62.432.ACC. 74. 447. Final
As expected, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team played Sunday against Clemson at Cassell Coliseum without point guard Georgia Amoore. The Hokies' floor general was injured in the second half of Thursday night's loss to Duke when he ran onto the floor on a loose ball and was hit with an elbow. Without her, Virginia Tech struggled in the first half, but in the second half they pulled away behind center Elizabeth Kitley and ended their losing streak at two.
With this win, the Hokies improved to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the ACC, but the Tigers fell to 8-11, 1-6. Here are three takeaways from Virginia Tech's win without Amoore.
Kitley was unable to record another double-double with just 31 points and eight rebounds, but in the second half, the two-time ACC Player of the Year took control offensively.she It was 22 points Including six field goals in the third and fourth quarters. She also recorded four steals and two blocks.
Without Amoore, the Hokies needed other guards to step up and shoot from the outside, which Ek and King did. Ek hit four 3-pointers among his 16 points. She made a corner 3 just before the end of the first half off a pass from King, who had nine assists, giving Virginia Tech a 31-29 lead at halftime.King, who left the game after colliding with a Clemson player with 4 minutes, 59 seconds left, punched her. First 3-pointer for the first bucket of the game. Then, he hit one early in the third quarter and went on an 8-2 run to extend the Hokies' lead to six points heading into the second half. After he was carried off the court, he returned to the bench before the end of the game, but did not return to the game.
Wenzel started in place of Amoore and did enough to lead the Hokies. Late in the game, she made two great passes, one to Kitley for a layup and the other to a wide-open Clara Strzok under the basket. Great floor vision. Wenzel had seven points, four assists and two steals. She turned the ball over five times, while the Hokies collected 20 turnovers as a team.
It was a balanced effort for the Hokies, as senior Olivia Sumiel was in the starting lineup and grabbed six of her nine rebounds at defensive end. She hit a 3-pointer as part of her five points midway through the second quarter. Virginia Tech is off until Thursday night against Georgia Tech, and hopes four days of rest will help King and Amoore return to action.
