Virginia Tech women’s basketball sped past Campbell for an 81-46 victory on Saturday in Cassell Coliseum in its final game of 2024.
The Hokies will enter the new year with a 9-3 (0-1 ACC) record after completing non-conference play, a solid start to the Megan Duffy era.
“Really proud of our team,” Duffy said after the win. “I always tease this as a coach’s nightmare, the game before Christmas, making sure our team is focused. I thought they did a tremendous job of coming ready to play today. I thought our defense was, overall, really good.”
Indeed. Tech pulled away from the Fighting Camels (6-5) in the middle third of the game thanks to its defense. Leading 28-22 with 6:25 remaining in the second quarter, it ended the half on an 11-2 run as Campbell missed eight of its final nine field goals and turned the ball over six times. It was a pretty comfortable 15-point lead (39-24) at the break.
Though the Fighting Camels scored the first four points after intermission, cutting the margin to 39-28, the Hokies slowly found their groove again and turned things up a notch. They used a 10-0 run to retake control and push the margin to 21, and after Campbell finally got a shot down at the 3:30 mark — its third and final made basket of the third quarter as it shot 3-of-15 — Tech put the nail in the coffin with a 14-0 stretch over the next six-plus minutes that made it a 33-point game.
“I just thought we were a little bit more connected,” Duffy said of her team’s defense. “I thought they got a couple of easy one-on-one takes to the rim and we got called for a couple fouls that kind of hurt our momentum a little bit with getting our intensity up on the defensive side, and then once we came back out at halftime, in that third quarter especially, I thought we locked down and made it a lot more difficult.”
Tech limited Campbell to 8-of-29 (28%) in the second and third quarters while forcing 12 turnovers. The Fighting Camels shot 60 percent (6-of-10) in the final period but were still just 34 percent (18-of-53) for the game — including 0-of-13 from behind the arc.
The Hokies have given up just 80 points in their last two games against Campbell and Radford and allowed just 28 percent shooting (31-of-112). Though it was an obvious dip in the level of competition, it’s a positive after Michigan, Georgia and Duke were a combined 49 percent (90-of-183) in the previous three contests.
“We really pride ourselves on defense and we want to get better,” Tech forward Carys Baker said. “… Coach Duffy always tells us, ‘Being on a stage like this is our one opportunity to show what we’ve been working on,’ and so being able to show we’ve been working on our defense is really important to us.”
Offensively, Tech shot 50 percent (29-of-58) from the field and 41 percent (9-of-22) from long range. It was a balanced effort that featured 15 points from Matilda Ekh — all of which came in the first half — and a career-high 14 from Mackenzie Nelson. Baker also recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Rose Micheaux had 10 of her own.
Ekh got the Hokies off to a fast start by scoring more points (13) than Campbell (10) in the first quarter. She knocked down three of her first four 3-point attempts and provided an early spark. It was the Swede’s eighth double-figure outing of the season and her third of December.
“It’s just an energy booster for our team, just knowing Matilda’s going to knock down shots,” Baker said of Ekh. “She’s the best shooter on our team so being able to give her the ball — and when she’s hot, keep giving her the ball — is huge. And … she’s had a really good week so it’s just really good to see her finally get those threes in. … It also helps us on the court just knowing, ‘Hey, Matilda’s hot, let’s get her the ball.’”
Nelson had a well-rounded afternoon that featured five assists and five rebounds. Moreover, she made all five of her field goals and limited Campbell point guard Gemma Nunez on the other end. The junior entered the day ranked 23rd in the country in assists per game with 5.6 but had just three — to go with five turnovers — against Tech.
“We knew that [Nunez] was a facilitator, so it was taking care of her,” Nelson said. “As a point guard, being able to set up your teammates really helps the flow of the game, so shutting her down, limiting her assists was kind of the key to the game. Being able to stop her in that aspect really kind of damaged their whole team in that third quarter.”
Rebounding was also a big emphasis for the Hokies in this one, and Baker led the charge in that category with a career-high 10 boards. Tech finished plus-eight on the glass, 38-30, and the sophomore from West Hartford, Conn., had one of the most complete games of her young career.
Tech also received nine points each from Carleigh Wenzel and Lani White, who both had an impact in multiple areas. Wenzel was 2-of-4 from long range and dished out five assists while recording two steals and a block. Though White was 2-of-9 from the floor, she made all four of her free throws, drained a 3-pointer in the fourth and corralled a career-high six boards.
Freshmen Ramiya White (six points, 4-of-4 FT), Leila Wells (five points, two assists) and Kayl Petersen (three points, four rebounds) all got in on the action as well.
The Hokies now have some time off for Christmas before returning to the hardwood on Thursday, Jan. 2, against Florida State. They’ve come a long way since their opener against UNC Wilmington 47 days ago.
“I think it’s the perfect time to get a break,” Duffy said. “… I just love that break in the action, and then it’s also kind of a great thing that when you come back, it’s kind of a fresh start, we can rebuild some things. I know our team is excited about ACC play, every night is going to be a challenge, I’m looking forward to it, but I’m very proud of our non-conference play, what we’ve done to build this team and this program. …
“We’ve got a lot of new faces and new roles, young players, so we’re working on keeping the process at the forefront of what we do and our standards really, really high.”
Box Score: Virginia Tech 81, Campbell 46