Miami (10-4) came into Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech (10-4) and came away with an improbable win after trailing by 18 in the third quarter. It was all Hokies for the first three quarters, but after a sloppy fourth quarter, the Hurricanes saw the crack in the door and pushed it wide open, taking the game to overtime and winning 75-67 to start the new year.
It's been talked about how the Hokies need to get out to a much more efficient offense, and they did so to start the game against the Hurricanes. In the first quarter they shot 41% from the field and went nearly perfect from deep on 4-6 (66%) shooting. The four 3-pointers came in succession, with two from Carleigh Wenzel, and then Mackenzie Nelson and Carys Baker followed up with one of their own. Wenzel led the team with eight in the first quarter.
Carleigh Wenzel led the Hokies with 16 points on 6-for-11 (54%) shooting, including 4-for-8 (50%) from behind the arc. Along with her great shooting night, Mackenzie Nelson had a career night from deep. All of her shots came from beyond the arc, going 3-for-5 (60%), and she tallied eight assists and six boards.
Miami didn’t have many answers other than scoring in the paint, and if math serves me correctly, three is more than two. The Hurricanes had 10 paint points to Tech’s two in the first quarter, but the Hokies had four 3-pointers to the ‘Canes zero. That was the difference early on, which bled into the second frame.
In the second quarter the Hokies' three-pointers weren’t as plentiful compared to the first frame, shooting 1-for-2 (50%); they stayed efficient with a 7-for-12 (58%) clip from the field. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, couldn’t get anything going thanks to intense defense from Tech, holding Miami to only seven points.
Ra Shaya Kyle led Miami in points with six in the first half, but her meaningful impact on the game was limited as the Hurricanes continued to miss perimeter jumpers, going 0-for-8 (0%) in the first half. Virginia Tech closed the half on a 13-4 surge, taking a 33-19 lead into the intermission.
At the beginning of the second half, the game was back and forth. Miami doubled down on its star player Kyle, and she and the rest of the Hurricanes found their stride, but any offense Miami had to offer was quickly countered by the Hokies. It was midway through the third quarter that it became clear that everything was going well for the Hokies, as they responded to Miami's first empty possessions of the quarter with threes on the other end; first by Mackenzie Nelson, then Samyha Suffren.
Miami closed out the third quarter well to take a two-point advantage in the frame. The Hurricanes shot 10-for-20 (50%) from the field, and the Hokies matched it, going 8-for-17 (47%), and two of those were from beyond the arc.
Entering the final frame, the Hokies led 51-39 and seemed like they had their chance to get a stress-free win with a clean quarter, but the ‘Canes put in a bid for a comeback. By the 5:50 minute mark in the quarter, the Hurricanes brought it to a seven-point game with their first team’s three-pointer by Amarachi Kimpson. She and Danielle Oshoadded added and-ones, but both missed their free shots from the line.
The Hokies didn't have a clean quarter, as they committed six turnovers late and put the Hurricanes on the line. The Canes did not waste the opportunity, taking the game to overtime thanks to a late three by Gal Reviv - just Miami's second of the game.
Miami continued its momentum and grabbed control of the overtime period, leading 68-66 with just over two minutes remaining. The Hokies couldn't recapture the magic of the first three quarters, and Miami finished the 18-point comeback by winning 75-67 in overtime to improve to 2-1 in conference play, while the Hokies dropped to 1-2.
Miami was led by its 6-foot-6 star Ra Shaya Kyle, who scored 23 points; 17 of which came in the second half and overtime. She also made an impact on the boards, with 13 rebounds. Given Kyle's size differential, the game on the glass was expected to be critical, but the Hokies held their own with 39 boards to Miami's 42.
Along with Kyle, it was the two guards, Gal Raviv and Amarachi Kimpson, who were key in the comeback, scoring 18 and 14 points, respectively. They were also the two players to connect on Miami’s only three-pointers of the game in the clutch as the team went 2-for-15 (13%) as a whole.
This game demonstrated not only how tough the ACC will be, but also what the Hokies are capable of; they simply need to finish the game when they get the opportunity. It will be a difficult climb for the Hokies now, but conference play is still in its early stages, and if what we witnessed in the first three quarters is indicative of the Hokies' future, they will have an opportunity to make some noise in the ACC.
Next up, Virginia Tech will make the trip to No. 13 Louisville on Sunday looking to rebound after a tough loss.
