No. 9 Hokies Blitzed By No. 7 LSU In Final Four Rematch
Carter Hill
Editor-in-Chief
November 30, 2023
Despite a game-high 25 points from Georgia Amoore, Virginia Tech fell in lopsided fashion to LSU. (Virginia Tech Athletics)
BATON ROUGE, La. - Well, that was not ideal.
For Virginia Tech women’s basketball, expectations reigned high coming into the 2023-24 campaign. And after the first-ever ACC title, first-ever No. 1 seed and first-ever Final Four berth, there’s good reason why.
Alas, this is a different Tech team, and it showed heavily on Thursday night. For the first time in almost a calendar year, the No. 9 Hokies (5-2) looked outmatched, falling to No. 7 LSU (8-1) in a 82-64 beatdown inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“We got to get better,” Tech eighth-year head coach Kenny Brooks said. “It’s November, we’ll get better. … [We’re] just trying to figure out our kids, the roles. [We’re] just trying to build the chemistry amongst each other so we understand where we need to be, but that’s what these games are for.”
That it is. Tech got very little outside of the likes of Georgia Amoore’s game-high 25 points and Elizabeth Kitley’s double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), with only one of the remaining eight to see the floor entering double figures.
“It’s very concerning,” Brooks said. “Obviously, we need that third and fourth option that’s going to be consistent, and we haven’t had that this year. Liz and Georgia are phenomenal players, but we can’t rely on their productivity to be at the highest without somebody else stepping up and contributing.
“Cayla King needs to step up, Matilda Ekh needs to be more consistent, we’ve got to have some more production from our post play from our bench.”
Leading 20-13 after the end of the first quarter, the Hokies got out to a strong start. Controlling the pace and turning over the Tigers seven times in the first period of play, Tech seemed poised early on.
But a 3-of-16 (18.8%) shooting performance and a nine-point second frame halted any sort of positive momentum, and LSU never really looked back.
“I think in the first quarter, they figured out that they were probably not playing as aggressive as they could,” Amoore said. “Once they sniffed that out, they were playing pretty hard after that, and I think we didn’t adapt to that or adjust to it or even remotely really fight back.”
Foul trouble also plagued Tech, too.
Rose Micheaux picked up three fouls before even reaching the halftime intermission, Olivia Summiel committed two and true freshman Clara Strack fouled out in the first half in just five minutes of play.
The Buffalo, N.Y., native became the second-fastest Hokie to ever foul out in school history, with Shavena Jamierson’s five fouls in four minutes against Old Dominion back in 1990 serving as the only quicker disqualification.
Kitley also fouled out for just the fifth time in her collegiate career, highlighting another key issue in what lured the Hokies into an 18-point defeat. Tech fouled 21 times, with LSU committing just 13.
“It kind of threw us off,” Brooks said. “I think Olivia Summiel got two fouls very quickly, and then Georgia and Cayla got a foul within maybe the first three minutes of the game. It just makes you a little bit hesitant because you’re trying to fill the situation out. I’m not going to say we don’t foul at all, but it was very confusing in how the game was going to be called.
“I think that really affected just what we were trying to do as far as our rotations.”
Down just 35-29 after the first 20 minutes of play, the Hokies responded on the offensive side. Tech shot 47.1% (8-of-17) in the third period of play, but allowed LSU to hit 66.7% (12-of-18) of its shots in the frame, permitting the Tigers to increase their lead.
It never was really a ballgame from that point forward, with LSU inserting its dominance the rest of the way.
4-of-19 (19%) shooting from the outside and yielding both 7-0 and 8-0 second quarter runs also felt fatal for the maroon and orange, and after falling behind the eight ball, the Hokies were never able to recover.
It certainly creates a hard glance in the mirror, though.
It’s no secret what the likes of Amoore and Kitley bring to the table, but the supporting cast has to contribute, too. It’s still early, and Brooks and Co. have shown the ability to figure it out, but the pieces need to start meshing together.
“It’s November and at the end of the day, we do [only] have three returners, three people who know exactly what Coach Brooks wants and nine other girls who don’t,” Amoore said. “We need to figure out how to gel, play with chemistry, figure out our personality and who we are as a team.
“I don’t think we have that covered yet.”