It wasn’t pretty, but Virginia Tech escaped Cassell Coliseum with a 64-48 win over Loyola Maryland on Sunday afternoon.
Combo guard Carleigh Wenzel led the way with 19 points, while forwards Carys Baker and Kayl Petersen joined her in double digits with 18 and 10, respectively. Point guard Mackenzie Nelson also produced a standout performance with a career-high 11 assists.
That being said, the Hokies (2-0) ugly win in what theoretically should have been a blow out, leaves us with more questions than answers moving forward.
“It’s not always going to be as fluid and perfect as it was on opening night,” said Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy. “Great learning experience for us. Wins are wins.”
The Hokies, let down by poor shooting (5-for-21) and interior defensive miscommunications, faced a 16-14 deficit heading into the second quarter.
Wenzel and Baker stopped the bleeding with back-to-back triples, followed by a fastbreak layup from Wenzel - their first of 11 transition points in the game.
A few Kayl Petersen and Mel Daley buckets later and Tech’s two-point deficit had ballooned to a 28-16 lead five minutes into the second quarter.
“We punched them in the mouth,” Wenzel said of the Hokies 14-0 run. “I don’t think we were being as aggressive as we could have been or should have been (in the first quarter)”
“Our pace is one of our biggest strengths,” Baker agreed. “I think we got back to that.”
Even after the run, the Greyhounds (0-3) wouldn’t go away. While they never seemed to be truly in striking distance, they kept the Hokies lead stagnant at or around 12 points for the entire second half.
Loyola Maryland’s shots, particularly after the first quarter, weren’t falling but it did do a good job controlling the game with slow possessions.
“(They were) playing through first and second actions,” Wenzel said of the Greyhounds methodical offense. “They got deep into their plays.”
While it wasn’t completely successful, this slow-paced offense limited the damage Virginia Tech could do in transition and kept the game from becoming the fast-paced blowout many had anticipated.
This slower style of play forced Tech into the half-court set - an area in which they struggled for much of the afternoon. The Hokies shot just 39.6% from the floor - about 6% better than Loyola Maryland.
One look at the Hokies roster explains some of these struggles. Between Nelson, Samyha Suffren, Leila Wells and Mel Daley; Virginia Tech is chock-full of slashing guards who pose a minimal threat from behind-the-arc. While this makes for an excellent fast break attack, it significantly limits the Hokies spacing and therefore makes them very reliant on a select group of key three-level scorers.
Those three-level scorers are Wenzel, Baker and Petersen - the only three Hokies to reach double figures.
After scoring just eight points on eight shot attempts in the season opener, Baker took a much more aggressive approach on the offensive end on Sunday.
“You have so much more in your bag to do,” Baker was reminded before the game. “Last game I was a little tentative, but this game I figured out I do have more things I can do than shoot the three.”
Baker knocked down one of her four attempts from three point land, but more importantly used her size and skills to score on dump downs and post ups. She also made plays defensively with three steals and two blocks.
Duffy was a bit more reluctant to use her bench tonight, after displaying a surprising amount of depth in the opener. Sophie Swanson played just three minutes, while Leila Wells and Aniya Trent logged 12 minutes a piece.
It is worth noting that the Hokies small-ball five Kilah Freelon was out and is “day-to-day” with an undisclosed injury she appeared to sustain in the final minutes of the Towson game, according to Duffy. The Hokies missed Freelon’s paint defense, rebounding and rim-running ability.
Loyola Maryland stays in the Blacksburg vicinity as it faces Radford in an 11 a.m. matchup on November 11. Virginia Tech looks to stay undefeated as it retakes the floor at 6 p.m. on November 13 against Gardner-Webb.
