Virginia Tech Knocks Off Undefeated Wolfpack
BLACKSBURG, VA – The Virginia Tech Hokies handed the NC State Wolfpack their first loss of the season 83-71 in the Cassel Coliseum on Thursday afternoon.
In their previous contest Sunday afternoon, the Wolfpack came back from a 14-point deficit to take down this same Hokies team 89-87 in a thrilling game. The teams combined for 26 three-pointers (14 by the Pack and 12 by the Hokies), which was a record at the Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack were led by three scorers with at least 20 points while the Hokies were led by Elizabeth Kitley with 30 points and 13 rebounds.
Coming into the matchup, the Wolfpack rank high nationally in multiple categories, including first in defensive rebounds per game (32.9), fifth in field goal percentage at 49.2%, ninth in scoring margin (+21.5), and 11th in three-point percentage at 38.7%. Graduate student Raina Perez leads the ACC and ranks 10th nationally with a 3.3 assist to turnover ratio this season.
After the Hokies scored the first points of the game on a three-pointer by Georgia Amoore, the Wolfpack went on a 10-2 run to take a 10-5 lead at the 4:56 mark in the first quarter.
Camille Hobby and Raina Perez paced the Wolfpack through the first quarter as they scored 14 of the team’s 19 first-quarter points to help give the Wolfpack a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Both teams went cold two minutes halfway through the second quarter before Jada Boyd and Camille Hobby each knocked down a basket to give the Wolfpack a 27-20 lead at the 4:14 mark left in the second quarter.
Virginia Tech picked up their intensity on defense to close out the last three minutes of the half to only trail 30-26 at the half. The Hokies were able to force eight Wolfpack turnovers through the first half of the game. At the half, the Wolfpack were led by Camille Hobby with ten points and six rebounds. The Hokies were led by Cayla King and Azana Baines with nine points each.
The Hokies came out firing to start the second half as they outscored the Wolfpack 9-2 through the first two and half minutes to take a one-point lead at the 7:42 mark in the third quarter before the Wolfpack took the lead right back with a Jakia Brown-Turner jumper and free-throw.
The intense back and forth play stayed consistent through the rest of the third quarter as the score was 45-44 in favor of the Wolfpack. After not scoring in the first half, Kai Crutchfield scored six huge points in the quarter, to help give the Wolfpack the one-point lead.
As the intensity grew in the Cassel Coliseum, the Wolfpack held a two-point, 52-50 lead with 4:14 left in the fourth quarter. For the next two and half minutes, the only basket was a jumper by Camille Hobby to extend the lead to 54-50.
Virginia Tech went on a 5-0 run to take a 55-54 lead with 56 seconds left as Aisha Sheppard knocked down a huge three-pointer to give them the lead. Kitley knocked down two free-throws to bump the lead to 57-54 with 22 seconds left.
The Wolfpack was struggling to get a shot off in the final seconds, but Camille Hobby continued her career day, by knocking down a three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Overtime was all Aisha Sheppard as she scored 19 of the team’s 26 points in the overtime period. The Wolfpack tried to comeback but 16 Wolfpack turnovers hurt them too much.
The Wolfpack were led by Camille Hobby with a career-high 19 points and nine rebounds and Raina Perez with 19 points and seven assists. Perez also turned the ball over seven times in the contest. Virginia Tech was led by Aisha Sheppard who scored all 28 of her points in the second half and overtime and Elizabeth Kitley with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“Camille did a nice job on Kitley defensively. She scored 30 on us last game so we had to do some things differently,” Head Coach Wes Moore said when asked about what the Wolfpack defense did to try and slow her down.
The Wolfpack (11-1, 7-1 ACC) hit the road next as they head to Louisville, Kentucky on Monday, February 1st, for a matchup with the top-ranked Cardinals. The game will tip-off at 7 pm on ESPN2.
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