BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Elizabeth Kitley had 28 points and 12 rebounds, Virginia Tech withstood a big third-quarter rally, and the No. 12 Hokies defeated Wake Forest 74-57 on Sunday.
Georgia Amoore added 17 points, with five 3-pointers and six assists for Virginia Tech. Taylor Soule had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Wake Forest’s Jewel Spear scored 18 points in the third quarter and the Demon Deacons, who trailed by 15 at halftime, closed to within 53-50 heading to the fourth. Both teams shot better than 60% in the third quarter. Wake Forest scored 30 points in the third quarter, making 9 of 12 shots, 4 of 4 3-pointers and 8 of 9 free throws.
The Demon Deacons could not keep up the pace in the fourth quarter, making just one of their first seven shots in falling behind 68-54. Wake Forest managed seven points in the fourth quarter, making 2 of 12 shots and 3 of 3 free throws. Kitley scored eight points and Soule six in the fourth, combining to make 6 of 7 shots as the Hokies put the game away.
Spear finished with 27 points and Elise Williams scored 12. Demeara Hinds had 10 rebounds.
Virginia Tech center Kitley matched Wake Forest with 10 points in the first quarter and the Hokies took a 14-10 lead into the second period. Kitley (692 coming in) passed Tere Williams (694) for the most career field goals in Va. Tech history.
The Hokies went on to lead 35-20 at halftime. Kitley finished the half with 12 points and six rebounds, and Amoore had 11 points after making 3 of 6 3-pointers.
Other than the 30-point explosion in the third quarter, Wake Forest failed to score more than 10 points in any period.
Virginia Tech visits No. 13 Duke on Thursday.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25