No. 11 Virginia Tech Storms Past NC State On Senior Day Before Record Crowd

No. 11 Virginia Tech stormed past NC State in front of a record crowd of 6,413 on Sunday inside Cassell Coliseum for its sixth straight win.

Before the largest audience for a home contest in the Kenny Brooks era, the Hokies dominated for 40 minutes on the hardwood and won back-to-back games against the Wolfpack for the first time in school history. It was the 10th-largest attendance in program history and the biggest in the regular season since Jan. 27, 2004 vs. UConn (7,211).

“The crowd was incredible, the students were incredible,” Hokies center Elizabeth Kitley said after the victory. “It definitely brought the energy up in the building and translated down to us, so huge thanks to them. It was just awesome to feel that kind of support and I hope that continues.

“I think we’re a lot of fun to watch. And we give you something and you give us a little energy in return, sounds like a good deal to me.”

Tech was on national television (ESPN2) for the third time in 2022-23. It was Senior Day with a NC State program that’s dominated the series since its inception in 1980. But the Hokies (22-4, 12-4 ACC) weren’t fazed against the Wolfpack (18-9, 8-8 ACC).

Instead, they won by double figures for the sixth consecutive game and looked dominant in the process. It could’ve been an emotional afternoon for the six players that were honored before the game – Taylor Geiman, D’asia Gregg, Cayla King, Kitley, Taylor Soule and Kayana Traylor. But with the knowledge that Virginia Tech will almost certainly host the first and second round of the NCAA tournament in mid-March, they focused on the game.

Each one contributed in their own way, too. Kitley was the game’s leading scorer with her 50th double-double of her career (24 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocks). Like Thursday vs. No. 9 Duke, Tech got her in good spots on the floor and she was efficient. She’s currently 17 points away from breaking Aisha Sheppard’s scoring record (1,883 points) and becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Gregg was one rebound shy of her fourth career double-double, finishing with 13 and nine. Soule was 6-of-8 from the floor, good for 12 points. Traylor added six points while King contributed two. And Geiman hit a trey off the bench that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

“They mean everything to me, to this program, to the future, where we’re going,” Brooks said of the seniors. “We’ll always be indebted for what they’ve done to help us change the culture of our program. And they are the reason that we were able to get 6,400 people in here yelling for us and be able to beat NC State for the second time.”

It wasn’t a blowout from the jump, though. NC State actually led by one, 19-18, after the first quarter. Both teams shot around 45%, but the Wolfpack was disruptive defensively, forcing Tech to miss six of its last seven in the period.

Yet, the Hokies quickly turned the game on its head. They blew NC State out of the water in the second quarter, scoring 29 points and shooting 13-of-17 (76.5%) from the floor. They made nine field goals in a row, 12-of-13 in a seven-minute span, and led by 11 at the break, 47-36.

That stretch included a 10-0 run over three minutes with a Wes Moore timeout squeezed in between two baskets from Georgia Amoore. The Wolfpack couldn’t buy a bucket – it missed five shots in a row – and Tech pulled away. It never trailed again.

“I thought in the second quarter, we got to our spots where we wanted to get to,” Brooks said. “We played tentatively in the first quarter because T-Soule got a foul and Liz [Kitley] got a foul early. So we went to the zone and it kind of made us stagnant a little bit. They took the lead. But in the second quarter, we were able to play man-to-man and got it going a little bit.”

Amoore had some important baskets in that timeframe. The Aussie, who had her second career double-double of 15 points and tied a career-high 11 assists, was the distributor on Sunday afternoon. 

But as a team, Virginia Tech was efficient. Gregg said the group “valued every possession” on both ends of the floor, which was evident. The Hokies opened the second half on a 12-2 run over the first 4:33 and stretched the lead to 20 points.

Tech wasn’t perfect on the offensive end down the stretch – it was 11-of-23 (48%) – but it answered the bell. Though it was only a two-point difference in the second half, 28-26, the Hokies held NC State to 10-of-34 (29%). And when the Wolfpack used a 6-0 run to cut the margin to nine points with 6:34 remaining, they didn’t budge.

Virginia Tech led by double digits for 17:47 of the 20 minutes in the second half. NC State was without two starters – Diamond Johnson (ankle) and Saniya Rivers (eye) – but that threw Tech a curveball. Consequently, Aziaha James handled the ball for the Wolfpack and got into a rhythm. She scored 15 in the first half, matching Kitley’s production, and was the team’s focal point.

The Hokies adjusted a few minutes into the third quarter. After James knocked down a 3-pointer on NC State’s first possession of the half, they used Soule’s athleticism and switched her onto James. The senior’s versatility paid off, and she only allowed James one basket for the remainder of the contest.

“You insert her into our starting lineup and she gives us something that we’ve never had,” Brooks said of Soule. “That level of athleticism, that ability to switch. I’m like a kid in a candy store. Aziaha James had a tremendous game and was playing against smaller guards and rising over top of them, and we knew we had it in our back pocket. We just didn’t want to wear Taylor out.

“We wanted to put her on [James] at the right time. … She gives us that versatility in the way that she plays with her energy. She gives us swag.”

With James discombobulated, Mimi Collins was the only other NC State player to finish in double figures. The Hokies locked it down and rode out the 13-point win. They belonged, as they have all season, particularly as of late. They proved that against Florida State and Duke, and they did so again against the Wolfpack.

“I just tell our kids, ‘You just keep winning, it doesn’t matter what everybody else does,'” Brooks said. “They’re very workman-like, and that’s why I’m very proud of the way we’ve gotten through this stretch.”

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