5 Virginia Tech WBB thoughts: Elizabeth Kitley, Cayla King, NCAA Tournament & more

The Virginia Tech women's basketball team is on their bye this Thursday night and will not be in action. At 13-2, the Hokies are on top of the ACC standings with three games to play and control their own destiny toward the regular season championship. They have one remaining game at home against North Carolina on Sunday, then road games at Notre Dame and Virginia before the ACC Tournament early next month.

As the Hokies sit at No. 8 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, here are some thoughts on Kenny Brooks' team as they look to make another long postseason run.

1. Elizabeth Kitley continues to dominate

Elizabeth Kitley likely will win her third ACC Player of the Year award, but she continues to wow everyone it seems like every time she takes the floor. In he career in Blacksburg, she has 40 career 20-point, 10 rebound games, the most in 25 years in the ACC, and is averaging 22.9 points and 11.8 rebounds a game. Last week she dominated again against Duke and Louisville. Against the Blue Devils, she had 34 points, 12 rebounds, and shot 76% from the field. Against the Cardinals, she scored 26 points with 13 rebounds and shot 75% from the field. It's hard to believe that there is just a month and a half left in her career in Blacksburg. Her number should be in the rafters of Cassell Coliseum in the not-too-distant future.

2. Virginia Tech's road success vs. Top 25 teams

After losing to Duke on Jan. 18, the Hokies have won nine games in a row and they have done in a very impressive fashion. During the streak, they have not one, not two, not three, but four Top 25 wins on the road. They have won at Syracuse, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Louisville. The most impressive was Sunday at Louisville, however, the win at NC State was just as impressive. The win over Duke last week at home was an impressive one also as they battled through adversity against the Bue Devils and Georgia Amoore stepped up in the final minute to seal the win. I'm guessing the Blue Devils are one team that the Hokies would like to avoid in Greensboro next month.

3. Virginia Tech still in line for a 1 or 2 seed

Last Thursday, the NCAA had the first of two reveals of the Top 16 seeds for the NCAA Tournament. The Hokies checked in at No. 10 and were a three-seed in the Portland 4 Regional. In Charlie Creme's latest bracketology at ESPN, they were a three-seed in the same bracket as South Carolina. While that would be less than ideal, however, the Hokies can still move up to the two-line or even one-line with a strong finish to the regular season and have a good showing in the conference tournament. The one thing about playing in the ACC is that there are a lot of chances for Quad 1 wins, which Virginia Tech has taken advantage of recently.

4. Courtney Banghart comes to Cassell Coliseum Sunday

For the second time this season, the Hokies will play North Carolina this Sunday in their final regular season home game. ESPN College GameDay will be in Blacksburg, but so will Tar Heels' coach Courtney Banghart who had a head-scratching comment following Tech's overtime win in Chapel Hill. She called out the Hokies defense saying, “Defense is not what they do well. “They’re really good offensively, they shoot you out of games.’’ It was a bizarre take and I'm sure the Cassell Guard will welcome her with open arms Sunday afternoon.

5. Hokies need King, Ekh and role players to contribute consistently

Sunday, Cayla King and Matilda Ekh made some big shots against Louisville to keep the Cardinals at bay, but going forward, if the Hokies can get King going consistently and Ekh continues her shooting, Virginia Tech is going to be a very tough out of both the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. Olivia Summiel has brought some toughness on the inside, especially on the defensive end, and has been an under-the-radar contributor. Clara Strack and Carleigh Wenzel have been big off the bench and Carys Baker can be a big contributor with her ability to shoot the 3-ball.

The next month plus are going to be fun to see what the Hokies can do after last season's ACC and NCAA Tournament runs. They certainly have the pieces in place to make another deep run in both tournaments in what will be the final run for their core senior group.