Virginia Tech handled Coastal Carolina with ease, winning 82-59, thanks to a fast start that had them up by 17 after the first quarter. It was Tech’s second game in less than 48 hours after their win against Gardner-Webb on Thursday.
“We had a quick turnaround against a really good team. We were on them pretty good after the Gardner-Webb game to really stay focused,” head coach Megan Duffy said on preparing for the game. “I thought our focus was really good.The first quarter the way we came out I felt like we executed what we wanted too.”
The Hokies had the Chanticleers scrambling early in the game, leading 30-13 by the end of the first quarter.
Coastal had 27 total turnovers, with 10 coming in the first quarter. The Hokies made Coastal Carolina pay for their turnovers going 10-17 (58.8%) from the field and 4-8 (50%) from deep in the first quarter. Leading the way early on was Carleigh Wenzel with eight points, including two threes. Following her was Mel Daley with seven in the frame.
Wenzel finished the game with a double-double of 23 points and 10 assists, with eight of those coming from the free throw line. She shot 6-19 (31%) from the field and 3-12 (25%) for three. Despite the lower efficiency, she made the ones when it really mattered late in the game.
On defense, she maintained her composure against Tessa Grady of Coastal, who had scored 23 points in her previous two games., but was held to six points in this game.
“Carleigh’s poise is the greatest thing about her right now, even tonight, she had some streaks of her scoring and her facilitating, but she was really good [defending] on Grady tonight,” Duffy said on Wenzel’s performance. “I’m most proud of when a game like today happens, she scored and she facilitated, then you can say, I think her defense may have been the best part of what she did today.”
Virginia Tech maintained control in the second quarter to take a 53-29 lead to halftime. In the first half, Wenzel led the way with 15 points and six assists, shooting 4-10 (40%) from the field and 3-8 (37.5%) from beyond the arc. Following her, Carys Baker and Kilah Freelon both had nine while Mackenzie Nelson had eight, and Daley had seven.
Nelson’s production stood out in particular as she was 2-4 from three-point range during the first half.
“I think that's half the battle deciding to shoot them… it's just the confidence to go out there and shoot them. I play my role and take my open shots,” Nelson said on her three-point shooting.
The combination of Nelson and Wenzel in the backcourt is proving to be a strong one with both being able to work as the primary ball handler and off the ball with great effectiveness.
“It’s awesome, just having two people handle the basketball, knowing she can take it up, I can take it up, just keeping the other team [guessing] is awesome, it's a blessing.”
Getting to the line was a key factor for the Hokies in the first half, as they went to the charity stripe 15 times and missed only one, compared to Coastal's six attempts, missing half of them. The Hokies finished the game 19-22 from the line (86.3%), with Wenzel making eight of nine free throws.
It felt like a switch was flipped as soon as the third quarter began. At the start of the half, both teams had trouble offensively. The Hokies had a particularly rough quarter as they shot 2-18 (11.1%) including 0-9 (0%) from beyond the arc in their dreaded third quarter.
“It wasn’t really them, it was more us. I think we were taking the same shots. Could we have gotten a little shot happy, I think yes, but it wasn’t anything they were doing,” Wenzel stated on the third quarter. “We were taking open shots, stuff that we can hit, and knock down… It just happened to not fall… that's something you go back, get in the gym [and] keep shooting.”
While the Hokies only scored four points in the third quarter, the defense helped VT maintain a comfortable lead, holding the Chanticleers to only 12 points of their own.
It was in the late third quarter where Coastal Carolina made their bid at a comeback, going on a 13-0 run that carried into the early stages of the fourth quarter. For Coastal, it was Tracey Hueston in the driver's seat for the comeback as she finished the game with 21 points.
Even though the Chanticleers managed to reduce the advantage to 11 in the fourth quarter, Tech's potent defense helped the Hokies keep control of the game before they regained their offensive flow and shot 9-15 (60%) in the fourth quarter to ensure an easy victory in the end
Wenzel led the way with 23 points, while Kilah Freelon added 18 points and Carys Baker had 15. Both Freelon and Baker found their stride on the glass and on defense as Freelon had eight rebounds and a block, while Baker had six boards and blocked two shots. Baker also had a solid shooting night, going 6-14 (42.8%) from the field including 3-6 (50%) from beyond the arc, an encouraging bounce back from her last game, when she missed all of her shots from beyond the arc.
If you exclude the third quarter, the Hokies had a really good night against possibly the strongest competition they've faced yet. They shot over 50% in two quarters and 37.5% in the second, while limiting the Chanticleers to no more than 18 points in a quarter. Still, the Hokies are striving for a full game from start to finish, without a bad stretch like their third quarter in this one.
The Hokies will face Niagara next on Thursday, November 20th in Cassell Coliseum.
