Virginia Tech Hokies
— Record: (31-4)
— Seed: No. 1 (Seattle 3)
— Road to the Final Four: Defeated Chattanooga 58-33; defeated South Dakota State 72-60; defeated Tennessee 73-64; defeated Ohio State 84-74
— Coach: Kenny Brooks (155-73, seventh season at Virginia Tech; 492-195 in 21 seasons overall). A former player at James Madison under Lefty Driesel, Brooks took James Madison to six NCAA Tournaments in 14 seasons before turning around Virginia Tech with an uptempo style. He is just the third Black male head coach to take a women’s team to the Final Four. “I’m going to use my platform,” Brooks said after the regional final win over Ohio State. “I’ve said this before. I think I have a little bit of credibility now, a little bit of equity, that I can go say some things that would help people that look like me because there are a lot of ‘em out there that are really, really good and can be really, really good for this game.”
— About Virginia Tech: Maybe someone at American Airlines Center should add Metallica’s "Enter Sandman" to his pregame playlist. Even though the Hokies were the top seed in the Seattle 3 Region, they were viewed as unlikely winners, especially with a field of UConn, Tennessee and Ohio State. Instead, Virginia Tech continued its march into March. The Hokies have won 15 straight games, a streak only exceeded by South Carolina. Pretty much every win has been a school first, including a trip to the Final Four. While 6-6 post Elizabeth Kitley gets a lot of attention, Virginia Tech has been a balanced team this season. Point guard Georgia Amoore is the key to the offense, averaging 16.3 points and 5.0 assists. She leads the Hokies with 114 3-pointers. Forward Taylor Soule (11.1 ppg) and guard Kayana Traylor (10.8 ppg) are average double-figures scoring. “We all come from different places, but this year we came together because we all wanted the same thing,” Kitley said.
— Player to watch: Kitley (18.2 ppg, 10.7 rpg) has 21 triple-doubles this season and 56 for her career, a school record, after scoring 25 points against Ohio State and adding 11 rebounds. More impressive than her numbers are her work ethic and unselfishness, according to her teammates. “Honestly, I’ve never seen someone that worked harder. Like, if we were back at home, I bet she would be in the gym tomorrow, honestly,” Traylor said. “But she also is just willing to do whatever the team needs and sometimes her role is to kick it back out and she gets tripled, doubled, and she can still produce those numbers, which is insane.” A five-start recruit out of Northwest Guilford (N.C.) High school, Kittley’s father Ralph was a 6-10 center at Wake Forest from 1986-90.
— Tournament history: This season is pretty much uncharted territory. Virginia Tech had only reached the Sweet 16 once before in 1999.
— Did you know: Virginia Tech is 14-0 when at least four players score in double figures.
— Notable former students: TV host Hoda Kotb, NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, archaeologist Lewis Binford, actress Collette Wolfe, former NFL quarterback Mike Vick.
