Elizabeth Kitley scores last-second layup to lead No. 13 Virginia Tech past No. 3 NC State
The Hokies erased a 13-point second-half deficit to hand the Wolfpack its first loss of the season
Elizabeth Kitley put No. 13 Virginia Tech on her back both literally and figuratively.
The Hokies' standout center not only scored the layup to give Tech its first lead of the game with 1:28 left against undefeated N.C. State, Kitley also found the bottom of the net for the winning shot.
She high-pointed a cross-court pass from Cayla King on the side and scored it over her defender to give the Hokies (12-2, 3-0 ACC) a 63-62 upset win over the No. 3 Wolfpack.
The senior's 27 points helped Virginia Tech erase a 13-point, second-half deficit to win its 19th consecutive home game and stretch its current win streak to seven. Hokies guard Georgia Amoore chipped in for 21 points.
"I think we've gone over that play multiple times in practice," Amoore said via ESPN. "And you know, Cayla has great vision and great accuracy with that pass, and I knew that it's worked before. So, I was very, very confident."
N.C. State (14-1, 2-1) tried making it interesting after Kitley gave Virginia Tech the lead. With less than three seconds remaining, Wolfpack guard Saniya Rivers used a reverse layup to put N.C. State ahead 62-61 with 2.1 seconds remaining.
The Hokies advanced the ball to half court, which allowed King a better chance to connect on the cross-court lob.
While Rivers had 12 points, she only recorded one field goal the final eight minutes of the contest. N.C. State was led by Madison Hayes, who finished with 21 points.
"We needed it, and obviously we stumbled early in the year against the two ranked opponents," Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said. "We just kind of like dug in and said, 'Hey, we're not trying to prove anybody wrong. We're just going to continue to prove ourselves right,' and that worked for us last year, and it continues to work for us."
