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On Sunday in Atlanta, No. 9 Virginia Tech looked like its usual self, beating Georgia Tech 65-52 in the regular season finale. It was the eighth straight ACC win and 14th of the year for the Hokies (24-4, 14-4 ACC), both program records.
Elizabeth Keightley was effective, posting her 52nd career game with a season-high 29 points and 11 rebounds. It was her fourth straight 20-point shutout after breaking the record and clinching the team’s victory over No. 22 North Carolina on Thursday.
Kayanna Traylor scored 14 points, Kayla King added 10 and Georgia Amore finished with eight to keep the offense flowing. The Hokies were very patient and took their time beating the Yellow Jackets (13-6, 4-14 ACC). They struggled for a combined 10-30 in those 20 minutes between the first and fourth quarters, but were 16-30 (53%) in the second and third.
Virginia Tech was strong on the glass, outscoring Georgia Tech by six, 37-31. It was a team effort, too — Taylor Soule, Dacia Gregg and Traylor from Kittly grabbed seven boards to go along with 11. And VT had 16 assists, seven of which came from Amor.
Cameron Swartz, who transferred from Boston College, led the Yellow Jackets with 20 points. She was hot from behind the arc, knocking down four of nine 3-point attempts. However, she didn’t have much help. Avionce Carter was the second leading scorer with eight off the bench.
GT also got help from Tony Morgan (seven points, seven rebounds), Kayla Blackshear (seven points, five rebounds) — the younger sister of former VT men’s basketball forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. — and Neria Hermosa (six points, seven rebounds). But the Yellow Jackets couldn’t find consistency, turning it over 12 times for the game. Nine of those chances were in the first half.
Virginia Tech did a solid job on defense, forcing eight steals. And the game went on slowly. After trailing by eight points late in the first quarter, VT used an 11-0 run in the three minutes before halftime to push its lead to 18. However, the Yellow Jackets scored six in the final 90 seconds. first half and trailed by 12, 37-25.
Georgia Tech appeared to gain some momentum in the first few minutes of the third quarter. Swartz drained two treys in three minutes to cut the lead to nine. At the same time, the Hokies were 2-7 to start the half. But they soon found their footing, making four baskets in a row and throwing back punches. GT never got within single digits again, and Virginia Tech led by as many as 18 the rest of the game.
Kenny Brooks and company are the hottest team in the conference right now. Only ACC regular-season champion Notre Dame, which has won its last six, will come close. Since losing to Duke in late January, they have won eight straight games by an average of 12 points per game. Moreover, seven of the eight were decided by double digits; The recent escape at Chapel Hill was a two-point victory.
Everything seems to be coming together at the right time for Virginia Tech. Throughout the win, his worst shooting performance in Duke’s 16-point drubbing was 40%. Instead, he shot over 50% three-pointers and 49% two-pointers.
On the other hand, the defense has been key. Syracuse, Duke, NC State and Georgia Tech were more than 40 percent worse. At 48%, Florida State was the only opponent to post a better clip than 41%.
The Hokies’ attention now turns to the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. As the No. 3 seed, they secured a double bye, meaning they won’t play until the quarterfinals on Friday. The highest seed in their way is No. 6 Miami, who found their number in a 77-66 loss on January 8 in Coral Gables.
Below is the complete ACC tournament bracket. All games will be televised on the ACC Network and ESPN will have the championship game on Sunday.
Box point: link
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