That's Amoore: No. 1 Virginia Tech advances to 1st Final Four in program history

A dream season for Virginia Tech will take the team to its first Final Four.

The No. 1-seeded Hokies defeated No. 3 seed Ohio State 84-74 in the Elite Eight on Monday, advancing them to the final weekend of the tournament for the first time in program history. Awaiting them in Dallas will be No. 3 LSU for a spot in the national championship game.

The elation came after the scare of the tournament for the Hokies, when All-ACC guard Georgia Amoore went down hard on an impact with Ohio State's Eboni Walker. Amoore, who appeared to take a shoulder to the face, needed help walking off the court and to the locker room.

The Hokies exhaled about one minute later when Amoore reported back in, and that proved to be the only time the Australian would miss for the game. Against an aggressive Ohio State defense, Amoore finished with 24 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, highlighted by a 3-pointer to end the third quarter.

Leading Virginia Tech in scoring was, naturally, All-American Elizabeth Kitley, who had 25 points and 12 rebounds. Ohio State did its best to knock her off balance, frequently fronting her and getting physical with the ball in her hands, but it's hard to keep a 6-foot-6 center down all game.

The game opened as a shootout to the advantage of the Hokies, who made their first seven field-goal attempts before settling into a neck-and-neck battle in the second quarter. The decisive run came late in the third quarter, when Virginia Tech built up an 8-point lead at the end of the frame and built it even further in the fourth quarter.

Ohio State got briefly near striking distance in the final minutes of the game, but it was too late to prevent the Hokies from adding to a season that now features a 31-4 record, an ACC tournament championship and now a long-awaited trip to the Final Four.