Liz Kitley (left) and Georgia Amoore have made a dynamic duo for the past few years at Virginia Tech.
Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore recently said on social media that a kid walked by her and said, “You’re Kitley’s friend.”
In certain circles, the Australian point guard is commonly known as that. But that’s changing and instead of being the sidekick, Amoore is becoming the “Robin to Kitley’s Batman.” She had to step from the shadows against UVA as Batman (Kitley) suffered an injury in the third quarter, which knocked her out of the contest.
Amore would score 39 points and will have to become a bigger than life Robin as Kitley’s future is in doubt.
Kitley was named the ACC’s Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, the conference office announced Tuesday evening. She becomes the third woman in ACC history to win the award in three consecutive seasons, joining Alana Beard (Duke) and Alyssa Thomas (Maryland).
Amoore also earned first team honors for the second consecutive season.
Amoore was sixth in the conference in scoring (18.71), second in 3’s per game (2.79), second in assist to turnover ratio (2.10) and led the ACC in assists (7.29).
The Australia native owns two 30-point games, 14 20-point games and recorded nine double-doubles, a figure that was fifth in the conference. She was the only athlete to record more than five 10-assist games in the ACC. Her 39-point performance on the final day of the regular season was the highest scoring single-game output in conference play this season.
Amoore still has another year of eligibility if she would like to come back next season.
The ACC Tournament’s bracket has been set, as announced by the league office, which includes matchups, seeding, game times and TV network designations. Virginia Tech women’s basketball will be the No. 1 seed in the tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Hokies (23-6, 14-4 ACC), who earned the regular-season ACC title for the first time in program history, will face the winner of the No. 8-seeded North Carolina versus No. 9-seeded Miami game (played Thursday at 1:30 p.m.) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network in the quarterfinals. During the regular season, Tech beat the Tar Heels twice (home/away) and Hurricanes once at home.
With the Hokies’ first game coming in the quarterfinals, it marks just the second time in program history of earning a double bye.
Tech is 12-18 all-time in the ACC Tournament but is 5-1 its last two seasons in the tournament, including winning the ACC title last year. The Hokies would be the first school to repeat as champs since NC State (2020-21, 2021-22).
With the loss to UVA, the Lady Hokies fell to 11th in the AP Poll. The Hokies ended the regular season 23-6 and are the outright ACC champs after going 14-4 in league play. It’s the first regular-season ACC title in program history and the 14 wins tie last season’s squad for the most in a single season for the Hokies.
Senior guard Georgia Amoore had a monstrous, personal best 39 points in the UVA game and has been named a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Nancy Lieberman Award. She is one five finalists, including Caitlin Clark (Iowa), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Te-Hina Paopao (South Carolina) and Jacy Sheldon (Ohio State).
Amoore is second nationally at 7.3 assists per game and owns three games of 14 or more assists. The sixth-leading scorer in the ACC, Amoore is averaging a career-high 18.7 points per game. The Aussie has scored 20 or more 14 times on the season and finished the regular season with a historic 39-point effort at Virginia. Her 39 points are the most by a Hokie in an ACC contest and the second-most in a single game ever. She also made eight 3-pointers, tying a program record for an ACC game.
Fans can support their favorite player by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday, March 8, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
On a side Hokie note, Virginia Tech will host a free postgame youth lacrosse clinic following the team’s game against Syracuse at noon on Saturday, Mar. 9.
Kids of all ages can participate in the clinic with instruction from Virginia Tech players and coaches.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own equipment and gather near the field entrance at the conclusion of Saturday’s game.
