#11 Virginia Tech Hokies Down the Kentucky Wildcats in the Bahamas: 82-74

Nov 21, 2022 - 8:07 PM

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It Was a Game of Halves

Tournament Games are frustrating because the schedules rarely match work hours and there just isn’t the opportunity to find a feed or watch if they are on cable. You’re stuck following the tracker and sweating out the play by play.

It looked like the Hokies were going to sweep the Wildcats off the court with a flurry of shots from nearly everywhere, and smothering defense. The scoring started with a three-pointer by Junior Guard Georgia Amoore, and Kentucky never got much closer.

The Hokies ended the first quarter with a 29-8 lead that the Wildcats just never had enough to overcome. They did nibble away by matching Tech in the second and bringing heat during the 3rd and 4th quarters outscoring the Hokies 51-38 in the second half which made it a bit interesting at the end of the contest, but never more interesting than the 6-point difference (70-76) with 44 seconds left on the clock. Liz Kitley and Georgia Amoore saw to it that the rally chance was put in a box by draining their free throws as the seconds ticked away and Kentucky just couldn’t put any more than four points up for which Kitley again closed the door with two drained shots from the charity stripe.

Looking At Numbers

It’s all about the numbers and the rest looked like it didn’t cause too much rust on the Hokie Pumpkin because four players ended up in double figures; Elizabeth Kitley (25), Ashley Owusu (16), Taylor Soule (15), and Georgia Amoore (14). In addition, Kitley grabbed a double-double with 13 rebounds and slapped out 3 shots with blocks. Kayana Traylor was an assist machine with seven and Amoore was a bit behind her with four.

Kenny Brooks chose to play his starters for the most part, so Kitley ended up on the court for 38 minutes, Amoore was playing for 37. Traylor and Ashley Owusu each were on the court 33 minutes, and Taylor Soule played 26 which was shortened involuntarily. Unfortunately, she got into foul trouble and eventually fouled out. That was not before having an impact on the court, though. Having quality players get in foul trouble and leaving early is always a problem. The aggressive play did eventually pay off in providing an insurmountable lead by the end of the first quarter.

One thing is for sure, Winning is good.

Next up the Hokies Face Missouri on the 23rd at 1:30

GO HOKIES!!!