Recap: No. 11 VA Tech’s Georgia Amoore closes out No. 22 NC State with fearless shooting

Georgia Amoore of the No. 11 Virginia Tech Hokies played with the utmost confidence in scoring 27 points and closing out the No. 22 NC State Wolfpack Monday night in the Play4Kay Game at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

The Hokies went on an 8-0 run capped by an Amoore three to build a 58-48 lead after which they led by at least seven for the remaining 10:05. They ended up winning 73-61 for the program’s first-ever win over the Pack.

Amoore next scored on a deep three that made it 64-53 with 6:16 remaining. Then, after a Taylor Soule steal at 5:34, she made it back-to-back triples at 5:15. Her sixth and final assist of the night led to an Elizabeth Kitley layup that made it 69-53 at 4:27. She would then close out Tech’s scoring with a layup that made it 71-56 at 3:40 and a floater through contact that made it 73-56 at 1:25.

In total, she had three treys, 13 points and two assists over the final 10:05. It was primarily because of her that that stretch went as smoothly as it did for the Hokies.

Kitley, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, was also key down the stretch. From the beginning of the 8-0 run through the end of the game, she scored seven points. In total, she notched 25 points and game highs of 14 rebounds and three blocks.

Cayla King dealt with foul trouble late, but rounded out the Hokies’ double-figure scorers with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Amoore was 5-of-11 from distance and 11-of-21 from the field.

The Pack went on a 7-0 run to cut it to 50-48 with 1:43 remaining in the third quarter. It started with a Mimi Collins drive and layup and continued with an Aziaha James make from mid-range. River Baldwin, who was crucial to the outcome of the contest seeing as she was going up against Kitley in the post, capped the run with a dramatic 3-point play off an offensive rebound. That really got the home crowd going, but D’asia Gregg began the 8-0 Hokie run with a three 22 seconds later.

NC State star Diamond Johnson was 4-of-7 from three on the night, finishing with 16 points. She made two key threes in the third, cutting it to six and seven, but Kitley answered the first with a layup off an offensive rebound and Amoore answered the second with a mid-range make that made it 50-41 Tech.

The Hokies used a 7-0 second-quarter run to build an 11-point lead and would lead by that margin at halftime. Mid-range makes by Kitley and Amoore and a three by King made up the run.

In the first, the Pack went on an 8-0 run to cut their deficit to 15-12. Johnson made back-to-back threes and then Saniya Rivers converted on a pick-six. NC State was within six or less over the remainder of the opening period and trailed 22-18 entering the second.

After Kitley opened the game with two layups, King converted on a 4-point play to make it 8-0 Hokies. A little later, an Amoore steal led to a King transition three, which was followed by two Kayana Traylor free throws that made it 13-2.

Tech was 12-of-13 at the charity stripe (92.3 percent) and 9-of-19 from deep (47.4 percent). It won the battle on the boards 42-24 and overcame losing the turnover margin by seven. The Hokie starters outscored the NC State starters 68-33.