– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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WASHINGTON — If one were to find a blemish in the performance of Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley on Thursday, you can point to the fact that she did not record a double-double, the sixth consecutive game where the All-America candidate center has not posted that particular feat.
Kitley, as well as the rest of the Hokies, won’t mind everything else about her game in a record performance in the nation’s capital.
Kitley scored a career-high 34 points as well as snagged nine rebounds as No. 24 Virginia Tech rolled over George Washington 75-38 to start the season at 2-0. Another All-America candidate, guard Aisha Sheppard, added 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Led by Kitley and Sheppard, 2021 First Team All-ACC selections, the Hokies found themselves ranked in the AP Preseason Top 25 for the first time since 1999, and Virginia Tech showed how lethal it can be on both ends of the floor, in particular, holding the Colonials to 31.5 percent shooting and holding GW to under 10 points in each of the final three quarters.
Virginia Tech held onto a 19-18 lead early in the second quarter before blowing it open with 16-2 run to take control of the game. Cayla King started the run with a three-pointer, while Kitley’s back-to-back jumpers in the final 90 seconds of the half ballooned the Hokies’ lead to 35-20 right before the intermission. Taylor Webster knocked down at three-pointer with three seconds left for George Washington to cut their deficit to 12 going into intermission.
Virginia Tech maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the contest, and the Colonials got to within 41-30 midway through the third before the Hokies ended a period on a 20-2 run. Unlike the second-quarter run, another King three, with three seconds remaining, ended the run and saw Virginia Tech’s lead increase to 61-32 at the end of the stanza.
Purdue transfer Kayana Traylor was the third Hokie player to score in double figures, tallying 11 points in 21 minutes off the bench.
Webster led the Colonials with 11 points coming off the bench, while post player Mayowa Taiwo was the only George Washington starter in double figures in scoring, with 10.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Thursday evening’s game, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 15 pictures in total.
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