The #13 Virginia Tech women’s basketball team got arguably its most highly anticipated season off to a fine start on Monday night, beating Mount St. Mary’s 101-45 at Cassell Coliseum.
The Hokies scored more points in the second half than the visitors had for the entire game, moving to 1-0 on the campaign with Waynesboro native Kenny Brooks as coach.
Cayla King set a program record with nine 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 33 points, and Tech had five players score in double figures. King had 33 points, while All-American Elizabeth Kitley had 18 points, nine rebounds and six blocks. Taylor Soule had 14 points and four steals.
With 6:51 to go in the first quarter, the Hokies went on a 20-0 run to lead 23-2, and there was no coming back. Tech led 43-19 at the half. After the 20-0, Tech twice had 12-0 runs to blow the doors off the game. Mount St. Mary’s shot just 14.29 percent in the first quarter. Tech shot 56.1 percent for the game and also made 23 of 27 free throws while scoring 30 points in the paint.
Tech’s defense allowed the Mountaineers to shoot just 26.8 percent for the game, and the Hokies made half of their 28 3-pointers. Tech also forced 24 turnovers into 34 points.
Next, the Hokies will return to action when they host Bucknell on Friday at 7 p.m..