GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Aisha Sheppard and Georgia Amoore each scored 22 points as No. 21 Virginia Tech beat No. 16 North Carolina 87-80 in overtime of Friday's Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
The win - with league player of the year Elizabeth Kitley exiting with a first-half injury - sent the fifth-seeded Hokies (23-8) to the semifinals for the first time since joining the league for the 2004-05 season.
The 6-foot-6 Kitley was hurt when she dove for a loose ball in the final second of the first quarter, then came up grabbing her right shoulder after UNC's Kennedy Todd-Williams fell on her in the scramble.
Kitley returned briefly in the second, then exited for the locker room and spent the second half cheering on her teammates from the bench. Afterward coach Kenny Brooks said the team was being cautious with the NCAA Tournament looming, though Kitley was having pain raising her arm and her status is unclear.
The fourth-seeded Tar Heels (23-6) forced overtime with a perfectly executed inbounds play with 2.3 seconds left, with Carlie Littlefield throwing to Alyssa Ustby, who whipped the ball to the far wing for Eva Hodgson's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Ustby and Deja Kelly each had 18 points to lead UNC, which arrived with aspirations of strengthening their postseason resume to host a set of opening-round NCAA Tournament game. The loss dropped coach Courtney Banghart to 0-3 in ACC Tournament games.
Virginia Tech shot 51%, including 11 of 29 from 3-point range. The Hokies played without starting guard Cayla King, who suffered an ankle injury Wednesday against Clemson.
OF NOTE
- 33rd all-time meeting between the programs. UNC leads series 21-11. Hokies won the season series 2-1.
- The win was the Hokies ninth all-time win in the ACC Tournament.
- The Hokies improve to 2-1 in overtime games in Greensboro competing in the last two contests that went into the extra session.
- All six of UNC’s defeats have come against teams ranked in the AP top 25 polls.
- Even in defeat, the Tar Heels have won the rebound battle in their last nine contests.