The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team earned a decisive 77-55 victory over the 15th-ranked Duke Blue Devils Thursday night to close out 2021 and move to 2-0 in the ACC for the third time in program history.
Tech took a 5-3 lead through some Aisha Sheppard-free throws and never looked back as the Hokies were efficient on the offensive end and stingy defensively, allowing just 30% shooting from the Devils.
Tech scored 17 points on 12 Duke turnovers and owned a 1.67 assist to turnover ratio. The Hokies capitalized on their opportunities at the free throw line, hitting a perfect 20 of 20 attempts.
In the process, the Lady Hokies set a pair of Cassell program records:
Tech’s 20-for-20 free-throw performance was the most made free throws without a miss in a single game in program history, and the 22-point margin of victory was the largest margin against a ranked opponent in program history.
Tech’s All-Conference center Elizabeth Kitley was on a tear in her last three games scoring 22 or more in each game and recording double-doubles in all three contests.
In ACC play, Kitley is averaging 30.5 points, 13 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, shooting 59% from the floor. She contributed nine of those 20 free throws Thursday night.
In two league games she has made 17 free throws and shot 89% while in the non-conference portion of the season she converted 15 free throws at a 38% clip.
Kitley leads the ACC in double-doubles, blocks, and 20-point games.
Georgia Amoore enjoying recent success
Aussie Georgia Amoore seems to have been given a boost by her family with whom she was reunited with after nearly two years. In her last two games, she has tallied 20 points, the first time in her career that she has put together back-to-back scoring performances like that. In ACC play the point guard is averaging seven assists and five rebounds while shooting 60% from behind the arc. Against Duke, she set a career high with six rebounds.
She has committed just one turnover in each of the last two games.
Behind Amoore’s 7.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in conference play, Tech as a team owns the league’s best ratio at 1.94.
