Hokies ride defense to drub Moccasins
SEATTLE 3 REGION VIRGINIA TECH 58, CHATTANOOGA 33
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Georgia Amoore scored 22 points, Elizabeth Kitley added 12, and top-seeded Virginia Tech rolled to a 58-33 victory over No. 16 seed Chattanooga on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s Seattle Region.
Kitley added 14 rebounds while Amoore hit five three-pointers for the Hokies (28-4), who won their 12th consecutive game.
“We were a little bit rusty, which I felt like we were going to be,” Virginia Tech Coach Kenny Brooks said. “Twelveday layoff, kids in and out of the lineup. But it’s always good to get a win to start everything and then to keep it going. The old adage is to survive and advance. You want to be a little bit better than that. But we’re fortunate to be able to get a win today.”
Yazz Wazeerud-Din and Raven Thompson led Chattanooga (20-13) with 10 points each. The Moccasins were held to their lowest point total of the season.
Virginia Tech, which is making its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, never trailed. The Hokies led by one late in the first quarter, but used a 17-0 run bridging the first and second quarters to pull away. Amoore scored eight points in that run.
“They had 33 points, but we all know that our defense could have been even better,” Kitley said. “Sometimes they were able to dictate what they wanted to do more than we should have let them. They did have (just) 33 points, but we all know that we can be better. We need to be better.”
Chattanooga, which was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017, struggled against an aggressive Virginia Tech defense. The Moccasins made just six field goals in the first half and shot 28.6% (14 of 49) for the game.
“Tonight, Virginia Tech was a better team,” said Chattanooga Coach Shawn Poppie, who spent six years as an assistant under Brooks at Virginia Tech. “They’re a really good basketball team over there and we knew coming in we had our hands full. I thought we did a really good job at times defensively, and they were stifling. It was hard to get good looks, and the ones we did get, we just couldn’t get into any, any runs. We couldn’t put anything together. So congratulations to Coach Brooks and Virginia Tech.”
Kayana Traylor had 12 points, and Taylor Soule finished with 10 for the Hokies, who shot 47.9% (23 of 48).
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 62, USC 57, OT
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Myah Selland scored 29 points to lead No. 9 seed South Dakota State to an overtime victory over eighth-seeded Southern Cal.
Selland scored 16 consecutive points spanning the fourth quarter and overtime for the Jackrabbits (29-5), who won their 22nd consecutive game despite shooting 35.2% (19 of 54) and committing 20 turnovers.
Destiny Littleton led Southern Cal (2110) with 18 points.
Littleton tied the game at 47 on a three-pointer with 7 seconds in regulation. Selland then missed a tough jumper at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
Selland scored nine consecutive points in overtime for the Jackrabbits, who opened the extra session with an 11-2 run and never trailed. Littleton had a chance to tie the game at 58, but missed an off-balance three-pointer with 14 seconds left and Tori Nelson’s two free throws with 11 seconds to go all but sealed it for the Jackrabbits.
Selland connected on 10 of 18 from the floor and 8 of 10 from the free-throw line to stand as the bright spot in a rather ugly game. The two teams combined for 40 turnovers and neither shot better than 35.2% from the floor.
Rayah Marshall finished with 17 points for the Trojans.