No. 12 Virginia Tech outmuscles Duke for eigth-straight win

Jack Brizendine

Editor in Chief

February 16, 2024

BLACKSBURG — Revenge.

That’s what Kenny Brooks’ squad had on its mind heading into Thursday night’s matchup with Duke — and that’s exactly what it got.

No. 12 Virginia Tech (21-4, 12-2 ACC) grinded out the 61-56 win over the Blue Devils (16-8, 8-5), avenging its blowout loss in Durham a month ago.

“Very proud of our kids,” Brooks said to reporters postgame. “Very tough situation, tough battle. I felt like we played two games. Just exhausted mentally [and] physically. But proud of our kids. They answered the bell a lot of different times [and] played through the physicality.”

Thursday night’s victory over the Blue Devils marked the Hokies’ eighth-straight win since losing to them in January.

Both squads went blow-for-blow in the first half, swapping the lead seven times. Trailing by four with 2:26 left in the second quarter, the Hokies notched a 7-0 run to take a 30-27 lead into the locker room at the break. Tech was paced by Elizabeth Kitley’s 16 points in the first half.

“It was just kind of back and forth,” Brooks said. “We did make a few plays on both ends of the floor, [and] took the momentum into halftime. [We] gave it back quickly after the second half started, but we knew it was going to be that type of game. I didn't think anybody was going to go on long runs and blow the game wide open. I thought our kids did a really good job of staying resilient during that time.”

Duke nabbed a 12-4 run of its own halfway through the third to take a two-point advantage with just 2:20 left in the quarter. Tech responded with an emphatic ‘and-one’ from Kitley to take back the lead before finishing the third tied at 42.

Despite the Blue Devils taking the lead twice initially to begin the fourth quarter, the Hokies never wavered. Kitley scored Tech’s first seven points in the fourth before Matilda Ekh drained a 3-pointer to put the Hokies up four with 4:29 to play.

“We told them ‘You haven’t played well, but we’ve got 10 minutes, 10 minutes to decide a game,’” Brooks said. “I said ‘It doesn't matter what has happened. The only thing that matters [is] going forward.’ I think they really took that. They’re winners.

“When you’re looking at Georgia Amoore and Liz Kitley and Cayla King, and now I’m getting to understand Matilda and Olivia Summiel — they had that look on their face like ‘Hey, it’s time to go. It’s time to win.’

“In year’s past, maybe they were hoping to win. These kids are expecting to win.”

Tech never let go of the lead after Ekh’s three, holding on for its first win over the Blue Devils since beating them in the ACC Tournament 11 months ago.

Elizabeth Kitley led all scorers with 34 points and 12 rebounds, good for her sixth 30-point, 10-rebound game of the season, which leads the country (H/T ESPN’s Alex Philippou).

While Georgia Amoore didn’t have her typical shooting night, finishing just 4-for-21 on the night, the Hokies star point guard slammed the door shut on Duke in the final 20 seconds of the game with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to seal the win.

“We ran some stuff where [Duke] couldn’t really come with a double team [on Georgia],” Brooks said. “I know they double-teamed her the last possession when Georgia knocked down the three.”

The win preserves Tech’s spot atop the ACC standings with four games left on the docket before heading to Greensboro for the ACC Tournament in March.

Next up for the Hokies is a date with No. 18 Louisville (21-5, 10-3) on the road on Sunday at 2 p.m., a place where they haven’t won since 1995.

“The beauty about this group [is that] they have learned how to focus on the next task,” Brooks said. “They don’t look ahead and they don’t even look at it for any other reason than it’s just the next task. With that kind of focus, we know that if we just go and we concentrate on us, we have a chance to win.”