Virginia Tech crumbles late against No. 11 Tennessee

By Jack Brizendine

Staff Writer

December 6, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Sometimes the biggest block in the path of success isn’t a result of outside factors; it lies within.

“I think that this loss was completely about us and less about Tennessee,” guard Aisha Sheppard said. “We’re explaining that we made some mistakes towards the end that cost us the game. I don’t think that they did anything special. I think it was us.”

Late offensive turnovers and lulls on defense proved costly in Virginia Tech’s (7-2) loss to No. 11 Tennessee (8-0) Sunday, 64-58.

The Hokies led the Lady Volunteers by seven points with under six minutes to play, with ESPN’s win probability giving them a 92.6% chance of victory.

Instead of preserving the lead and snagging a crucial home win against a ranked opponent, Virginia Tech allowed a 15-3 run by Tennessee that led to the spirit-crushing loss.

“I think we’re past the point where we’re hoping to win these games,” Sheppard said. “These are games that I feel wholeheartedly we can win. It’s a positive that we were able to stay with the No. 11 team in the nation and obviously when we get into ACC play it’s a gauntlet — there’s multiple Tennessee’s that we’re going to be playing. It’s twofold, so we learn from it from that aspect that we can stay with these teams, but then negatively we also know that if we make the mistakes that we continue to make, we can lose these games.”

One thing that made it difficult for the Hokies throughout the game was Tennessee's size, specifically center Tamari Key, who finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

“We recruited Tamari,” Kenny Brooks said. “She’s long. You can say 6-foot-6, but [Elizabeth Kitley] is 6-foot-6, and Tamari is a good inch taller than her, and she’s long and she’s a very aggressive shot blocker.”

The Lady Volunteers’ length inside made the difference in the game as they hauled in 18 offensive boards, resulting in 22 second chance points. Defensively, they only allowed the Hokies to score 12 points in the paint and forced a 1-of-12 shooting performance from Kitley.

“I thought [Kitley] got into her head a little bit tonight,” Brooks said. “I don’t know what she would say, but I thought she got into her head a little bit. She got hesitant and when she becomes hesitant, she’s easier to guard. She didn’t have a really good flow tonight.”

One positive from the loss was Aisha Sheppard’s 30-point performance, nearly doubling her point total over the last three games combined.

“[I was] just staying confident, listening to my teammates, listening to my coaches, and knowing that I’m a fifth-year senior. I’ve been through a lot, but continuing to stay the course. It’s not going to be a great game every game, but we just have to stay with it and stay with each other and that’s exactly what I did,” Sheppard said.

The performance followed a trend for VT where one player seems to stand out while the rest of the team struggles to pick up the pace.

“It just seems like we’ve got to get these kids playing well at the same time,” Brooks said. “You know, it’s either Liz is playing well and Aisha’s not, or Aisha’s playing well and Liz is not. Once we get to that point I think we’re going to be fine.”