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Elizabeth Keatley laughed as she lowered her 6-foot-6 frame into the pile of balloons and confetti that covered the floor of the Greensboro Coliseum.
A Summerfield native who attended Northwest Guilford High School, Kitley grew up going to the Atlantic Coast Conference girls basketball tournament. Usually on the first weekend in March, year after year, she and Kayla King — teammates in high school and now in college — can be found in the stands of the historic venue, dreaming of the days when they will finally play on this stage.
“We saw Eric Ogunbowale, we saw Notre Dame, we saw Louisville win,” Keatley said. “For us to be there and for Virginia Tech to have championships on his side is amazing, and I’m really happy to see that happen.”
In front of an announced crowd of 6,802 fans on Sunday, Keithley and King helped Virginia Tech win the ACC’s final crown — and they did it in front of their hometown fans. Keatley had 20 points and King had four points, two assists, seven rebounds and stout defense as the Hokies beat Louisville 75-67 for their first ACC championship in women’s basketball.
“I’ve always been around it,” King, a Greensboro native, said of the race. “It’s cool. It’s like the circle of life; By watching it, playing through it, and now you’ve actually conquered it. But at the same time, we waited, because we worked our asses all year. And we play as a team. It’s hard to stop us. “
The win was Virginia Tech’s 11.Th Straight, it’s a program record, and the first since 2012 that a No. 3 seed has won the ACC tournament. The victory made Hokies coach Kenny Brooks the first black coach to win an ACC women’s basketball tournament title.
When Monday’s AP Top 25 poll was released, Virginia Tech was ranked fourth, its highest ever.
Brooks took over the helm of the program in 2016, coming into the season the Hokies had won just five ACC games. Virginia Tech won 14 conference games this year, the most in a single season in program history.
“I sold them a vision, they went out and executed it,” Brooks said. “We said we would be here, and we will never waver.”
Recruiting and landing King and Caitlin — now seniors — was critical to Virginia Tech’s turnaround. Both players, who led Northwest Guilford High School to a pair of state championships, could have stayed in-state and gone to one of North Carolina’s four ACC schools, but they believed in Brooks.
“Kenny Brooks – he’s an amazing person and coach. It’s a family atmosphere,” King said. “It really feels like a home away from home.”
While King didn’t fill the stat sheet in the ACC Championship, her defense was significant. Brooks has tasked her with guarding Hailey Van Leet, an All-ACC selection at Louisville who is averaging 19.2 points this season. With King guarding her, Van Leete scored just 12 points on a poor 23% shooting mark.
“She did an amazing job on Hailey Van Lis,” Brooks said. “I think her height bothered him (Van Leet). Kayla is one of the smartest players we have.”
While King’s role is often to provide strong defense and timely 3-pointers, Keatley is often the focal point of the offense. She averaged 18.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game this year and was named ACC Player of the Year for the second straight year. Her height gives her the ability to connect with defenders as she swings a buzzer-beater from mid-range to clinch a victory on Feb. 23 at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carimichael Arena.
After she hit that game-winning shot, Keatley’s father, Ralph — who stands at 6-foot-10 and played basketball at Wake Forest — might have. He was seen in his fists, pulling his arms. Moments after the final buzzer sounded in the Hokies title game victory over Louisville, Kitley was running to the seats in the lower plate in the Greensboro Coliseum, to give her mother, father and older sister Raven, autistic celebration hugs.
“I’m happy to see all the support,” Keatley said. “And not just my family. A ton of hockey came out. I just love Virginia Tech… my family always showed me that. Aunts flew in, high school guys came. We had a lot of people in the yellow and orange, and at times it felt like a home game, and I think that helped us and gave us a lot of energy. It’s great to win everything in front of your loved ones. “
While Keightley and King are seniors, they will be able to play a fifth year of college basketball due to an NCAA decision a few years ago. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA has not counted the 2020-21 season for athletes’ eligibility. Neither King nor Keithley have decided whether they will return for a fifth season.
If they return, there’s a chance they could defend Virginia Tech’s ACC Tournament title in another arena. While the conference’s women’s basketball tournament has been held in Greensboro for 23 of the last 24 years, the News & Observer reports that the ACC’s contract with the Coliseum expires this year. The host site for the next season has yet to be decided. The women’s tournament is estimated to generate $7.4 million in economic impact for Greensboro this year. As part of the ACC’s $15 million deal with the North Carolina Legislature to keep its headquarters in the state, the conference must host at least four women’s basketball tournaments in the state over the next 10 years.
For now, Virginia Tech’s focus is on the NCAA tournament, where it can earn one of the tournament’s coveted No. 1 seeds. The bracket will be released on Sunday, March 12.
“We’re not done,” Keatley said. I think we’re playing as well as anybody the way we’re playing right now.
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