Virginia Tech’s March journey ended earlier than it hoped Sunday night, dashed in a 15-round fight of a 75-72 loss to Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Cassell Coliseum.

Bears guard Jada Walker’s brilliant 26-point second half and clutch plays down the stretch sank the Hokies on their home court, ending a season that began with Final Four hopes and ended shy of the Sweet 16. 

It’d be easy to lament what could have been in the postseason for the Hokies had the basketball gods not thrown a wrench in their plans with star Elizabeth Kitley’s ill-fated knee injury earlier this month — and you can forgive Hokies head coach Kenny Brooks for letting his thoughts go in that direction in his post-game remarks.

That wasn’t what this game was about, though. The rudderless, retooled team that looked like it didn’t belong anywhere near the Sweet 16 in a blowout loss to Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament semifinals showed something Sunday, proving worthy of being an NCAA host, regardless of the result.

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