:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/BF53DWT4IQGF7Z4PHWKXTXCKXQ.jpg)
Chasing its first Elite Eight and Final Four women’s basketball berths, Virginia Tech must go through at least one and perhaps two programs with unparalleled tradition.
At 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2, the top-seeded Hokies (29-4) will take on fourth-seeded Tennessee (25-11) in a Seattle Regional 3 semifinal. The Lady Vols have won eight NCAA championships and have never missed the NCAA Tournament field.
Tech hopes to repeat its 59-56 triumph Dec. 4 in Knoxville, during which Kayana Traylor, one of the Hokies’ complementary players, netted 18 points.
Two-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley (18.2 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game) and All-ACC point guard Georgia Amoore (15.7 ppg, 5.1 assists per game) have been the stars for Tech, a first-time ACC Tournament champion. Kenny Brooks is one of four finalists for Naismith Coach of the Year honors, and Kitley is one of four finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year award.
Tennessee hit high gear with its offense in the first two NCAA rounds, scoring 94 and 95 points. Tech likely will need to stop first-team All-SEC selections Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston, who are combining to average 35 points per game.
The Virginia Tech-Tennessee winner will return Monday to play the victor between second-seeded Connecticut and third-seeded Ohio State.
UConn is in its 29th consecutive Sweet 16, and the Huskies have accumulated 11 championships in that span. Aaliyah Edwards is averaging 17 points and nine rebounds per game and is shooting 59% this season. Azzi Fudd, the top-ranked recruit in the 2021 class, came back from an injury and scored 22 points as UConn beat Baylor on Monday.
Breaking News
Ohio State’s program doesn’t have quite the name recognition as UConn or Tennessee, but the Buckeyes came from 16 points down to beat James Madison, Brooks’ alma mater, and held off North Carolina to get their ticket to Seattle.
Saturday’s region semifinals
Greenville 1
No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 3 Notre Dame, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN)
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 UCLA, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Seattle 3
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Ohio State, 4 p.m. (WVEC)
No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 4 Tennessee, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)