SUNDAY, MARCH 24 @ 8:52 P.M.
Fourth-seeded Virginia Tech trails by six points at halftime against fifth-seeded Baylor, 34-28, at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Guard Georgia Amoore leads the Hokies with a team-high 10 points, while forward Olivia Summiel has as team-high four rebounds. Forward Clara Strack is 3-for-4 from the field, owning eight points and three rebounds.
Tech has forced seven Baylor turnovers and has assisted on five of 11 field goals.
Gallery: (3-24-2024) WBB: NCAA Tournament vs. Baylor
SUNDAY, MARCH 24 @ 8:15 P.M.
Blacksburg has been quite the host for the 2024 NCAA Women's Tournament. To conclude the weekend opening the first two rounds of March Madness, Hokie Nation welcomed the Tech basketball program ahead of its matchup against Baylor. Check out some of the best photos from the team walk and pregame warmups.Gallery: (3-24-2024) WBB: NCAA Second Round Pregame
SUNDAY, MARCH 24 @ 1:30 P.M.
No. 4-seeded Virginia Tech continues its NCAA Tournament run tonight against No. 5-seeded Baylor in a second-round matchup. The Hokies and Bears will tip off at 8 p.m. ET at Carilion Clinic at Cassell Coliseum. The game will air on ESPN, with broadcasters Jay Alter and Kelly Gramlich providing analysis and color commentary.
Tickets to tonight's game are sold out, and those interested in attending can find seats via SeatGeek, the official secondary marketplace of Tech Athletics. Fans with mobile tickets are highly encouraged to read the 'Know Before You Go' articleto access parking information, team arrival and more.
SATURDAY, MARCH 23 @ 3:15 P.M.
Virginia women's basketball met with the media on Saturday for a press conference ahead of its contest with No. 5-seeded Baylor on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Head coach Kenny Brooks spoke on the matchup, while guards Cayla King and Georgia Amoore also spoke.
Q. We had talked last night about how I really felt like the Marshall game was really a coming out party for Carleigh and Clara Strack. How important is it for them to continue on that path and really just kind of play as loose and have as much fun as they did against Marshall?
KENNY BROOKS: It's very important. Obviously they're thrust into situations where they have to have more prominent roles, especially Clara. We have every bit of confidence in Clara. A lot of people want to refer to Clara as Baby Liz or Little Kitley.
But Clara is Clara. We're not asking her to be anyone but Clara Strack, and she's pretty good at doing that. We understand she doesn't have the experience that Liz has, but we still have confidence in here, and throwing the ball inside to her and getting her into positions where she can be successful. I'm excited because we can actually get back to some of the plays we were running before, and like today I was so giddy because I'm like, okay, let's run this play. We haven't run it in probably four or five weeks.
We have a lot of confidence in her. And Carleigh stepped up. I think I referred to it she's played like a big girl yesterday. And she was just so poised and I was very proud of her.
Both of them get their opportunities. They were kind of sporadic throughout the year. But it was rightfully so because they're playing behind two All-Americans, but they're also able to learn.
Hopefully down the stretch they'll take that experience and they'll be big for us. They have to be big for us in order for us to advance, because I told everyone -- I said, there's no bad teams left. By the time we start playing, there's going to be 32 of us. So everyone's going to be good, so you have to be good.
Q. Baylor, one of the top 10 teams in the country in defending the 3-pointer. As 3-point shooters, does that make you eager to rise to that challenge? Or are you so confident in your team's 3-point abilities that it doesn't matter who you're going up against?
GEORGIA AMOORE: If that's their focus and that's what they want to put their focus on, I like to drive. I think if we settle for 3s and potentially that could be an issue. We have to stay confident and know that we can knock down the 3 but we also have to explore the lanes, get downhill.
I think we showed that in yesterday's game a bit more well balanced all around. When we had 3s we took it, but we did a good job getting downhill. You giveth and you taketh, and we have to be smart and mature with our decision-making.
CAYLA KING: Just knowing we have an inside presence. And we have Clara Strack and we have Rose. And Carleigh got downhill yesterday. Georgia was good at getting downhill. When we have an all-around game that's when we're at our best.
FRIDAY, MARCH 22 @ 6:10 P.M.
Virginia Tech women's basketball spoke with the media following its 92-49 victory over Marshall to advance to the second round. Head coach Kenny Brooks was joined by student-athletes Georgia Amoore and Olivia Summiel at the postgame press conference desk.
Read below to see what they had to say.
Head coach Kenny Brooks
Opening statement:
"I am so proud of these kids, each and every one of them. The way they stepped up, it looked a little dicey in the beginning of the week. When we first started trying to go over Marshall, trying to emulate Marshall's pressure. But they were diligent in just trying to understand what we needed to do, how we needed to take care of basketball. And I can't be more proud of our group. They stepped up even in Georgia's absence."
Guard Georgia Amoore
On finding opportunities to beat Marshall's defensive pressure:
"I think that the defense they giveth and they taketh. They have runs, where maybe they'll have a few energy plays and hold us to a few stops. But they were giving up a whole lot and they were taking risks. They were leaving people open, so I think we did a good job at exploiting it when we could. I think even towards the end, that the energy felt like within the press it wasn't there anymore I think they got pretty flat towards the end. So, I think we did a pretty good job at you know breaking it, staying composed like time after time after time. As you said there was instances where they did creep up on us, but I think overall we did a good job at handling it."
Forward Olivia Summiel
On the offense finding its rhythm:
"I would say confidence, right? Just belief in each other and our teammates and knowing that when the opportunity came, we all had to step up and knock them down. I think we shared the ball incredibly well today. It was so fun to be out there playing, just to be able to share the ball in that environment. Hokie Nation was again incredible, but it was a really fun team win. I think we moved the ball and found the right shots for the open player."
FRIDAY, MARCH 22 @ 5:34 P.M.
Friday was a preview of what's to come for Virginia Tech women's basketball.
The fourth-seeded squad was missing its All-American center, and its All-American guard didn't have to play her normal slate of minutes for a victory to take place in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
No Kitley. Just a sliver of Amoore. No problem.
Outside of those two, there was not a lot of NCAA Tournament experience. Some may have thought that could have been a problem. But not for this group. They made a game of this magnitude look like a breeze, with the Hokies (25-7) earning their largest NCAA Tournament win in program history, downing No. 13-seeded Marshall (26-7) 92-49.
It also marked their 26th straight win in Cassell, marking a new program record (previous best was 25 games).
With the win, the Hokies advance to the second round and will face the winner of the No. 5-seeded Baylor versus No. 12-seeded Vanderbilt matchup. The contest will be played on Sunday at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum, and the game time and TV designation will be announced upon the completion of the first round.
Gallery: (3-22-2024) WBB: NCAA Tournament vs. Marshall
FRIDAY, MARCH 22 @ 4:28 P.M.
Starting the game off with a 10-0 lead and forcing a Marshall timeout at the six-minute mark of the first half, Virginia Tech women's basketball jumped out to a strong start and never looked back through halftime at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum on Friday, leading 42-25 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
All-American Georgia Amoore picked up two fouls and did not play the entirety of the second quarter, but the Hokies held strong and got solid play from their reserves by Carleigh Wenzel (2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal) and Rose Micheaux (5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) with the lineup change.
Starters-wise, Clara Strack (14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks) didn't miss a shot, with going 6-for-6 from the field, and Matilda Ekh (6 points) and Cayla King (7 points) combined for 13 points.
The Hokies shot a blistering 59 percent while holding the Thundering Herd to just 27 percent. Tech shared the ball well, assisting on 11 of 13 shots.
Gallery: (3-22-2024) WBB: NCAA Tournament vs. Marshall
FRIDAY, MARCH 22 @ 2:55 P.M.
Hokie Nation is a fan base like no other in collegiate sports. As the Virginia Tech women's basketball team arrived for its game, the student-athletes were welcomed by fans and Tech football head coach Brent Pry. Gallery: (3-22-2024) WBB: NCAA Tournament Team Arrival
FRIDAY, MARCH 22 @ 11:45 A.M.
No. 4-seeded Virginia Tech is ready for its first-round matchup with No. 13-seeded Marshall. The Hokies and Thundering Herd will tip off at 3:30 p.m. ET at Carilion Clinic at Cassell Coliseum. The game will air on ESPN2, with broadcasters Jay Alter and Kelly Gramlich providing analysis and color commentary.
Fans attending the game in person are highly encouraged to read the 'Know Before You Go' article to maximize their March Madness experience in Blacksburg.
THURSDAY, MARCH 21 @ 4:30 P.M.
Virginia Tech women's basketball conducted its final practice before its tournament matchup on Friday. Check out photos from the Hokies' March Madness practice at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.Gallery: (3-21-2024) WBB: NCAA First Round Practice
THURSDAY, MARCH 21 @ 3:00 P.M.
The Hokies are finalizing their preparation for their first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament. To begin coverage for Tech's contest against Marshall, student-athletes and coaching staff met with local media before the team practice on Carilion Clinic Court. Head coach Kenny Brooks spoke on the podium following a joint media availability session with Georgia Amoore and Cayla King.
Read below to see what they had to say.
Head Coach Kenny Brooks
On the team's identity heading into the tournament:
"I think I stated it earlier that we've had a little bit of time from the calendar standpoint to try to reinvent ourselves. But then with the matchup, you know that we got, we had to try to reinvent ourselves again, differently because it's very unorthodox. We haven't seen anything like it. The way that they pressure, and their style, their physicality. I mean now you look across the country, everybody's playing seven or eight people. They go twelve strong. So that's something that you have to account for and we really had to try to reinvent ourselves in the last few days."
On dealing with Marshall's full-court press and defensive style of play:
"I think the misconception is that we're going to have to have Georgia do it by herself and that's not the case at all. You know, it's going to be all hands on deck. That's not fair to put that much pressure on her to try to do it. Now I think that she will have some success in doing it. Obviously she was Third Team AP All-American, so it proves that she's one of the best point guards in the country. She's going to have her success doing it but we can't rely [solely] on her because we need her to do other things as well. So, all week we've been practicing, we've had our practices and we've actually put some additional players on the floor against us to just make sure we can handle the chaos and keep our poise doing so."
Guard Georgia Amoore
On playing in Cassell Coliseum during March Madness:
"Yeah, it's always an absolute pleasure to play in Cassell obviously. But you know, I felt last year when we hosted and they sang Enter Sandman acappella and all of that like it was just the energy that they bring and it is great for us and we appreciate it. The energy on campus completely shifts, it changes. I went to class yesterday, I had like eight people come up to me saying I couldn't get a ticket or I got a ticket. Like everyone's so excited and for us, that's kind of more rewarding the impact that we've had on this campus and people around here. So yeah, playing in Cassell, it's great. The energy is great, and I cannot wait to play and see what everyone brings."
Guard Cayla King
On having another soldout game in Blacksburg:
"I think it's pretty crazy. Like, I remember seeing the tickets were on sale, and then I opened Instagram maybe 15 minutes later, and it was like nine minutes ago, Hokie Women's Basketball posted it's a sellout. I didn't even get to tell my family tickets are on sale yet, and its already sold out. So, I got my six tickets for them, we're good. But it is crazy just over the past five years to see how much women's basketball, and specifically Hokies women's basketball, the support we have. We wouldn't have had a sellout even if we were hosting four years ago. So now to have, I don't even know how many games we've sold out this year, six, seven. But it's just crazy because we have fun playing. So it's fun to have people enjoy watching us play."Gallery: (3-21-2024) WBB: NCAA First Round Media Conference
MONDAY, MARCH 18 @ 4:00 P.M.
Following a highly anticipated Selection Sunday, Virginia Tech women's basketball is slotted as the No. 4 seed for the Portland 3 Region. As a result, March Madness will start in Blacksburg with the First Four, first round and second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament taking place at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies will face No. 13-seeded Marshall on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET in the first round with the game airing on ESPN2.
Tech Athletics recently announced that all-session tickets to the matchups this weekend are sold out. Fans interested in attending can find tickets on SeatGeek, the official secondary marketplace of Tech Athletics.
Debuting a busy week inside Cassell Coliseum will be the play-in game between Vanderbilt and Columbia on Wednesday at 9 p.m. The winner will claim the No. 12 seed and play No. 5-seeded Baylor on Friday at 6 p.m.
Hokie Nation can stay updated with all tournament details such as schedule, bracket changes and game day information with March Madness Tournament Central.
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