Virginia Tech and Baylor Set To Square Off in the Round of 32
Giovanni Heater
Staff Writer
March 24, 2024
Virginia Tech and Baylor will square off for a spot in the Sweet 16. (Virginia Tech Athletics)
BLACKSBURG – A lot less survival and a lot more advancement was done on Friday evening as both No. 4 seed Virginia Tech (25-7, 14-4 Atlantic Coast) and No. 5 seed Baylor (25-7, 12-6 Big 12) took care of business in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The two teams will face each other on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN) inside Cassell Coliseum, with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.
SERIES HISTORY
The Hokies and the Bears will meet for just the second time ever on Sunday evening. The first meeting came on March 23, 2021 in San Antonio in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. No. 2 seed Baylor dismantled No. 7 seed Tech, 90-48. It was the first trip to the big dance for Tech under the leadership of Kenny Brooks and the first tournament appearance for the Hokies since 2006.
Baylor made a run to the Elite Eight, with a win over No. 6 seed Michigan in the Sweet 16, before falling to top-seeded UConn, 69-67.
Three Hokies that played in 2021’s second-round loss to Baylor remain on the roster. Georgia Amoore was a true freshman and led Tech in scoring with 18 points, four assists, and a 4-for-9 clip from beyond the arc in the start.
Cayla King, a sophomore, also found herself in the starting lineup, tallying six points and a pair of boards.
Second-year center Elizabeth Kitley, who is unavailable for this year’s NCAA Tournament with a torn ACL, played all 40 minutes, finishing with six points and six rebounds.
The same cannot be said for the roster continuity of Baylor. Sarah Andrews is the only Lady Bear that played against Tech in 2021. She notched three points and a rebound in six minutes.
It just goes to show how much can change in three years. When Baylor and Tech met in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Bears were in their final run under long-time head coach, Kim Mulkey.
After 21 seasons and three national titles, Mulkey left Baylor for LSU. Last season with the Tigers, she eliminated Tech in the Final Four en route to her fourth national championship.
Now, the Bears are in their third season under 2018 WNBA Coach of the Year, Nicki Collen. The Bears have yet to make it past the second-round of the NCAA Tournament since Collen took over. They look to change that on Sunday.
SCOUTING THE HOKIES
It is no longer a secret that ACC regular-season champions, Virginia Tech, will be without Kitley, its All-American center and three-time ACC Player of the Year.
Despite early struggles in her absence in the final game of the regular season and into the conference tournament, Tech seemed to make the most of their nearly two weeks to prepare.
The Hokies are coming off their biggest NCAA Tournament margin of victory in program history after beating No. 13 seed Marshall 92-49 on Friday.
With Kitley out, Tech has leaned on true freshman center Clara Strack and Minnesota transfer Rose Micheaux to play the five.
Strack was dominant in Friday’s win, tallying 17 points, five rebounds and four blocks. Micheaux complemented with 10 points and four rebounds in a physical performance. The two combined to shoot a perfect 11-for-11 from the floor.
Never shy of the moment, Tech can lean on the experience and versatility of Amoore, its All-American point guard. The Aussie is second on the team in scoring behind Kitley with 18.8 points and first with 6.8 assists per game.
Michigan State transfer Matilda Ekh shot out of a three-game scoreless slump, leading the Hokies with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting Friday night, including a 5-for-7 effort from distance. She is the “Ekh Factor” that makes the Tech offense so dangerous.
Wake Forest graduate transfer Olivia Summiel might not score the most, but she is a hidden gem for Tech in rebounding. Summiel is second on the team in boards and has led in every game since Kitley’s injury.
SCOUTING THE LADY BEARS
Baylor came into postseason play as one of the hotter teams in the Big 12, winning its last five games of the regular season.
The Bears earned the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship, winning in the second round before falling to Iowa State in the quarterfinals. The Cyclones went on to lose to Texas in the title game.
Baylor cruised in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night with a 80-63 victory over No. 12 seed Vanderbilt, who beat Columbia in Wednesday night’s First Four play-in.
Four Bears scored in double figures as Bella Fontleroy led the way with 19 points and 11 assists.
Sarah Andrews was right behind her with 13 points and five assists. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs added 11 points as well, with Jana Van Gytenbeek putting up 10 of her own.
Baylor shares the wealth with no clear top-scorer. Kentucky transfer Dre'Una Edwards leads the Bears with 11.8 points per game and is third on the team in rebounding (6.3) while leading in steals (1.6).
The backcourt is led by Andrews, who averages 11.1 points per game and leads the team in assists (3.9). Littlepage-Buggs averages 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and owns the best field goal percentage amongst Baylor starters (52.5%).
The Hokies and the Bears are dead even, both averaging 74.8 points per game offensively while shooting 45% from the floor.
WHAT IS AT STAKE?
Well, everything. It is win or go home. Baylor is a three-time national champion and had its run as one of the top programs in the sport.
Virginia Tech felt as though it was right on the cusp of another breakthrough before being reminded how fast things can be taken away after Kitley’s injury. The Hokies played in the program’s first-ever Final Four a season ago.
The winner of Sunday’s game keeps the dream alive and punches their ticket to the Sweet 16 in Portland, Ore. It would mark Tech’s third-ever second-weekend appearance and would be the 16th for history-riched Baylor.
The Bears went to 15 Sweet 16s from 2004-2021, including 11 consecutive from 2009-2019 with Mulkey at the helm.
As of Saturday afternoon, so much basketball still needs to be played in order to determine an opponent. No. 9 seed Michigan faces No. 8 seed Kansas and No. 1 seed Southern California hosts No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The winners of those two games will play on Monday for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. The time of Monday’s game in Los Angeles is to be determined.
With job rumors spiraling, untimely injuries and what feels like everything on the line, all eyes in Blacksburg and many across the country will be on Cassell Coliseum for an AP Top 25 clash Sunday night.