Sunday was a terrific day for Elizabeth Kitley, her family and Virginia Tech. (Jon Fleming)

Elizabeth Kitley is undoubtedly the greatest player in Virginia Tech women’s basketball history. Her achievements speak for themselves — the program’s all-time leader in points, rebounds and numerous other statistical categories, along with a two ACC titles and a Final Four appearance.

It’s hard to quantify her impact as a person, though, especially when her greatest accomplishment — and the thing she said she’s most proud of — is arguably how she and her teammates brought the community together.

How Kitley, Cayla King and others shaped Hokies women’s basketball is one thing, but their reach — especially Kitley’s — extends much farther than that. She wasn’t just a hooper; she was, and is, an incredible person who shared her joy with so many.

It wasn’t always that way. Kitley’s first collegiate game vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 5, 2019, only drew a crowd of 1,209. But as the wheels continued to turn and the program grew — spearheaded by Kitley’s dominance — fans flocked to Cassell Coliseum to see the Hokies play.

In 2019-20, Tech averaged 1,569 fans per game. It was a smidge better after COVID at 1,739. Then it burst at the seams in 2022-23 and jumped up to 3,638. That season also featured two sellouts — just the second and third in school history — for NCAA Tournament games vs. Chattanooga and South Dakota State.

Yet, it wasn’t just a one-time thing. Spectators kept coming back. Audiences weren’t just captivated with Kitley and the Hokies; they fell in love with them — evident in the spike in attendance the following season.

In Kitley’s fifth year, Tech averaged 6,642 fans per game — over four times the 2019-20 mark — and packed out Cassell seven times, which included the first-ever regular-season sellout vs. NC State on Jan. 7, 2024.

Kitley capped off that Sunday afternoon in style, knocking down a perfectly designed inbound play off a brilliantly executed pass from her best friend, King, to sink the Wolfpack.

“The energy at that game was unlike anything,” Kitley said Sunday as she reminisced. “We’d played in so many big games before, but I think everyone that played on that team last year looks back on that game and it was just different, and it makes sense because that was our first sellout. I think the energy in the air was just so electric and it was so loud and so fun. It just makes everything feel a little bit more special.”

Just like they did when she was playing, Virginia Tech fans packed Cassell Coliseum on Sunday for Liz Kitley day. (Jon Fleming)

That kind of meteoric rise might make some act differently, but not Kitley. She continued to be humble, always thankful for the support and never taking it for granted. Fans of all kinds — young and old, boys and girls — lined up around the metal railings in Cassell time and time again, and she always made sure to sign every last autograph and take every last picture.

“I love the tradition we started last year of everyone coming out after the game,” Kitley said, “and no matter how many fans were lined up around the outside of the benches, we would stay for an hour, and hour-and-a-half to make sure that we signed every little girl’s shirt or every little boy’s shoe. I signed foreheads, insane stuff. But we made sure everyone was satisfied because we wanted them to keep coming back, and I think we were able to do that.”

She is beloved in both Southwest Virginia and in Greensboro, N.C., where her high school jersey was retired at Northwest Guilford Friday night. And in her return to Blacksburg on Sunday as an alum, she helped sell out yet another Tech women’s basketball game — this one vs. Louisville — despite not touching the basketball.

The Hokies have drawn solid crowds this year with an average of 5,100 fans per game, but Kitley’s return? There was no way it wouldn’t be sold out, no matter the weather. That’s simply who she is, how much she’s adored and the impact she’s had on so many lives.

On ‘Liz Kitley Day,’ her No. 33 jersey went into the rafters at halftime next to the late Reneé Dennis, whose jersey was retired in 1987. The camera cut to her countless times throughout the afternoon as she sat with former teammates King and Olivia Summiel on the baseline, along with her parents, Ralph and Loretta. She and her sister, Raven, fired up the crowd with a ‘Let’s go, Hokies’ chant, too. And on every instance, Cassell roared, just like during her playing career.

As much as it was a day to celebrate Kitley, it was another opportunity for her to survey everything she helped build and soak up the atmosphere she fabricated. And, unchanged in her ways, she stayed two hours after the game signing autographs for a line of fans that wrapped over halfway around the arena.

“They mean everything,” Kitley said of the fans before the game. “They gave us so much energy when we really needed it and I’m excited to see all of those people in Cassell and I hope that it’s less about me and more about those people getting the taste of the team that is now, and hopefully they’ll continue to come back, even when I’m not here.”

Liz Kitley adores her fans as much as they adore her. (Ivan Morozov)

What’s more, when handed the mic at midcourt during her ceremony, she encouraged fans to carry over their support to the current Tech team, which beat Louisville 70-65 — always inspiring so many and championing the growth of women’s basketball.

“I hope that people continue to invest in them like they did in us,” Kitley said.

Neither act surprised anyone, though. That’s who she is and always has been — one for the Virginia Tech community. At the same time, the community showed — once again — it’s one for her.

A perfect match.