BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's basketball team started its 2020-21 campaign with a convincing 85-64 victory over Richmond Wednesday at Cassell Coliseum behind five players in double figures led by Georgia Amoore's 19.
Tech begins the season 1-0 for the fifth straight season, while Richmond opens 0-1.
Senior guard Aisha Sheppard scored the game's first basket, a 3-pointer and from there the Hokies began the game up 7-3 before a 12-point run extended the cushion. Sheppard had herself one of her better halves of basketball scoring-wise making five triples including one at the buzzer heading into the half to lead all scorers with 15 points at the time.
But it was her teammates who kept the momentum after the intermission with, with reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Elizabeth Kitley tallying a double-double and securing 17 rebounds a career-best. Her frontcourt partner Asiah Jones, who started at power forward, had 17 points in her debut and added five boards and a block.
The Hokies pulled away from the Spiders with timely shots, particularly from the perimeter. In addition to Sheppard's five triples, Cayla King added three and Amoore, in her first collegiate contest, scored four.
Richmond closed to as many as 15 in the second half behind 14 points from Kate Klimkiewicz and a dozen apiece from Addie Budnik and Claire Holt.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
•Tech shot better than 49% from the floor
•The Hokies made 12 triples, while Richmond hit just 5 of 25 from beyond the arc
•Tech owned a 40-31 rebound margin
•Richmond turned it over 16 times and the Hokies capitalized with 18 points.
•The Hokies had a 1.21 assist to turnover ratio while Richmond's was just 0.69
•The points in the paint battle was also won by Tech 36-32
GAME NOTES
•Virginia Tech is now 7-6 against the Spiders.
•Kenny Brooks' record moves to 87-49 at Virginia Tech and 424-171 in his career.
•Tech is 9-6 on November 25.
•The win was the Hokies' fifth consecutive to begin the season and 56th straight against nonconference opposition inside Cassell.
•Tech's starting lineup of Amoore, Sheppard, Cayla King, Jones and Kitley, accounted for 77 points.
•Three Hokies; Cayla King, Amoore and Jones made their first career start and five total players saw their first action in maroon and orange, including Da'Ja Green, D'asia Gregg and Shelby Calhoun.
•Cayla King finished with a career-high 11 points in the contest
NEXT TIME ON CARILION CLINIC COURT
•The Hokies are back at Cassell Coliseum on Saturday November 28 to face Liberty. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. The Flames fell to Ohio 76-72 Wednesday in their season opener.Gallery: (11-25-2020) 2020-2021 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL OPENER vs. RICHMOND