BLACKSBURG – Thursday night on Carilion Clinic Court, 'Big Girl Basketball' will be played, a moniker head coach Kenny Brooks places on the talent of the ACC, the nation's best conference. The Hokies begin their 20-game slate by playing host to the 2-1 Pitt Panthers.
The Hokies are 5-0 on the season and grateful to have reached this point with no interruptions, as many of their peers have experienced. The five games of competition, fitness and film is more than many and a blessing.
"I look every day and all these games are being postponed and cancelled so I'm just so grateful that that wasn't us," sophomore center Elizabeth Kitley said. "I hope we can continue that, I want to play all that we can."
Kitley in particular has been playing and playing well, with a double-double to her name in each game so far, making her the nation's leader in that category. The Summerfield, North Carolina has been dominant, averaging 18.8 points, 13.4 rebounds and shooting 70% from the field. She's also got 11 blocks already this season.
She's turned in a 30-point performance, she set a new record at Cassell Coliseum with 17 defensive rebounds and she's stepped out and stroked a 3-pointer.
Lauded by Brooks as the smartest player he's coached, her growth between year one and year two is evident but she will soon be put to the test against players with similar frames to hers.
But Brooks is confident in his squad and their ability to not only be competitive, but to win in the ACC and finish near the top.
"I think we can be one of the top teams in the ACC I really do," he said in a recent post game interview. "We just have to be as consistent as we possibly can. If we can do that then we give ourselves a chance to win. If we do that I think we can play with anyone in our league."
Kitley and the addition her front court counterpart Asiah Jones are a big reason why he thinks the Hokies will find success.
"What we've lacked in the past was an ability to match up with people on the inside," he continued" Now, we have true post players who can go up and battle and bang. We have shooters that can score. We have size on the perimeter. We have the recipe to go and be able to match up with a lot of the teams that have caused some problems for us in the past."
Tech boasts the second-best scoring tandem in the conference in Kitley and Aisha Sheppard who have produced 36.8 points per game so far. Only Wake Forest's Gina Conti and Ivana Raca (38.0) are better. As a team, the Hokies have topped 80 points four times and average 83.0. Their field goal percentage is north of 50% and no team in the country has made more 3-point field goals.
The Hokies are protecting the rim at a high rate as well, with both Jones (2.6 blocks per game) and Kitley (2.2) amongst the league leaders.
But for all of the stats that stand out for the right reasons, there are things for the team to work on. One of those was evident in their last outing – turnovers. The Hokies recorded 24 against the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs and as a result, took 17 less shots than the Runnin' Bulldogs who only had 13 giveaways.
Tech ranks 11th in the conference with a minus 5.2 turnover margin per game, something that Brooks will address.
"We have to clean up the little things," he admitted following the 24-turnover performance. "(We are) trying to be a more efficient basketball team, trying to limit turnovers. You're never going to eliminate them, you want to try and minimize them. If you can have 12 or 14 turnovers in a game and give ourselves nine more opportunities to shoot then we're a much more efficient team. I though some of our turnovers were of the variety where they were just lacking focus."
When they do take care of the basketball, the Hokies have shared it well and executed on a high level. The team's field goal percentage is 50.2% and some 56% of baskets have been assisted.
Some parting thoughts on the Hokies' first two weeks
•The starting five has been superb.
Kitley and Sheppard were known entities this season and rightfully so were included on the Preseason All-ACC team. But one look down the roster on November 24 showed that no other player had starting experience in maroon and orange before the season got underway. Enter Cayla King who played significant minutes a season ago, freshman Georgia Amoore and transfer Asiah Jones.
Those three have combined for 32.6 points per game, Jones has shown she is dynamic and athletic with one double-double to her credit so far and both guards can stretch the opposition with their 3-point prowess.
The starting unit has averaged 69.4 points through the first five games and have shown mercurial moments that should give opposing coaches plenty to think about.
•The chemistry is building, but not quite there.
"I think, it's a marathon," Amoore said when asked about the season and the cohesion just two weeks in. "We're not going to have everything together the first couple of days and especially being this new team, we have seven new players and we literally have like four or five returners that played last year. It's taking it game by game and then finding the negatives and the positives from the game and working on it in practice and hoping we can improve on it in the next game."
Twelve Hokies have seen minutes thus far. Eleven had made a field goal.
Brooks and company are still working to find the best combinations on the floor, particularly when players are in foul trouble, a phenomenon that has, at times, already plagued the team.
•The opportunity to play is not lost on anyone within the program.
"We're just blessed to be in this position, honestly to have all of the bodies that we have healthy and to be able to play and practice is honestly something that we don't take for granted," Sheppard, in her fourth season said. "To come out and have five games even without fans in the stands, we're just grateful for everything that we're getting and we hope that it continues on.
With the start of conference play, a different level of enthusiasm comes out. "I can't stress enough how excited I am with all the weapons that we have (to compete in the ACC)," Sheppard said.
At 18.0 points per game and four 3's per contest, she is one of those weapons and Hokie Nation is relishing the chance to see her climb closer the program's 3-point shooting record each game.
After finishing 11-6 in the league last season, Tech feels confident that they can once again be one of the top teams in the ACC and of course reach the ultimate goal, a berth in the NCAA Tournament.