VT overcomes Kitley’s absence
Amoore’s 27 help Hokies reach semis for third straight year
Georgia Amoore scored 23 of her 27 points in the second half for her 15th 20-point game this season, and shorthanded Virginia Tech beat Miami 55-47 on Friday at Greensboro Coliseum to advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals for the third straight year.
Top-seeded and 11th-ranked Tech (24-6), which hadn’t played since Sunday, moves on to play No. 14 Notre Dame today. The Hokies dropped a 71-58 contest at Notre Dame on Feb. 29.
Virginia Tech was without threetime ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley due to a knee injury. She was ruled out for the ACC Tournament and will be re-evaluated next week in hopes she could play in the NCAAs.
Amoore took over in the second half. She scored eight of Virginia Tech’s 11 points in the third quarter, including a long jumper from the corner with 43 seconds left and a layup just before the buzzer to extend the lead to 36-33.
Virginia Tech scored six straight points by making a basket on three straight possessions to take a 45-37 lead and was ahead the rest of the way.
Clara Strack, a 6-foot-5 freshman, filled in for Kitley down low with 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes.
Jasmyne Roberts scored 12 points and Shayeann Day-Wilson added 11 for Miami (19-12). Ja’Leah Williams grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds.
More ACC Tournament No. 10 N.C. State 54, Duke 51:
Princess Anne High alumna Aziaha James scored 16 points, and the secondseeded Wolfpack overcame three quarters’ worth of offensive struggles.
Freshman Zoe Brooks added 12 points for the Wolfpack. That included a critical driving basket past Taina Mair with 58.8 seconds left. Mair missed a 3-pointer for the tie on Duke’s last possession.
No. 14 Notre Dame 77, No. 24 Louisville 68: Sonia Citron scored 26 points,
Hannah Hidalgo added 21 and both players made double-digit free throws for the Irish.
Louisville center Olivia Cochran made a layup to get within 71-68 with 30.9 left, but Louisville coach Jeff Walz argued with the officials soon after that and was given his second technical foul of the game.
Big Ten quarterfinals Maryland 82, No. 4 Ohio State 61:
Shyanne Sellers had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Maryland’s upset in Indianapolis. Brinae Alexander and Jakia BrownTurner each scored 19 points and Faith Masonius added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Terrapins. Maryland improved to 19-12 and delivered the type of statement performance that ought to help secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes fell to 25-5 as their quest for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament took a hit.
Nebraska 73, Michigan State 61: Alexis Markowski had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Natalie Potts added 15
points and 11 rebounds and Nebraska (21-10) advanced to meet Maryland. MSU dropped to 22-8.
Men Big South quarterfinals Longwood 69, Winthrop 56:
Walyn Napper had 20 points for the fifthseeded Lancers (19-13), who will play top-seeded tournament host High Point in a semifinal today.
Napper had six rebounds for the Lancers. Emanuel Richards scored 11 points and added five rebounds.
Sin’Cere McMahon finished with 19 points for the Eagles (17-15).
High Point 77, Radford 63: Abdoulaye Thiam and Duke Miles each scored 20 points for the top-seeded Panthers (25-7), who overcame an 18-4 deficit.
Juslin Bodo Bodo had 14 points and finished 7 of 9 from the floor.
Chandler Turner led the way for the Highlanders (16-17) with 19 points. Justin Archer added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Radford.