Carleigh Wenzel and Virginia Tech got behind early vs. Michigan and couldn't recover. (Virginia Tech athletics)

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Virginia Tech dropped its second game of the season Saturday in the Fort Myers Tip-Off, a 76-65 loss to Michigan.

The Wolverines (7-1) used a 13-0 run to break things open in the first quarter, and though the Hokies (6-2) cut into the margin on a few occasions, they couldn’t dig out of that early hole.

“Just didn’t do enough in that first half, that first quarter really killed us,” Tech head coach Megan Duffy told Tech Sideline after the loss. “We just got out-toughed right off the bat. They were very confident with their threes, getting downhill. We didn’t do anything to disrupt them. I thought overall, our second half was better, played a little bit more of our style, we were confident, but again, to beat a team like Michigan, you have to play four quarters.”

Tech struck first with a layup from Lani White and a 3-pointer from Carleigh Wenzel, but Michigan quickly found a groove. It made six of its next seven shots, including a big trey in the corner from Greta Kampschroder, and the Hokies were on their heels.

Both sides like to play up-tempo, but Tech was sped up. While the Wolverines executed their sets well, getting good looks and stressing the defense, the Hokies were rushed and didn’t really settle.

Tech pulled within nine at the end of the first but Michigan used runs of 8-0 and 6-0 to push the margin to as many as 19. It didn’t help that Rose Micheaux and Kayl Petersen — the Hokies’ two main bigs — each picked up two fouls in the first 12 minutes. That made it more of an uphill climb for Tech, who finished the game with just 22 points in the paint.

Duffy played Micheaux for the final few minutes of the first half out of necessity, and the forward was able to generate some offense, but the Hokies headed to the locker room trailing 43-28.

The tide nearly turned when Tech scored nine straight points out of the half and cut its deficit to six, forcing Michigan to call timeout. The team’s energy was different, and it was able to string multiple stops together for the first time all game.

“We were just aggressive,” Wenzel said. “We knew we needed to go on a run and punch them first and I just don’t think we kept it going. I think after that [Michigan] timeout, we kind of took a step back, which I know we shouldn’t have, the team knows we shouldn’t have.

Carys Baker and Virginia Tech exploded out of the second half, but the 9-0 start wasn't enough. (Virginia Tech athletics)

“We talked about it before coach came in after the game, that’s how our mindset needs to be coming into the game. It shouldn’t take us having to get a motivational speech or being down by 15 to get that part of us going.”

However, the Wolverines punched right back. A layup from Jordan Hobbs out of the timeout and a 3-pointer from Syla Swords pushed it back to 11, and that was the game. Tech drew within eight later, but every time it tried to inch closer, Michigan pulled away.

A large part of that was due to the Hokies struggling to get stops. The Wolverines shot 54.4 percent (31-of-57) from the field for the game — 60 percent in the first, 48 percent in the second — and were smooth in their actions. They challenged Tech’s discipline, something Duffy harped on heading into Friday’s 79-50 win over Davidson. It was there against the Wildcats but wasn’t present for 40 minutes vs. Michigan.

The Wolverines used numerous back cuts and off-ball screens on each possession and Tech’s communication wasn’t consistently at the level necessary to defend an offense of that caliber. Michigan made it look extremely easy at times, though the Hokies had their moments, allowing just 43 percent shooting in the fourth quarter and forcing 20 total turnovers, including 13 in the second half.

“I just don’t think our communication was where it needed to be,” Wenzel said. “I know from my point of view, I was getting hit on screens thinking we were switching and we weren’t, and that’s something you go over in scout and things like that, and that’s something that I need to get better at, but I know it affected other players of mine on the team too. Just communication, that’s something we need to get better at. It’s been part of our weakness so that’s something we’re going to work on moving forward.”  

Offensively, Tech found more of a rhythm after intermission. After making just nine of its 31 field goals (29%) in the first half and two of its 13 treys, it was 12-of-25 in the second (48%) and 5-of-10 from deep.

Part of that spark came from freshman Leila Wells, who was called upon with other guards in foul trouble and got to the free throw line on her first two possessions in the third quarter. She picked off a pass and got out in transition before attacking downhill and getting to the rack, and the Chelsea, Mich., native converted three of her four free throws.

“She wants it,” Wenzel said of Wells. “She has a will, a drive in her that you don’t get out of freshmen, especially freshmen, so just something that she works on every day. I know she’s in gym all the time, she’s a great teammate, great person and I know she’s just going to continue to get better.”

Matilda Ekh and the Hokies like playing fast, but they got sped up a little too much against the Wolverines. (Virginia Tech athletics)

The bottom line, though, was that the Hokies got behind by too much too early and couldn’t recover. They picked up their energy as they grew into the game, but they were handicapped at that point and playing from behind.

“I think the pace was just faster today,” Duffy said. “I thought we did a really good job on Davidson’s cuts and movements, and that’s the great part about experience for our team right now — you have a good night doing it and then the next night, the intensity and level of competition increases and you’ve got to be even better.

“Some of the stuff Carleigh was talking about was the small margin of error. If you don’t switch it the right way or you miscommunicate, tonight Michigan I think took advantage of almost every opportunity it felt like, at least in that first and second quarter. As soon as we made a mistake in transition defense or off some of their movement, they hit a three or got downhill, that led to either a bucket or a foul, so it’s that slim margin that hurt us in that first half.”

Carys Baker paced Tech with a season-high 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting and three steals. Wenzel racked up 14 points, five assists and three steals while Matilda Ekh had 13 points off three 3-pointers and five assists. Micheaux finished with nine points and four boards while Samyha Suffren had seven points, Lani White added four (and a season-high five rebounds) and Wells chipped in three.

Swords, ESPN’s No. 4 overall recruit in the country, propelled Michigan with a game-high 24 points and six rebounds. She was joined in double figures by fellow top-20 prospect Olivia Olson (15 points, six rebounds, four assists) and veterans Yulia Grabovskaia (10 points, six boards) and Hobbs (10 points, four rebounds, four assists).

Tech turns the page to another tough opponent in Georgia on Wednesday in the SEC/ACC Challenge at 5 p.m. ET (SECN), the team’s first true road test of the year. After that, it’s off to No. 13 Duke on Sunday to open league play, a challenging week that’ll show the group’s true colors.

“I’m excited about this stretch,” Duffy said. “We’re going to see the character of our team, our coaching staff. … We’ll get back late tonight, rest tomorrow and then start prepping Monday and have a clean slate. I think there was a lot of good in this tournament. You want to win the game tonight, but like I said, I’m not sure we deserved it. That’s a testament to what Michigan did and their crew, so that’s OK. You don’t deserve it, you come back the next day and go to work.”

Box Score: Michigan 76, Virginia Tech 65