DURHAM, N.C. — Virginia Tech women’s basketball dropped its ACC opener at No. 8 Duke on Sunday in an 81-59 loss in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Hokies (7-3, 0-1 ACC) led for the first six minutes before the Blue Devils (9-2, 1-0) took over. They used a 16-2 run over five-and-a-half minutes to open things up and jump out to an 11-point lead, and after Toby Fournier’s layup with 6:05 to play in the second quarter, Tech trailed by double digits the rest of the way.
“I thought [the Blue Devils] were tremendous defensively in that first quarter,” Tech head coach Megan Duffy said after the defeat. “… I just thought their pressure and physicality hurt us a little bit, and then the two kids coming off the bench for them were tremendous. … I thought those two were the difference-makers in the game today.”
Duke, who was extremely motivated coming off a loss at No. 3 South Carolina, was balanced on both ends. It was able to get into its stuff offensively, shooting 52 percent (33-of-64) for the game — and 10 different players scored — while it turned the Hokies over 12 times in the first half.
“We had not played at that level defensively all year,” Blue Devils fifth-year coach Kara Lawson said. “… And it was nice to see that Duke defense back in the first half. … I think our urgency was better defensively. I think our attention to detail, trying to scheme-wise get them to take the type of shots we want them to take instead of them just taking whatever shot that they want. And I think we were more motivated.”
Tech struggled early, converting just four of its 14 first-quarter shots, but settled down a little bit and was a combined 20-of-41 (49%) in the next three periods. It couldn’t climb out of the double-digit hole it dug itself, however.
“We ran a few different things I guess,” Duffy said of the second half, “but they were locking us up on certain possessions pretty hard or when we had a downhill attack, there’s the size inside that disrupted us a little bit. I didn’t think we did a great job in the first half of being physical with our cuts and really being patient, setting our man up and plowing off of our screens.
“When we did that in the second half, we got some foul calls because of the grabbing and the holding. Trying to do that for 40 minutes is, to me, the key, and I thought we did a little better job in that third and fourth quarter.”
Fournier, a 6-foot-2 freshman from Canada, jumpstarted Duke. The No. 10 prospect in ESPN’s 2024 recruiting class provided 27 points off the bench, and after the Blue Devils started just 1-of-8 from the field, she converted three of her first four opportunities to turn the tide.
“Tonight it was Toby’s night,” Duffy said. “Deep position, she rebounded fairly well, offensive rebound put-backs, got to the free throw line. … Sometimes with freshmen it can take them a little bit of time to get acclimated to the next level, but her afternoon today was tremendous and we didn’t have an answer.”
It was a one-point Duke lead with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter, but the Blue Devils knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers from Jordan Wood and Reigan Richardson, along with two jumpers from Oluchi Okananwa. The Hokies had three miscues and three missed shots in that stretch.
Fournier and Okananwa led an all-around effort for Duke, who received 51 points from its bench. Okananwa had 12 points to go with 12 rebounds while Jordan Wood added seven points. Of the starters, Delaney Thomas posted 14 points while Taina Mair chipped in six and Reigan Richardson recorded five.
The Hokies had a few scoring droughts, including a four-minute one in the second quarter, and trailed 38-22 at the half despite making five of their 10 shots in the period. They simply gave the ball away too many times, which set them back.
Tech finished with 18 miscues. Eight of those came from Carleigh Wenzel — five in the first half, three in the second — while four were from Matilda Ekh. The other five from Lani White, Mackenzie Nelson, Carys Baker and Rose Micheaux. There was also one team turnover — a shot clock violation.
“We absolutely knew they were going to try and turn us over, that’s what they do,” Duffy said. “They’re known for their defense, and even after their previous game, I’m sure they were a little upset about not creating more of those. We worked two days on trying to handle the pressure and their physicality. Wasn’t perfect, and I think the big thing that hurt us was just the live-ball turnovers.
“You can turn it over a little bit with some travels and throwing the ball out of bounds, but in that first half, it led to a lot of easier baskets for them, which is difficult.”
Still, the Hokies showed some fight in the second half, a charge led by Wenzel. The redshirt sophomore had just six points at halftime but finished with a team-high 19 points. She got two layups, a trey and a jumper to fall to start the third.
Tech outscored Duke 20-19 in the period and had some good offensive and defensive possessions, a positive moving forward but not enough to complete the comeback on the road against a top-10 team.
“I thought [Wenzel’s] decision-making for the most part in that third quarter was really good,” Duffy said. “She found some space to get by people, some crafty finishes. Obviously, Duke’s extremely long and athletic so some of your normal layups that she can get off aren’t the case sometimes in this game. I was happy that she was just able to create, get to the free throw line a couple times too, and that gave us a little bit of confidence for Rose to get going a little bit more, Samyha [Suffren] had some great plays for us. But again, at the end of the day, you have to put 40 minutes together.”
Baker and Suffren joined Wenzel in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively — and each grabbed six boards. However, the Hokies struggled to get their veterans going. Micheaux was just 1-of-5 in the first half and finished with eight points and five boards while Ekh had a quiet two points and four rebounds. White rounded things out with seven points, all of which came in the second half.
It was an important learning experience for a young Hokies team against one of the conference’s best. In a way, Duke is a good benchmark for the Hokies as far as what they can aspire to be under Duffy — a balanced bunch that values defense and plays an up-tempo style.
Tech has seven wins through the first 10 games of Duffy’s tenure and has a week off — in part due to exams — before hosting Radford next Sunday (2 p.m. ET, ACCNX). The New River Valley clash with the Highlanders is one of two contests before Christmas (Campbell on Dec. 21) before the Hokies ramp things up with league play on Jan. 2 vs. Florida State.
“I think the [latest] stretch has been hard, being on the road,” Duffy said. “Had the MTE down in Florida, at Georgia, got a great win down there and then your payment is you get to be at Duke in your first ACC game. …
“I like our team. I like what we’re doing in most cases and we’ve got two great games to finish before the Christmas break and I’m excited to get to work with our team, help them get better, help them stay confident and truly looking forward to the rest of ACC play. It’s going to be awesome.”
Box Score: No. 8 Duke 81, Virginia Tech 59
Thoughts from #Hokies' 81-59 loss at No. 8 Duke: pic.twitter.com/0SxWsTzIJ4
— David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) December 9, 2024