Aisha Sheppard scored 20 points, Elizabeth Kitley had 19 points and 10 rebounds and No. 21 Virginia Tech beat Clemson 82-60 in the second round of the ACC tournament. Fifth-seeded Virginia Tech advances to play No. 4 seed and 16th ranked North Carolina in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Virginia Tech made its first six field goals and led 25-15 after one quarter before extending it to 53-30 at halftime, shooting 79% from the field. The Hokies had three players in double figures for their most post scored by halftime in an ACC tournament game. The Hokies led by 30 points on a 3-pointer by Sheppard early in the third quarter. Delicia Washington had 19 points for Clemson.
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Despite the win, the Hokies played messy in the second half with multiple unforced turnovers, something that will need be addressed before taking on the Tar Heels.
“Those are the ones we have to eliminate because we don’t give ourselves a chance, especially on a day like today when we were shooting the ball so well,” said head coach Kenny Brooks.
Virginia Tech also expects to be without guard Cayla King who left the game early with an ankle injury.
“We’re deeper than we were last year, if this was last year it would probably be devastating for us. But obviously we have kids who can step in but you’re not going to replace Cayla King and what she means to us, she’s like my security blanket,” Brooks said.
The Hokies will now take on 4-seed UNC at 11 a.m. on Friday in the third round of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament.