Midway through the third quarter of the tied Commonwealth Clash against Virginia, Elizabeth Kitley, the best women's basketball player in Virginia Tech's history, made a transition layup and was hit by Virginia's Taylor Lauterback, then hit John Paul. -Collapsed on the hardwood of Jones Arena.
After No. 5 Virginia Tech's 80-75 loss to UVA, Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks gave his first reaction:
“Honestly, I don't know the Kitley situation, and to be honest, that's the thing on my mind,” Kenny Brooks said after the game.
Kitley appeared to land awkwardly on his left foot along the baseline, but the injury was less a result of the contact than it was a result of being fouled on his ninth field goal of the tournament. At best, the Tech team can hope for a bone bruise, but at worst, the Hokies will fear it's not an ACL injury.
“Out of respect for her, I can't give you guys anything. But this is a lower body symptom, not a concussion,” Brooks said.
Until Kitley's injury, Virginia Tech was in a back-and-forth battle with archrival Virginia in the Commonwealth Clash. Six minutes into the third quarter, the Hokies and Hoos were tied at 41. Kitley played 22 minutes and had 20 points on 9-for-11 field goals, nine rebounds and four blocks.
“The air has been sucked out of the sails. She's everything to us, you never know when she goes out and we have a lot of worries. To us she's just a 22-year-old and an 11-year-old. It’s not about age,” Brooks said.
Liz Kitley was attended to by several Tech staffers for about a minute after the play occurred and headed to the locker room, where she did not return until about 30 seconds left in the third quarter. When Kitley returned to the Hokies' bench, she did not return to the floor for the rest of the game and was seen with a large bruise on her left leg around the knee.
The Hokies stuck with the Cavaliers until the end, but couldn't string together enough scoring possessions to take back the lead from Virginia in the fourth quarter. Still, even without its superstar, Tech showed a commendable level of fight and resiliency.
“I thought they responded well and played with a lot of heart. I'm proud of them for showing that resiliency,” Brooks said.
Georgia Amoore carried a heavy offensive load in Kitley's absence, scoring a career-high 39 points and sinking eight 3-pointers. Amoore almost made her ninth three, but was called back on an illegal screen by Clara Strzok, which swung the game in Tech's favor as the fourth quarter drew to a close.
“That illegal screen they called when she hit the three was huge. It changed the momentum a little bit, so we'll see what happened on that play later,” Brooks said. Ta.
Virginia Tech ended the regular season with a second straight loss, with the Hokies still the ACC champions. But the bigger storyline from Charlottesville is the health and status of tech industry superstar Liz Kitley. Next up is the ACC Tournament, where the Hokies will be the top seed, but if Kitley is unable to play in Greensboro, Virginia Tech could be out sooner than expected ahead of March Madness.
