason basketball game. And then we’re heading into the ACC Tournament.”
The Hokies seem to be very ready for the postseason, as they have mentioned multiple times how good of relationships and how much confidence Brooks and the players have in each other.
“Cayla [King] and Georgia and Liz could probably run the practice right now if they wanted to,” Brooks said. “I have that much confidence. They know exactly what we do, what’s going to happen, and they’re very focussed and locked in right now.”
The feeling is reciprocated.
“[Brooks] just really values his relationships with his players,” Kitley said. “And that's how I think he gets the best out of them because it's not just one-sided. … I say this all the time, [but] I don't think if I went anywhere else that I would be nearly as good as I am here. And I really owe that to him.”
It seems like the bond between the players and the head coach on this team is very strong, and both sides owe a lot of credit to one another.
But the players and Brooks weren’t the only factors of last night’s game receiving credit. Brooks gave much respect to the students and the fans in attendance, as well. In fact, it was the very first thing he mentioned in his post-game presser.
“It was a phenomenal win for us. And when I say phenomenal, I want to sit here and first I want to give credit to that crowd.” Brooks said. “That is the loudest crowd I’ve ever heard here. … I’ve been saying this a long time that Hokie Nation and people coming into Cassell… they can make this good team a great team.”
When the coaches, players and fans are all coming together on a winning basketball team, that is a telling sign that the team is postseason ready. The Hokies host N.C. State on Sunday before they go on the road to cap off their regular season against North Carolina and Georgia Tech. Next step after that? The ACC Tournament.