BLACKSBURG – After the disappointment of the 2020 NCAA Tournament being cancelled, one the Hokies were sure to feature in, the program finally got the moment they were waiting for this time around when the team heard their named called on Selection Monday on March 15. After a 15-year absence, the Hokies were dancing again, a seven seed in the River Walk Region matching up with Marquette from the Big East.
In San Antonio, the Hokies won their first game, 70-63 over the Golden Eagles, led by sophomore center Elizabeth Kitley who scored 23 points and secured eight rebounds to send Virginia Tech into the Round of 32. There, they would be met by Baylor, a two-seed and one of just a handful of teams in the nation to lose two or fewer games heading into the national tournament. The Bears proved too much for the Hokies who fell 90-48, ending a remarkable season.
The Hokies were one of 15 teams to not go on pause during the season, certainly something to be commended after a difficult year of protocols and adjustments.
Tech finished the season 15-10, a figure that seemed out of reach midway through the season. The Hokies began ACC play 2-7 after a three-game losing streak in January. The team had only been outscored by three points throughout those nine contests and Tech's NET was 33. At the time the team took solace in the fact that experts like ESPN's Charlie Creme was still including them in the conversation for a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The conversation turned in a positive direction when the Hokies knocked off No. 2 NC State on Jan. 28 to secure the program's best AP win in program history. Tied after 40 minutes the Hokies scored a record 28 points in the overtime, with Aisha Sheppard scoring 18 on her own to take down the Wolfpack 83-71.
That contest ignited a six-game ACC winning streak, the likes of which had never been seen before in Blacksburg. Night after night, the Hokies defeated North Carolina, Pitt, Miami, Syracuse and Clemson to race up the ACC table. In each contest, Tech scored 70 or more, also a first such streak when it comes to ACC games.
By March, the Hokies were one of the nation's hottest teams, one that couldn't be ignored, earning the seven seed.
The Hokies were propelled all season long by a dynamic duo, the second and third top scorers in the ACC, Kitley and Sheppard who were both unanimous First Team All-ACC selections, the first time that the Hokies ever had two recognized. Kitley, for her part, averaged better than 18 points and 10 rebounds, leading the ACC with 13 double-doubles and ranking amongst the leaders in field goal percentage, blocks and free throws in addition to her scoring and rebounding numbers.
Kitley was the only ACC athlete to score 30 twice during the season and she tied a program record with 21 rebounds in a single contest.
The Summerfield, North Carolina native finished as a top five finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, given to the nation's top center in women's college basketball.
Sheppard had a historic year herself, earning All-American honors, the first Hokie since 1999 to do so. She was one of the top 3-point shooters in the nation, connecting on 87 breaking her own single season school record, and vaulting herself to first all-time in a maroon and orange uniform.
She averaged over 17 points per game and scored better than 20 nine times.
In addition to her scoring, Sheppard had a career season in other categories, providing 3.0 assists per game and upping her presence at the free throw line in terms of attempts and percentage.
Freshman point guard Georgia Amoore collected All-Freshman Team honors, averaging 11.8 points, 4.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds. The Australia native ranked fourth in the conference in assists.
She was awarded Freshman of the Week honors on February 15 after scoring 17 points on 5 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc and registering five assists and four steals in a 20-point win at Miami.