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Published Jan 18, 2024
Amoore injury key second straight Hokies loss
Bradley Winterling
Hokie Haven intern

Virginia Tech dropped a second consecutive conference loss in a demoralizing match against Duke on Thursday by a score of 63-46. The Hokies fall to 13-4 on the season and 4-2 in conference play after a loss to No. 21 Florida State on Sunday and then to the Blue Devils on Thursday night.

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The Hokies started hot, as Georgia Amoore kicked off the game with a corner three, then Cayla King hit a three of her own to give the Hokies a quick 6-0 lead. After a layup from Kitlety, King then hit a fadeaway three in the corner as the shot clock was expiring to open up the game and give Tech an 11-0 lead, forcing a Duke timeout with 6:28 to go in the first quarter.

The tables turned in the second quarter. The Blue Devils held strong for the first few minutes, trading baskets with the Hokies. In the final four minutes of the period, Duke went on a 9-4 run to close the gap to a 26-21 Virginia Tech lead going into halftime. Reigan Richardson was the greatest struggle for Tech in the first half, scoring 9 points, going 4-7 from the field.

It was the lowest scoring quarter of the season for the Hokies, with only eight points. It was also the second lowest scoring half for Tech, with 26 points. They were held to 25 points against NC State in the first half.

Duke stayed on fire in the third quarter, opening up the quarter outsourcing the Hokies 12-2 in the first five minutes. With 55 seconds left in the second quarter, the Hokies had a 26-17 lead. With 4:28 to go in the third, the Blue Devils had a 35-28 lead, going on an 18-2 run in that time span. Tech was outscored 27-8 in the third.

A big reason for the Duke run was the Hokies’ loss of Georgia Amoore. With 6:36 left in the third, Amoore went down with an injury to the face and went into the locker room. When Amoore went down, the Hokies were down 29-26. By the end of the third quarter, the Hokies were already facing a 14-point deficit, as Duke had jumped out to a 48-34 lead.

Tech was unable to prevail in the fourth quarter, as Duke outscored them 15-12. A prominent part of the loss was the injury to Amoore, but the Hokies were still down by three points in the third quarter as she went down.

Reigan Richardson was the leading scorer for Duke, with 22 points, shooting 10-15 from the field. Ashlon Jackson also had a strong outing, putting up 13 for the Blue Devils.

Liz Kitley led the Hokies with 18 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 9-18 from the floor. She was the only player for Tech in the double digits. Kitley also notches her 12th double-double of the year.

Tech will need to sort through some issues and get back on track as they go home to Blacksburg and face Clemson on Sunday, at noon in Cassell Coliseum

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FOOTBALL
Scores / Schedule
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5 - 6
Overall Record
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Conference Record
Finished
Duke
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Duke
Virginia Tech
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Virginia Tech
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Clemson
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Clemson
Syracuse
38
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