It seemed like two games were played throughout the forty-minute duel at John Paul Jones Arena Sunday between the Virginia Tech (22-8, 12-6 ACC) and Virginia (19-10, 11-7 ACC.) The final game of the regular season that would end up determining some of the final seeding in the ACC tournament with some NCAA tournament implications came down to the wire in what seemed like was going to be a blowout.
In the final minute of the game, Virginia’s Tabitha Amanze drew a foul and converted a three-point play to tie the game at 81. With 24 seconds to go, Paris Clark drew a foul to give the Cavaliers their first lead since it was 2-0 in the first quarter. Clark split the pair, giving the Hokies a chance to secure a win.
With five seconds left, Coach Megan Duffy put the ball in the hands of her star guard Carleigh Wenzel, and she decided to attack the basket and drew a foul on Romi Levy with 1.7 seconds left. She drained the two free throws to give the Hokies the lead and the win after the Cavaliers couldn’t convert on the final shot.
“Carleigh had the opportunity to take the three or get downhill,” Hokies head coach Megan Duffy said on the final play. “She had great clock awareness, once they figured out the clock, and I had no doubt that she was going to make those two free throws.”
In the end it was Carleigh Wenzel who closed the game out for Virginia Tech (22-8, 12-6 ACC), winning 83-82 and clinching the season sweep of Virginia (19-10, 11-7 ACC).
“I’m incredibly proud of our effort. Coming into a hostile environment and the Commonwealth Clash, just the way our team showed grit through 40 minutes," Duffy said on the team's performance. We obviously got off to a tremendous start, and UVa made some adjustments, and we just kind of hung in there enough to keep it close."
It was a career game for Wenzel, who put up a career-high 29 points with four rebounds and four assists. She got four 3-pointers to fall and went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. Her aggressive nature was a big factor in helping Virginia Tech secure the win in Charlottesville.
“The plays [Carleigh Wenzel] made on the defensive end, the big free throws, just very proud of the grit and fight today.”
For a game that ended with a one-point differential, the first half was all Hokies, where they ran up the lead to 23 points. Tech went on a 13-0 run to open up the game after the Hoos got the first shot to fall. Nine of those 13 points came from beyond the arc, with two from Carys Baker and another from an open Leila Wells.
In the first quarter, the Hokies knocked down five shots from beyond the arc that gave them their initial lead. After their hot start, they cooled off somewhat, going 5-for-20 the rest of the way.
Virginia later started to find a little rhythm, but the Hokies made two more threes to end the first quarter, one each by Carys Baker and Carleigh Wenzel. In the transition between the first two quarters, Virginia Tech rattled off a 16-3 run to make it a 23-point lead for the Hokies with 5:25 left in the first half.
Carys Baker had a hot start to the game, making her first 3 of 4 three-pointers to start the game. She added one more from beyond the arc, ending the game 4-for-8 for three. Baker scored 16 points and notched seven rebounds and three blocks in the game.
While the Cavaliers fought back and outscored the Hokies 12-4 to end the half, they still trailed 43-28.
Virginia carried some momentum after the break, going on an 8-0 run to open up the half with six points coming from Kymora Johnson. In this stretch, the Cavaliers brought it to a seven-point game, but timely threes from Mackenzie Nelson and Wenzel helped the Hokies keep their distance.
Virginia would not go out quietly as they struggled to get any closer than seven until the end of the third quarter, where a tip-in from Amanze made it a five-point game. By the 8:15 mark in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers tied the game up at 64.
Virginia Tech then rattled off six straight points to create some more separation. That run helped the Hokies hold the lead until the final minute, where it was tied at 81-81. The Hokies then closed it out late to make it a sweep in the Commonwealth Clash this season. It marks the first time a team in this series has won both games in the regular season since the 2022-23 season, when Virginia Tech swept Virginia.
Mackenzie Nelson (10 points, Mel Daley (11 Points), Kilah Freelon (10 Points) joined Wenzel and Baker in double-digit scoring. Nelson added 11 assists to mark her second career double-double along with six boards.
Kymora Johnson gave Virginia Tech all they could handle, scoring 26 points after having no field goals and only one point to her name in the first half. She also racked up a team-leading seven boards and six assists.
In previous contest in this rivalry, Virginia only had two players in double-digit scoring and five assists. In the second go-around, four Cavaliers scored in double digits and they totaled 15 team assists. Paris Clark and Amanze had much better games, scoring 16 and 11 points, respectively, after being in foul trouble the last time out.
This win for Virginia Tech should give the team a boost going into the ACC tournament.
"Everybody being able to pour into each other, not really worried about ourselves," Wenzel said on what she has seen from the team this season. "That’s what we’ve done all year, and it’s nice to be at the top of the ACC.”
The ACC tournament in Atlanta begins on March 4th. The Hokies will either be the 5th or 6th seed, giving them a bye in the first round.
