BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech women's basketball coach Kenny Brooks was a little nervous heading into last Sunday's contest with Gardner-Webb, with it being the last game before the student-athletes had to buckle down for exams. "This game right here, the one right before exams and then the one right after exams is always the hardest games of the year to play because their minds are somewhere else," Brooks commented in his post game media session following an 87-65 victory.
After a slow first half that featured 13 Tech turnovers, the Hokies, who still led at the break, regrouped and dominated in the second half and ultimately walked away with a 22-point victory over the Runnin' Bulldogs.
The win signaled the end of the home 2019 slate, which Tech navigated to a 6-0 start which included dropping 105 points in the season opener, extending the Hokies' streak in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge to five games and moving the program's home winning streak to 58 game against non-conference opposition.
That Tech is in this position through nine games may raise some eyebrows. After all, the program graduated two 1,000-point scorers from last season's team and have seven new faces on the roster.
"If you would've told me that we were going to be 8-1 at this time, I would've taken that," admitted Brooks. "But, as you're 8-1, man we missed that opportunity because I know what we are capable of. I think they picked us 10th [in the preseason ACC poll], I think we can be better than that. I think we can be much better than that. I'm very pleased with where we are and I'm very excited about where we can go and that's all you can ask for at this point in time of the year. If we continue to work together and get better, I think we can reach our goal."
So far this season 998 of the 1800 minutes played (55%) have been recorded by players who had zero minutes of experience in maroon and orange prior to the season tipping off on November 5. That same group has combined for 44% of the collective scoring, led by freshman center Elizabeth Kitley who averages 12.3 points per game and won ACC Freshman of the Week the first week of the season.
"Liz Kitley is a joy, is a pleasure, is a treat and we're very fortunate to have her, someone of her size, someone of her skillset," Brooks said. "We're very fortunate to have her and I am excited about her development. I think before it's all said and done I think she'll be one of the better players to represent Virginia Tech."
Tech boasts an impressive +11.1 rebound margin on the season and posted a season high 55 in the Gardner-Webb game. They outrebounded the Bulldogs by 20. Forward Trinity Baptiste nearly had 20 herself, pulling down a career high 17 to go along with 17 points, collecting a second consecutive double-double. Each of the last two games, she has come off of the bench after starting the first seven of the season.
"We took her out of the starting lineup, not as a demotion but as a way of letting her sit back and watch, see what's going on and come out and I thought she was getting early fouls because of that situation and she's handled it gracefully," explained Brooks. "She's had two really good games back to back. She's playing with a lot of energy and I like that and that spark off the bench and I'm very pleased with where she is going. We just need her to continue to play like that."
Baptiste, a junior from Tampa, Florida leads the Hokies at 8.3 rebounds per game, while her frontcourt mates Lydia Rivers and Elizabeth Kitley are not far behind at 7.8 and 6.9 boards per contest.
On the season she averages 11.2 points and has registered three double-doubles.
Other individuals have had impressive performances of note as well.
Junior guard Aisha Sheppard has led the Hokies in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game and tallying double figures in each contest. Her nine-game streak with 10 or more points is the longest of her career and includes a career best 22 in a homecoming game at George Mason on November 10. The Alexandria, Virginia native had 70 family members and friends attend the game and she did not disappoint, knocking down four 3-pointers leading the Hokies to victory.
One of Tech's other guards, Dara Mabrey has somewhat quietly been having a solid season. Not in the headlines as a productive newcomer or the leading scorer, Mabrey is Tech's second leading scorer at 16.2 per game and has dropped 63 points in the last three games. After setting the program record with 80 triples a season ago and shooting at a ridiculous 46% clip, the Belmar, New Jersey native has 27 to her name so far this season and has jumped into the top 10 in that category in Virginia Tech history. She's also seen an uptick in rebounds and assists per game.
Taja Cole, Tech's grad transfer point guard has been nothing short of as advertised, leading the conference in assists at 6.6 per game. She also adds 7.2 points and over four rebounds per contest. The Richmond, Virginia native was once again included on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List, given annually to the nation's top point guard.
Freshman center Elizabeth Kitley's debut was about as good as it gets. The Summerfield, North Carolina product scored 27 points in the season opening victory over Saint Francis and went on to win ACC Freshman of the Week honors. On the season, she is averaging 12.3 points and is shooting 56% from the floor. After a few near misses, she finally registered her first career double-double against Gardner-Webb with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
NEXT TIME ON THE HARDWOOD
•The next time on the court will be December 20 in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the Coqui Classic.
•Tech will face Rice and Wichita State in that competition. The Rice Owls sit at 4-4 on the season with one game to play before making the trip to San Juan. Wichita State is 5-3 and has two contests to play before The Classic. The Shockers' first contest in San Juan will be against Montana State.
NEXT TIME ON CARILION CLINIC COURT
•Tech will return to Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum on Sunday, January 5 to take on North Carolina on ACC Network Extra. Tipoff for that contest is set for 2 p.m.
•The Hokies are 6-19 all-time against the Tar Heels and fell 81-69 at home in last season's only meeting. This season, the programs will play a home-and-home as they are grouped together in the new ACC 'pod' format with 18 league games.
