Liz Kitley injury: What happened to Virginia Tech's center?

Liz Kitley suffered a left knee injury during Virginia Tech's 80-75 loss against Virginia on Sunday. Kitley exited the court with 6:05 remaining on the clock. Her body appeared to buckle under her own weight as she landed on a transition layup.

Kitley grabbed her left knee in pain and was escorted off the court and into the locker room. She did not return to the game.

The defeat marks the Hokies' second in a row, following their 71-58 loss to the No. 14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Thursday. Virginia Tech is currently ranked 11th in the nation.

Despite their 10-game winning streak coming to an end last Thursday, the Hokies remain the top-seeded team in the ACC. The conference's field includes No. 10 North Carolina State, No. 14 Notre Dame, No. 20 Syracuse and No. 24 Louisville.

Virginia Tech guard Georgia Amoore stepped up and scored a career-high 39 points. She also had four assists and two rebounds in the game.

Kenny Brooks on Liz Kitley's injury

The head coach of the reigning ACC women's basketball champions, Kenny Brooks, did not shed much light on the injury.

“We don’t know anything yet, obviously we’re just waiting and praying for good results," he said.

"Everyone knows we won the ACC regular-season championship, we won the ACC Tournament last year, (had a) Final Four appearance. So we’re going to get everyone’s best shot regardless of who’s on the floor.”

Liz Kitley is averaging 22.8 points (6th in the nation), 11.4 rebounds (6th in the nation) and 1.8 rebounds per game, making her an incredibly important piece of the Hokies squad. Her 55.6% field goal percentage ranks 30th in the nation at the time of writing.

In 2022, she was a third-team AP All-American and in 2023, she was a second-teamer. She helped the Hokies win their first ACC title and reach the Final Four.