Memorable debuts highlight season opening victory for Brooks, HokiesMemorable debuts highlight season opening victory for Brooks, Hokies
Women's Basketball

Memorable debuts highlight season opening victory for Brooks, Hokies

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Not only did the Hokies eclipse the 100-point mark for the first time in the Kenny Brooks era and match several program records, but the crowd at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum Tuesday night was treated to one of the best debuts for a Hokie in Tech history. Freshman center Elizabeth Kitley started the game by winning the opening tip and would go on to score 27 points on 13 of 15 shooting from the field, in just 21 minutes. 
 


 
Kitley's 27 points is the second most in a Virginia Tech debut, just one shy of Uju Ugoka's 28-point effort in her first game back in 2012 against Wake Forest. 
 
"Now Liz gives us an opportunity to have a low post presence," said head coach Kenny Brooks. "We can throw the ball inside and she's pretty crafty in there even with her size, she is very nimble. She can move, she can slide through. There is probably a whole array of moves that she didn't show tonight that she's pretty good at. Just very excited about her."
 
The freshman from Summerfield, North Carolina was not the only new face on the court for the Hokies Tuesday. She was joined in the starting five by Taja Cole, a grad transfer from Georgia. Cole, one of the best point guards in the nation was included on the preseason Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List and showed Hokie Nation a taste of her talent against the Red Flash. She led all players with nine assists to just two turnovers, while also having an efficient seven points on four shots and added two steals and a block.
 
"I thought Taja Cole was fantastic tonight, setting the tempo, getting the ball where it needed to go, setting the tempo on the defensive end," Brooks said of his point guard. "She was phenomenal, it was what we've been needing for a while is a point guard that can do that." 
 
Four other Hokies made their debuts Tuesday; Lydia Rivers, Alex Obouh Fegue, Cayla King and Makayla Ennis. For Ennis and King, freshmen, it was their first competitive action at the collegiate level.
 
All nine Hokies who entered the game scored a basket and were productive when you look across the stat sheet, but perhaps no one had such an impact as Rivers, who came off the bench. The grad student scored nine points and also corralled a game high eight rebounds in addition to dishing six assists and having four blocks. 
 
"Lydia Rivers she was tremendous," Brooks commented in a postgame press conference. "I mean she was a stat sheet stuffer. Nine points, eight rebounds, six assists, four blocks, I mean that is unbelievable so you add that production of the bench. Then her leadership, because she has played a lot of basketball games in her career."
 
Center Alex Obouh Fegue, who transferred to Blacksburg last winter, finally had her opportunity to get on the court and did not disappoint, scoring 14 points in 16 minutes and grabbing five rebounds. She made a memorable play in the third quarter when she stripped the ball from a Saint Francis around the 3-point line and dribbled the length of the court before laying the ball up and in.
 


 
"You know the kids love Alex," Brooks said. "I've been really hard on Alex throughout the preseason because I know her capabilities. I know what she is capable of doing. I thought she played extremely well and I'm very happy for her."
 
The Hokies, known for their up-tempo style and 3-point shooting certainly pushed the pace, which contributed to their 105 points, but did much of their damage inside the paint, to the tune of 70 points in the paint. 
 


 
Tech shot 65% from the field while holding the Flash to just 26% and 14 made field goals. 
 
CASSELL COLISEUM RECORDS TIED

  • Field goals made (44)
  • Assists (28)
  • Points scored (105)

 

Gallery: (11/5/2019) 2019-2020 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOME OPENER