Kitley powers No. 8 Virginia Tech past High Point

Dec 22, 2022, 02:08 am

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- — Elizabeth Kitley scored 25 points and dished out a career-best seven assists as No. 8 Virginia Tech captured an 86-66 road victory over High Point on Wednesday night.

High Point — whose tallest players are 6-foot-1 — didn’t have an answer for the 6-6 Kitley. The reigning ACC Player of the Year shot a season-high 78.5% from the floor, making 11-of-14 field goals, and had seven rebounds and four blocks for the Hokies (11-1).

Taylor Soule added 24 points and Kayana Traylor chipped in 22 for Virginia Tech. It’s the first time in Hokies’ program history that three players have had more than 20 points in a single game.

Claire Wyatt led High Point (2-8) with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point land. Callie Scheier added 11 points and Nakyah Terrell had 10.

The Panthers hung around with the Hokies for much of the first half and even briefly led by two points in the early portions of the game. Virginia Tech finally pulled away with a 15-9 run to take a double-digit lead into halftime. Traylor had seven points during that stretch, and then she sank back-to-back 3-pointers to start the third quarter, pushing the Hokies’ lead to 16 points.

Virginia Tech went on to lead by as much as 25 points.

BIG PICTURE

Virginia Tech: Sharp passing and shooting helped the Hokies bounce back from their first loss of the season. Virginia Tech dished out a season-high 21 assists and scored 58 points in the paint. The victory marks the fourth time Virginia Tech has gone undefeated in nonconference play in coach Kenny Brooks’ seven seasons at the helm.

High Point: The preseason Big South favorites have yet to beat a Division I opponent. But High Point showed in spurts how good it can be. Virginia Tech entered the game with the nation’s fifth-best 3-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 22.7% from deep, but the Panthers burned the Hokies to shoot 8-of-17, a 47% clip. Consistently shooting like that should translate into wins in the Big South.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech: ACC play continues Dec. 29 at Clemson.

High Point: Begins Big South play hosting Longwood on Dec. 29.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP--Top25