Virginia Tech beats North Carolina to clinch a tie for the ACC regular season title

It was an emotional day for the Virginia Tech women's basketball team. ESPN College GameDay made its first appearance in Blacksburg, and then the Hokies and their fans honored seniors Elizabeth Kitley, Georgia Amoore, Cayla King, and Olivia Summiel before their ACC showdown with North Carolina. To top it off, Virginia Tech had a chance to clinch at least a tie for their ACC regular season championship.

The Hokies set the tone with a 21-5 first quarter and then fought off each time the Tar Heels made a run for their 10th straight victory that improved them to 23-4 overall and 14-2 in the ACC. North Carolina fell to 18-10 overall and 10-6 in the ACC. Here are some key observations from a win in front of a sold-out Cassell Coliseum.

• What a way for the senior class to go out in their final regular season home game. Kitley finished with 34 points, Amoore was in foul trouble and missed most of the second quarter, but returned with a strong second half to finish with a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists. King had just one 3-pointer, but picked up a pair of charges, while Summiel had 14 rebounds.
• Matilda Ekh finished with 11 points, but nine of those were on some key 3-pointers. King struggled to go 1-for-6 from behind the arc, which makes the addition of Ekh this season another player who can step up and knock down some shots from the outside.
• Lexy Donarski knocked down a 3-pointer for the game's first basket for the Tar Heels, but the Hokies closed out the opening quarter with a 21-3 run. Leading 15-5, Ehk knocked down two of her three treys on the final two possessions for a 16-point lead after 10 minutes.
• Give UNC credit as they battled back in the second quarter to get within 33-27 at halftime. Deja Kelly, who finished with 29 points for the Tar Heels, hit a 3-pointer from near midcourt to bring them to only down six at the break.
• Virginia Tech outscored North Carolina in three of the four quarters, but it never felt like they were able to pull away until late in the fourth quarter. Like Duke, UNC is another team that the Hokies would like to avoid at the ACC Tournament for a third time in 2023-24.

Virginia Tech will finish their ACC schedule with road games at Notre Dame and Virginia before the ACC Tournament. They need to win one of those final two games to win the ACC regular season title outright.