Virginia Tech Weathers a Late Run from Pittsburgh to Notch Their 6th ACC Win

By Will Locklin

Staff Writer

January 20, 2022

BLACKSBURG -- Despite leading for the majority of the game, Virginia Tech (14-4, 6-1 Atlantic Coast) wasn’t in the clear all the way through against Pitt (10-8, 1-6 ACC). The Panthers, who were down by 21 points midway through the third quarter but they found a way to slowly climb into Thursday night’s matchup at Cassell Coliseum.

Dayshanette Harris and Jayla Everett combined to score 42 points, while scoring timely shots, inched Pittsburgh closer.

“I’ve been telling Jayla to take more shots in the game,” Pittsburgh head coach Lance White said. “We need her to take at least 20 shots and she took 20 tonight.”

Everett ended the night with 20 points, shooting 7-of-20 from the field. The Panthers leading scorer, Dayshanette Harris, finished with 22 of her own on 9-of-22 overall.

To start, Virginia Tech was scorching hot from 3-point land. It shot 55.6% in the first quarter from three. Cayla King, who came out of the game with an injury, led hot shooting, knocking down 3-of-5 first quarter attempts.

As a whole, Virginia Tech was able to play its style of ball in the first half. Get out in transition and make the defense pick which poison to swallow. In the first quarter it was the 3-point shooting but in the second quarter the Hokies got to the free throw line at a high rate.

As a team it went 9-of-10 from the line in the second period and shot 50% from the field and from deep. Since Pittsburgh started running Virginia Tech off the line, the Hokies were able to attack the basket and force their defense to bring over late help and foul. In the second half, the Pittsburgh defense tightened up as it forced Virginia Tech to shoot 35% from the field compared to its 45% in the first half.

“They put pressure on us which took us out of rhythm,” Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said. “We missed some shots we should have made and lost our flow and tempo and we need to get that back.”

Even though Pittsburgh's defense employed a full-court press as the game continued, Virginia Tech did just enough to pull out the victory.

A major reason why was the dominant second half from Elizabeth Kitley, who had 19 of her 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Kitley also recorded seven rebounds, four assists, and shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line..

Other big time performers for the Hokies were Georgia Amoore, Kayana Traylor, and Azana Baines. Amoore was the playmaker in this game for Virginia Tech, as she’s been all season long. She dished out five assists as well as scoring 14 points of her own. Traylor reached double figures with 12 and grabbed six rebounds.

Baines was an enforcer on the glass as she led the Hokies in rebounding with 12 and scored a crucial basket late to extend the lead. Altogether Virginia Tech had four double-digit scorers on the night. The individual performances were crucial in Tech’s victory but as were the adjustments made in the second half.

“We haven’t been pressed like that before but we have a great team that can handle pressure,” Brooks said. “They sold out by doubling and trapping but I think Kayana helped bring us home and Liz hit timely shots down the stretch.”

If there’s one area this game was decided as a whole it was from the free throw line. Pittsburgh only shot 60% from the line for the game but more importantly was only 3-of-8 from the line in the 4th quarter. Pittsburgh was closing in on Virginia Tech at that exact time of the game but couldn’t hit the free throws needed to get it to within one possession.

On the other side, Virginia Tech came in shooting 69.6% from the free throw line as a team. However, they turned it around in a big way, shooting 22-of-25 for 88% on the game.

“This morning I was shooting with Coach Brooks and he fixed my routine,” said Virginia Tech point guard Georgia Amoore. “I tried it out in the game and obviously it worked.”

Up next for the Virginia Tech Hokies, a trip up to Raleigh North Carolina to take on the 4th ranked NC State Wolfpack on Sunday. For the Pittsburgh Panthers, they travel pack home and will play Notre Dame on Sunday.