Traylor scores 25, No. 12 Va. Tech women beat Virginia 72-60

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Kayana Traylor banks in half-court heave for Virginia Tech

Kayana Traylor banks it off the glass to extend Virginia Tech's lead at the end of the first quarter.

Jan 30, 2023, 01:51 am

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- — Kayana Traylor made 9 of 15 shots from the field and scored 25 points, Elizabeth Kitley added 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and No. 12 Virginia Tech beat Virginia 72-60 Sunday night.

Virginia Tech (17-4, 7-4 ACC) rebounded from a 66-55 loss Thursday at No. 16 Duke to win for the fourth time in the last five games and completed its second consecutive sweep of the season series against its in-state rival. The Hokies are 51-18 all time against Virginia.

Mckenna Dale hit a 3-pointer and Taylor Valladay followed with a layup to give Virginia a 5-0 lead. The Hokies scored the next 12 points — including a pair of 3s by Cayla King just 33 seconds apart — to ignite a 20-4 run that gave Virginia Tech an 11-point lead with two minutes left in the first quarter. The Cavaliers trailed the rest of the way.

Traylor converted a traditional three-point play with 20 seconds left and, after Valladay scored inside, banked in a shot from well beyond midcourt as time expired to make it 26-13 going into the second quarter. Virginia Tech shot 66.7% from the field and had nine assists on 10 field goals in the first quarter.

Camryn Taylor led Virginia (14-8, 3-8) with 22 points and London Clarkson added 15 points.

Clarkson converted a three-point play and followed with a layup 35 seconds later to spark a 10-2 run that trimmed the Cavaliers' deficit to four points with about six minutes to play. Georgia Amoore answered with a layup through contact but missed the and-1 free throw and after the ball went out of bounds off Virginia, Traylor hit a 3-point to make it 60-51 with 5:32 left.

Taylor picked up two personal fouls in the first three-plus minutes of the game and went to the bench until early in the second quarter. Taylor, the Cavaliers' leading scorer this season with a 13.3 average, scored Virginia's first eight points in a 14-2 run that culminated when Dale hit a 3. Taylor converted a three-point play 28 seconds later to cut the Cavaliers' deficit to 32-29 with 2:21 left in the first half. Amoore answered with a 3 and Traylor made a layup to give the Hokies a six-point lead at intermission.

Virginia has lost four games in a row and seven of its last eight — including five against ranked opponents.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech takes on Syracuse at home Thursday

Virginia plays Thursday at No. 15 North Carolina

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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