2 Virginia Tech women's basketball players are must-see in the 2024 NCAA Tournament

By now, one of the biggest questions surrounding the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament is the health of Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley. Since she left in the third quarter against Virginia with an injury on March 3, she hasn’t played in a game. Whether or not she plays Friday against Marshall remains to be seen and we likely won’t know her status until game time, but that didn’t stop her from being on a pre-tournament list.

Elizabeth Kitley & Georgia Amoore crack ESPN Top 25 list

ESPN released their Top 25 must-see players heading into the NCAA Tournament this weekend and two members of Virginia Tech were listed, to no one's surprise. Georgia Amoore was ranked seventh and Kitley came in at No. 11, down five spots because of the questions surrounding her status.

"With Kitley's status uncertain for the remainder of the postseason, Amoore will likely need to do even more for the Hokies -- with some help from the complementary players around her -- to keep their season alive. We've already seen what that could look like: Amoore scored a career-high 39 points against Virginia in the game in which Kitley went down with the injury, and later attempted a career-high 29 shots in their ACC tournament semifinal matchup against Notre Dame (both were eventual losses). The Hokies have had some time these last few weeks to gameplan around Kitley's potential absence and what that means for Amoore, so we'll have to see what coach Kenny Brooks and Co. came up with."

As mentioned above, Kitley dropped in the latest ranking, but it's because of availability in questions against the Thundering Hurd.

"Kitley's availability is one of the top storylines heading into the NCAA tournament. The knee injury she suffered against Virginia in the March 3 regular-season finale has kept the three-time ACC player of the year sidelined since. Including the loss to the Cavaliers, Virginia Tech is 1-2 without her. The Hokies managed to hold a No. 4 seed and the right to host first- and second-round games, but if Kitley is unable to go -- and early in the week coach Kenny Brooks still called her status day-to-day -- then repeating last year's Final Four run seems unlikely. Even if Kitley plays, she likely wouldn't be 100%, and that cost her a few spots in these rankings. A healthy Kitley is the preeminent low-post offensive player in the country -- and the best player in Virginia Tech history."

It’s clear that Kitley’s availability in the tournament will go a very long way into determining just how far the Hokies can go. Even if she is cleared to play, she won’t be at 100%, but let’s be honest, just her presence on the court means a lot to the Hokies. Hopefully, we will see her this weekend.