In its final game in Cassell Coliseum and the penultimate contest of the regular season, Virginia Tech (21-8, 11-6 ACC) slid past Georgia Tech (12-17, 7-9 ACC), 62-51.
The game was a true slugfest, as both teams shot a little under 30% from the field and around 20% from beyond the arc. While the Yellow Jackets forced 15 turnovers and had 12 blocks, they couldn’t overcome their own 24 turnovers, while the Hokies had eight blocks and 10 steals.
Georgia Tech got off to a fast start in the first quarter, capturing a 7-0 run supplemented by four points coming from the free throw line, courtesy of Savanna Samuel.
The Georgia Tech offense found holes in Virginia Tech’s defense, giving them easy scoring opportunities and allowed the Yellow Jackets to draw fouls and get to the foul line. The Yellow Jackets went 19-for-22 at the charity stripe for the game.
The Hokies withstood the early storm, ending the first quarter with a Carleigh Wenzel three that cut the deficit to four going into the second frame. Wenzel's long ball was one of four that the Hokies made all game on 18 attempts.
For most of the middle frames the Yellow Jackets held a slim lead until Samayah Suffren sank two free throws to kickstart an 8-0 run in the middle of the third quarter, where Virginia Tech started to outplay Georgia Tech.
Samayah Suffren finished the game with a team-high 16 points along with five rebounds and two assists. Suffren also knocked down all eight of her free throws.
While both teams were very cold in this game, the Hokies' defense proved to be more effective, scoring fifteen points off of turnovers. Virginia Tech also outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 47 to 40, capitalizing on 18 second-chance points compared to eight from Georgia Tech.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Hokies found their spark, scoring 14 unanswered points that were part of a larger 22-2 stretch that started in the third quarter. A Mackenzie Nelson three-pointer and layup from Kayl Peterson led to a Georgia Tech timeout. Immediately after, two layups from Suffren and a three-pointer from Wenzel helped the Hokies pull away with a 15-point lead.
That three-pointer resulted in Carleigh Wenzel scoring 1,000 career points. She scored 15 points while tallying six rebounds and two assists on Sunday. Wenzel went 4-for-12 (33%) from the field, but the shots she did make came at vital times in the game to capture momentum. Five of her points came from the charity strip, going 5-for-8.
While Virginia Tech started to see shots fall during the 22-2 run, it was the defense and intensity that supported that scoring difference. During that run that lasted over 10 minutes, the Yellow Jackets missed 14 straight attempts from the field. Their only two points came from the line.
“I think we started a little bit slow in the first half, both offensively and defensively, so letting the defense fuel us, and getting us going on offense [was important],” said Carleigh Wenzel, on the defensive performance in the second half.
Megan Duffy thought her team made the correct defensive adjustments. to put the game away.
“I just thought we were a step slow [to start]...once we tightened up a little bit and played up to our effort level then some of the mistakes we could [have] we could get away with. I thought our bench did a really nice job for us on [the defensive] side of the ball," she said.
By that point it was too much of a deficit for Georgia Tech to find their way out of. The Hokies picked up a win on Senior Day to continue their momentum heading toward the postseason.
Virginia Tech’s will make the trip to Charlottesville in on March 1 for a noon tip-off.
