The Megan Duffy era is starting to get under way in Blacksburg as the Virginia Tech Hokies routed the Limestone Saints 92-41 in an exhibition game just under two weeks before the regular season is set to tip off.
From the beginning of the contest, it was always going to be Tech. The Hokies came out firing early, taking an 11-2 lead within the first five minutes, thanks to senior wing Matilda Ekh, who knocked down 3 of 4 three-pointers to begin the contest, scoring nine of the Hokies' first 11 points.
Ekh is one of six returning players from Tech’s previous season, and she set the standard for what VT basketball should look like. The talented sharpshooter finished the game with a game-high 16 points while shooting 60% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The 6’2” playmaker also recorded two blocks, two assists, and a rebound for the maroon and orange and was the catalyst for giving VT an early lead, which they never looked back from.
Another returning member of the 2024 regular season ACC Champion roster, sophomore forward Carys Baker, was one of the most accurate scorers for VT. She recorded 13 points on 71.4% shooting from the field including 66.7% from three-pointrange. Baker and Ekh combined for 24 points at halftime and were the only players with 10+ points through the first two quarters.
While Baker was not the leading scorer, her impact on Tech was huge in the +/- category for the Hokies. When she was on the court, her +/- was 39 points. That was in part due to her three steals, which led to fastbreak points, growing the Hokies lead each time she stepped on the floor.
Redshirt freshman Mackenzie Nelson (10), and true freshmen Leila Wells (10) and Kayl Petersen (14) joined Ekh and Baker as the remaining three Hokies to capture double-digit scoring, with those five players accounted for 63 of VT’s 92 points.
Nelson is another returning guard for the Hokies. Her one year of redshirt experience to develop in Blacksburg was evident in Tech’s win over the Saints. She filled up the stat sheet for VT with four rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block, and she did not let up, even as the lead grew.
In the fourth quarter, Nelson snatched back-to-back steals in Limestone’s backcourt, resulting in a fast-break layup for the speedy freshman. Her tenacity on both sides of the ball was a significant factor in the Hokies' victory.
Wells showed promise as one of Tech’s four true freshmen to see the floor, shooting 57.1% from the field, and joined Baker as the only two Hokies to shoot 100% from the charity stripe. Wells captured a quiet 10 points in her preseason debut with VT in Cassell, but was a key reason the Hokies continued to grow their lead.
Another true freshman, Petersen shined in her first preseason contest in the maroon and orange, with 14 points plus four rebounds, two blocks, an assist, and a steal. The 6’0” freshman looked comfortable competing on the NCAA level, shooting 54.5% from the field and 50% from long range.
Every Hokie that stepped on the floor impacted VT’s 51-point victory, and that was due to the way Megan Duffy runs her offense. All 11 of Tech’s rostered players saw the court against the Saints, and 10 of 11 recorded 2+ points. The only Hokie who did not find herself on the scoring sheet was freshman center Ramiya White, who checked into the contest for the first time in the fourth quarter.
However, while White was unable to put the ball through the net, the 6’5” senior captured two blocks, two rebounds, and an assist in her six minutes on the court, showing some significant defensive upside.
This is a much different offense from what we have seen in the past from Kenny Brooks, who typically needed to rely on his starters to carry the Hokies to victory. However, with the loss of star players like Georgia Amoore and Liz Kitley, Duffy needed to find a new way to run the Hokies' offense. Nine of eleven Tech players recorded 17+ minutes on the court, with White and Myah Hazelton as the only Hokies not to play almost half the contest.
Of course, that type of rotation likely will change somewhat given the fact that this was an exhibition game rather than a countable, regular season contest.
Transfer guard Lani White from Utah started the game for the Hokies. While she only scored six points; she had four assists, three rebounds, and one block, making up for her lack of points in other areas for the Tech. However, Whites’ six points are a significant step up from her average in her two years at Utah, where she regularly recorded 2.8 points per game for the Utes.
Sophomore Samyha Suffren joined White as another Hokie who failed to reach double-digits but made up for it in other stat categories. Suffren led the game with seven assists and captured four rebounds to add to her nine points.
While an exhibition game victory does not count in the record book, it means a lot for Duffy and the Tech squad to get the monkey off their back and capture their first win at Cassell in the 2024-25 season. The Hokies kick off their regular season on Monday, November 4, when they host UNC Wilmington.
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