The Virginia Tech Hokies (2-1) defeated the UNC Ashville Bulldogs 85-62 in a Wednesday night showdown in Cassell Coliseum and bounced back after falling to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday in Charlotte.
“Overall, I'm happy to get the win, it was nice to get back on the court after Sunday's tough loss,” Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy said.
Tech got off a slow start in the first two minutes against the Bulldogs (0-2), turning the ball over four times. Senior guard/forward Matilda Ekh was responsible for three turnovers and was moved to the bench by Duffy before the eight-minute mark in the first quarter.
“We talked about handling their pressure, I thought we were just a little bit undisciplined at times, a little bit lackadaisical with just our passes,” Duffy said. “You are going to have situations like that so I think it is important how quickly we can stop it before the game could get out of hand.”
“Fortunately we were able to settle in a little bit better, but we definitely need to cut down the turnovers for sure.”
However, after beating itself for the first several minutes of the game, Tech found its stride, courtesy of true freshman Kayl Petersen, who led the Hokies in scoring in the first quarter with six points. Not only did Petersen open up the scoring for the maroon and orange, but she also recorded a block.
Petersens presence in the paint forced UNC Asheville to settle for nearly 50% of its shots coming outside of the arc in the first quarter, where the Bulldogs shot an abysmal 0-7 from long range.
“(Petersen) wants to put in the extra work, she wants to be on the court,” Carleigh Wenzel said. “I think she is super open minded and that is the best way you can come in, especially to your freshman year. Shes just a sponge willing to take up all information she can have.”
Once the Hokies settled into the game, they outscored the Bulldogs 18-6 in the opening quarter, and from then on, Tech never looked back. At halftime, the maroon and orange extended its lead to 19 points, holding the Bulldogs to 22 points.
“I thought we were blowing up a little bit of their offense, pressuring, and making a lot of their shots difficult,” Duffy said. “I think the second half was a different story. We are definitely going to try and hone in on that third and fourth quarter, because defensively we dropped a bit.
“I thought overall after that first quarter holding them to six points is good, we just have to sustain that a little better.”
While much of the Hokies' success came through their defense—holding the Bulldogs to 20.6% from the field in the first half and capturing three steals and three blocks—Tech guard Carleigh Wenzel turned up the heat in the second quarter and was the main catalyst in the Hokies' victory.
“I’m really proud of Carleigh’s performance this evening,” Duffy said. “I thought she really just stayed steady, she got to the free throw line and scored in different ways”
In the second quarter, Wenzel scored nine points, grabbed two rebounds, dished out an assist, snatched a steal, and shot a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe. The redshirt sophomore entered the contest as the Hokies leading scorer — averaging 14.0 points per game — and lived up to her title, shattering her previous 14-point career high.
Wenzel finished the contest with a career-high 25 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and three steals, shooting 90% from the free throw line and 57% from the field. After playing a more reserved role in Tech’s offense last season behind Kentucky transfer Georgia Amoore, Wenzel showed her true colors as a scorer and filled the role of being the Hokies’ dominant guard brilliantly.
“I am in a different role this year, i know i had it in me last year, but that just wasnt my role or what they needed me to do,” Wenzel said. “I was kind of frustrated with myself a little bit after Iowa just because I felt like there were small looks that we had and small reads that I was missing”
“So just seeing the ball go in the net today was something that I felt like I needed.”
However, Wenzel was one of five Hokies to record double-digit scoring. Matilda Ekh (13), Samiyha Suffren (12), Rose Micheaux (11), and Kayl Petersen (10) joined Wenzel in double figures, with those five Hokies combining for 71 of Tech's 85 points, dominating on the offensive end for the maroon and orange.
Suffren (23) and Petersen (25) contributed big minutes off the bench for Megan Duffy and her squad. The Tech’s reserves recorded 26 points, and the two aforementioned Hokies contributed 22, with Suffren capturing a career-high in scoring.
“I think what is really cool about this team this year is we are all fast pace and we all can get downhill, and we can shoot the ball,” Suffren said. “We can be diverse in anything we do.
The Hokies return to Cassell Coliseum on Saturday, November 16, when they take on Coppin State at 2 p.m. EST.
