Virginia Tech Surges Late to Take Down Rival Virginia

Ryan Wilkes

January 19, 2020

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - Despite being down by 11 at halftime, Tech stormed back to steal one in Charlottesville, 69-61.

With 19 seconds to go in the second half, UVa’s Jocelyn Willoughby knocked down two free throws to stretch the Wahoo lead to 13, the largest of the game.

Going into the half, the Cavaliers held a convincing 29-18 lead and the ACC’s leading scorer Jocelyn Willoughby lead the way with 15. Willoughby could not be stopped, and she was in prime position to completely take over this game.

Kenny Brooks and company had other plans.

Tech shot very poorly in the first half, making seven of 25 attempts (28 percent), while UVa shot better than 40 percent, hitting on 13 of 31 tries (41.9 percent).

Despite the poor shooting numbers for Tech, the story was the turnovers.

Twelve first half turnovers for the Hokies turned into 15 points for the Cavaliers. With a few changes heading into the second half, Tech committed just five turnovers.

“We simplified our offense,” Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said postgame. “We were able to get some spacing in the second half with that double-post offense and we could see the double team coming a lot better. It opened some things up on the perimeter… we looked a lot smoother and the kids did a great job adjusting.”

Jocelyn Willoughby could not miss in the first half for the Cavaliers, scoring 15 points. Tech responded, though, adjusting their defense in the second half. It paid off, as Tech held Willoughby to two points in the final two frames.

“People always try to play in her space,” Virginia head coach Tina Thompson said. “They feel that if they can limit her and make her touches uncomfortable, they can put us in a tough position.”

After being outrebounded 18-17 in the first half, the Hokies put emphasis on crashing the boards in the second half. It worked, as Tech finished with a 41-30 advantage on the glass.

Elizabeth Kitley, the 6’5” freshman from Summerfield, North Carolina, was a large contributor to the advantage on the boards, grabbing ten rebounds.

“Liz is learning how to rebound with her feet,” Coach Brooks said. “Instead of lunging for the ball, she’s moving her feet and now she’s getting underneath the ball and she can jump up and go get it.”

Kitley also had a day in the paint, scoring 12 points on 6-8 shooting as the Cavaliers struggled to contain her.

“I think the tallest player on our team is 6’2,” Thompson said. “I think that is a bit of an advantage for them, but she did play well tonight.”

While all five Hokie starters finished in double figures, none of them had more than six points to end the first half.

“There’s no 13-point play that you can do in basketball,” Taja Cole said. “Our coaches told us to just cut it in half, keep that poise and come out and try to hit first and then be aggressive.”

While Willoughby led the way for the Cavaliers, she wasn’t the only one producing points. Dominique Toussaint and Amandine Toi both finished in double figures as well.

Toi, in her first season back from injury, had one of her more productive games in ACC play with 12 points.

“I practiced the whole week like I played today,” Toi said. “I think that makes me more comfortable defensively and know what I have to do… I don’t think I wasn’t prepared for this game. It wasn’t luck.

Tech moves to 13-4 and 3-3 in conference play with the victory, returning home to host Boston College Thursday.

As for Virginia, they fall to 7-11 and 2-5 in conference play. They continue their extremely grueling schedule on Thursday when they travel to Louisville to face the fifth ranked Cardinals, their sixth ranked opponent of the season.