Carys Baker dropped a career-high 23 points and Virginia Tech had a clutch fourth quarter to steal a 68-64 win at Miami, its first ACC victory of the year.
It was a big response for the Hokies (10-4, 1-2 ACC), who were run out of the gym by Florida State on Thursday in a 105-74 defeat.
“We had so much to think about and learn about from that Florida State game,” Tech head coach Megan Duffy told Evan Hughes on the Virginia Tech Sports Network after the win. “Extremely disappointed, and one of the biggest takeaways was finding some heart and hustle for 40 minutes. If we could start with that, we’ll get the game plan better, we’ll get our X’s and O’s better, we’ll get our player development better. …
“We didn’t have it for 40 minutes today, but we just kept chipping away, put a little pressure on Miami at the end to continue to execute and kind of just stole it. It’s awesome.”
The Hokies trailed by as many as 12 in the second half but fought their way back. Trailing by that margin with 7:32 remaining, head coach Megan Duffy called timeout to spark her team for the final stretch, and it worked. Tech limited the Hurricanes (11-4, 1-3) to 1-of-10 shooting the rest of the way and outscored them 21-5 from that point on.
At the same time, the Hokies were able to string points together. Matilda Ekh, Leila Wells and Baker each knocked down 3-pointers with a layup from Ekh sandwiched in between, and Tech did a lot of damage from the free throw line. The team was 10-of-11 from the stripe in the fourth quarter and 15-of-17 for the game, which included six clutch free throws in the final 2:31 from Carleigh Wenzel.
“They went on a big run to get the lead by seven, eight and then it went up to double digits,” Duffy said. “Made a couple small adjustments, but our fight was better. Our confidence turned a little bit, and again, just keeping it simple: Execute, stop-by-stop. … I’m just very proud of our team. We’re fighting, and to get a road win, I’m excited to get some ice cream.”
It was an even first half and the squads were knotted at 28 at the break. However, Miami came out of the locker room with pep in its step and put Tech on its heels.
The Canes ripped off an 11-0 run over four-plus minutes, a charge led by two jumpers from Jasmyne Roberts, and in a flash the Hokies were down 42-30 and were 1-of-10 for the period.
Baker gave Tech some life, though. The best player on the floor in the Watsco Center on Sunday, she was 7-of-12 from behind the arc, four of which came in the second half. She kept Tech in the game in the third, and trailing 63-61 with just over a minute remaining, she hit the go-ahead trey that put the Hokies in the driver’s seat.
The West Hartford, Conn., native entered the day averaging 10 points per game but hadn’t scored more than 15 this season (vs. Michigan). She also hadn’t made more than two 3-pointers, which she matched in the first quarter and then blew past in the second.
“I just told all of them from the game the other night, ‘We’ve got to shoot it with more confidence,’” Duffy said. “‘We’ve got to share the ball better.’ And I just kept telling Carys, even after that first quarter, and all of them, ‘You’re getting really good shots, don’t stop shooting, I’ll tell you when to stop, I’ll tell you when we need a paint touch, but you’ve got to play free.’ … Really proud of the team effort to come back.”
A free throw from Miami’s Cameron Williams tied things at 64 with 41 ticks left, but the Hokies got Wenzel to the foul line, where she gave them a two-point lead. After Haley Cavinder’s jumper was off the mark on the Hurricanes’ following possession, Wenzel went back to the stripe and sealed the deal.
Behind Baker, Wenzel was Tech’s second-leading scorer with 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Ekh joined her in double figures with 12 points and a season-high three steals.
“[She had] the free throws down the stretch, getting us off to a fairly good start,” Duffy said of Wenzel. “She’s just learning every day. She was pretty upset with how she played against Florida State, understandably, but she went to the lab and she went to work with her film and talking to us coaches and buying in. She was super positive today, just keeping her composure with everything, and … the game will repay you at some point, right?”
It was a quiet day in the scoring column for Rose Micheaux, who finished with just seven points and four turnovers, though she had five rebounds, three assists and a season-high two steals. Lani White chipped in four points, three rebounds and three assists while Wells added a trey and Mackenzie Nelson posted two points, four assists and three steals.
For the game, Miami shot 46 percent from the field (25-of-56) but just a 29 percent clip (5-of-17) from distance, which is what kept Virginia Tech in the contest. It was 11-of-29 from 3-point range (38%) and 21-of-55 (38%) overall.
The Hokies had a hard time defending the paint for the majority of the afternoon but were slightly improved in the second half. The Hurricanes finished with 28 points down low, 16 of which came before intermission.
Tech only turned the ball over 12 times, and just three of those came in the second half. For comparison, Miami had 19 miscues.
Williams led the Canes in scoring with 15 points, which featured a 9-of-11 mark from the foul line (and, oddly enough, she took the team’s lone free throws). She grabbed 10 rebounds too. Tech did a good job of limiting Haley Cavinder to just 12 points, tied for her second-lowest output of the year, along with six rebounds and six assists. She entered Sunday averaging 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
Roberts was Miami’s second-leading scorer with 13 points while Hanna Cavinder had nine.
It was a crucial win for the Hokies, who would’ve fallen to 0-3 in league play with a loss. Though their next challenge at undefeated No. 13 Georgia Tech (15-0, 3-0) on Thursday will be an uphill battle, they’ve got Wake Forest (7-7, 0-3) and Virginia (9-6, 1-2) at home after that. A 3-3 record through six conference games would be a solid start to the Duffy era.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 68, Miami 64