On the same night, Elizabeth Kitley became the all-time leading scorer in Virginia Tech women's basketball history and hit a buzzer-beater to lift the No. 9 Hokies past No. 22 North Carolina, 61-59.
Entering Thursday, Kitley needed 17 points to break Aisha Sheppard's record of 1,883 points (in 159 games). She accomplished that in the fourth quarter (in 113 games). But when the Hokies (23-4, 13-4 ACC) needed her most against the Tar Heels (19-9, 10-7), she delivered.
In a tie game at 59 with 2.1 remaining, Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks called timeout after UNC's Alyssa Ustby missed the second of two free throws. Inbounding across from the Tech bench after the ball was advanced, Cayla King found a cutting Kitley running towards her off a screen from Georgia Amoore. The reigning ACC Player of the Year received the pass, turned to the basket and released the 18-foot jumper in less than half a second.
Swish. Pandemonium. Game over. Hokies win by two.
https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessWBB/status/1628953989202038784?s=20
The play, designed by former associate head coach Shawn Poppie, now the head coach at Chattanooga, worked to perfection. Tech practices it often and miscommunication from North Carolina led to an open look. Had the Tar Heels switched and covered Kitley, Amoore would've been the option with a midrange jumper.
"We got that look right there," Brooks said afterwards on the Virginia Tech Sports Network, "and boom, as soon as it went up, the only thing that was on my mind was, 'How am I going to celebrate?' Because I know that's good. I've seen her shoot that shot thousands of times and she's probably about 90% on it.
"Elizabeth Kitley, man. That [shot] was like a stamp on the player of the year [award] in this league."
In her home state, Kitley finished with 21 points (9-of-14) and 10 rebounds, good for her 51st career double-double. However, Kayana Traylor was the other key for the Hokies outside of Kitley's record-breaking performance. She scored 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from deep.
In a game where Tech tied a season-high 20 turnovers, UNC frustrated point guard Georgia Amoore. She had six giveaways and only scored 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting (2-of-10 3FG). No other Tech player posted double figures, but Kitley and Traylor stepped up, especially in the second half. Traylor exploded in the third quarter, scoring eight of Tech's 14. And Kitley had eight in the fourth.
"Some might say Kayana Traylor hasn't given us a whole lot in the last few games and then boom, 20 [points]," Brooks said. "We got contributions [from everyone], and that's what makes us so dangerous."
It wasn't a pretty start for the Hokies. They spent the first quarter feeling out North Carolina and started 4-of-18 (22%) from the floor, turning the ball over five times. The Tar Heels jumped out to a 16-9 lead after 10 minutes.
But Tech responded. After growing into the game, it shot 8-of-15 (53%) in the second period. At halftime, it trailed by four, 32-28. And while it cranked up the offensive efficiency in the third with a 4-of-7 quarter that included two 3-pointers, it limited Carolina to just 5-of-18 (28%) from the field.
"We were just out of sorts, so to speak," Brooks said. "Majority of the game, we made some uncharacteristic mistakes. But they kept fighting, kept fighting, kept fighting. We got contributions from where we needed them."
Yet, the Hokies couldn't create much separation. They turned the ball over eight times in the third quarter. And UNC possessed a three-point lead, 45-42, at the start of the fourth.
It was there that Kitley went to work. While she and Traylor combined for 16-of-27 shooting (59%), the rest of the team was just 8-of-26 (31%). D'asia Gregg and Cayla King (four points each) scored once in the final 10 minutes, as did Amoore. But Traylor hit the group's lone trey in that span while Kitley was 4-of-4.
One of the better 3-point shooting teams in the conference, VT didn't shoot it great from distance (6-of-20). But it was 18-of-33 (55%) on 2-point shots and made six of its last seven, including Kitley's game-winner.
With the win, the Hokies sit in third place in the ACC standings with an opportunity to clinch a share of the regular season title. For that to happen, Duke and Notre Dame would both have to lose. However, Tech locked itself into the No. 3 seed of the ACC tournament with the win.
One game remains: at Georgia Tech on Sunday in Atlanta (4 p.m. ET, ACC Network). And as Brooks explained after the celebrations died down, Thursday in Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill will not be a night soon forgotten.
"We're Virginia Tech," Brooks said. "When [I] got this job, no one ever thought things like this would be possible. You fast forward seven years later and we're coming into Carmichael and we're winning. We're winning, and it's not that Carolina's down. Carolina is a great basketball team. We're winning, and we're winning with the player of the year. And we're winning on a last second shot because she's so clutch.
"We're winning on a day that she becomes the all-time leading scorer in Virginia Tech history. Those are things that are happening to our program and to Hokie Nation, [and] give credit to these kids, to my coaches. ... It's been a total team effort."
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