In a rematch of the national semifinal in March, the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team is set to face national champs LSU in the 2023 ACC/SEC Challenge, ESPN has announced.
Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 30 from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge. Specific details about the television designation will be announced at a later date.
The Hokies fell to LSU 79-72 in Dallas in March at the Final Four in the first national semifinal. In that game Elizabeth Kitley recorded a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and she was joined in double figures by Georgia Amoore (17), Kayana Traylor (17) and Cayla King (14).
LSU holds a 3-1 edge in the all-time series which dates back to 1984. The Tigers have won each of the last three meetings, which took place in 2001, 2006 and 2023.
The Tigers, led by Head Coach Kim Mulkey return superstar forward Angel Reese and have added impact transfers Hailey Van Lith (Louisville) and Aneesah Morrow (DePaul).
The Hokies return Kitley, a Second Team All-American and two-time ACC Player of the Year. Last season she averaged 18.2 points per game and 10.7 rebounds, collecting 23 double-doubles and helping the Hokies to their best season in program history. She was amongst the national leaders in blocks, double-doubles, field goals and rebounds. For her career, she tops the Virginia Tech record book in numerous categories: points, double-doubles, 30-point games, field goals, field goal percentage and blocks.
All-American point guard Amoore who made the second-most threes in the country a season ago (118) is back for her senior season. She was named the MVP of the ACC Tournament and the Seattle 3 Region’s Most Outstanding Player, connected on 24 threes in the NCAA Tournament and set an ACC Tournament record with 14 in Greensboro en route to lifting the program’s first ACC Championship trophy.
Tech’s third returning starter in 2023-24 is King. She ranks fourth all-time at Tech with 225 threes and owns the record for threes in a game with nine.
Staff reports