Virginia Tech women’s basketball fended off Wake Forest late for a 61-54 win on Sunday in Cassell Coliseum.
“We knew it was going to be an extremely physical game, low-scoring game and we just found a way to win,” Hokies head coach Megan Duffy said. “I thought our fourth-quarter effort defensively was really good, did enough at the free throw line, but just kind of an ugly game, but we just talked in the locker room about there’s going to be the pretty wins and then there’s going to be some ugly ones. I’m very, very proud of the way they hung in together with each other through a difficult afternoon.”
Though the Hokies (12-4, 3-2 ACC) trailed the Demon Deacons (7-9, 0-5) by one, 46-45, entering the final period, they ripped off their third fourth-quarter come-from-behind win in the last week (and fourth of the season).
On Dec. 4 at Georgia, Virginia Tech was in a seven-point hole after 30 minutes. It was in the same spot at Miami on Jan. 5. At No. 13 Georgia Tech on Thursday, it entered the fourth down five. And, after Wake Forest put together a solid third quarter in Sunday’s matinee, the Hokies found their backs against the wall again.
Yet, they rallied once again, which shouldn’t be a surprise at this point. In those four comeback victories this year, they’ve outscored their opponents 108-57 (plus 51) over the remainder of the game, which includes the two overtime periods in Atlanta. Against the Deacs, it was a 16-8 margin in the fourth.
“I think it just goes back to our preparation,” Tech forward Carys Baker said. “I think Coach Duffy is really good in those moments just talking about how hard we’ve worked. … In the beginning of the game, we were a little shaky with our confidence, but I think in the last few minutes of the game, we realized we’ve worked so hard and we’ve prepared for moments like this and we’ve been in moments like this for the past week, so it was just more down to who wanted it more, and I think we just wanted it more in the end.”
Tech jumped out to an early 12-4 lead in the game’s first four minutes via a 10-0 run, which featured 3-pointers from Lani White and Carleigh Wenzel. After Wake answered and tied the game at 14 with 2:23 to play in the first, the home side pushed back with an 8-0 spurt, four of which came from Baker.
It was a 32-24 cushion for the Hokies at intermission, a solid sign after they spent much of the first half without Wenzel and White, who each had two fouls. (Both teams dealt with foul trouble, and there were 41 fouls called in all — 26 of which were on the Deacs.)
Despite Virginia Tech opening the second half with two baskets from White and Rose Micheaux, Wake Forest fought back. Head coach Megan Gebbia called timeout at the 8:39 mark of the third quarter, not even two minutes into the half, and it reset her bunch.
The Deacs clicked from that point on as they outscored the Hokies 22-9 over the remainder of the period. A 15-1 binge over 5:20 turned the game on its head and put Wake up 39-37, its first lead since it was 4-2. Tech missed four shots in that span while turning the ball over four times.
“We had a 10-minute stretch where we had I think 10 [turnovers],” Duffy said. “We weren’t getting a lot of great possessions. There’s been games that we’ve turned the ball over, so we’re working on it, we’re talking about it, and I thought really the difference in this game, it wasn’t a lot of pressure; it was the physicality, getting bumped off our lanes a little bit. … But we tightened it up and took care of the ball and were able to get shots.”
Micheaux was the Hokies’ lone bright spot throughout that stretch and kept them alive. Her jumper with 2:38 to play in the period tied the game at 39 and snapped a 6:11 drought.
It was back and forth from there, but Micheaux continued to carry Tech when it couldn’t seem to find a rhythm. The senior from Wayne, Mich., got two shots down at the end of the third, along with a free throw, and hit another field goal a few minutes into the fourth.
Still, it wasn’t until Matilda Ekh’s jumper at the 5:26 mark that someone else picked up some offensive slack for Tech, who went over 14 minutes without a bucket from someone not named Micheaux. She was great, though, and finished with 20 points and nine rebounds — both game-highs — on 9-of-9 shooting.
Micheaux was the first Tech player to have a perfect day on at least eight field goal attempts since Nicole Jones on Jan. 2, 1999, vs. Fordham. She credited the work she’s put in when the lights have been off.
“Just practicing with Coach Duffy and Coach Jen [Hoover], [we found] what my sweet spots are,” Micheaux said. “We found out one of my main issues is timing, and I know that I can be really helpful if I just get my timing right on offense and on defense, just being a step over or just getting the timing right on my screens. I feel like when I worked on it, it just showed and had a positive outcome.”
Micheaux gave the Hokies a chance despite a long lull, which they pulled out of with a few minutes to go. They trailed 50-49 with 4:57 left but settled down after Wenzel, who had yet to find a real rhythm all afternoon, got downhill, drew a foul and got to the free throw line.
Her two foul shots gave Tech the lead at 51-50. Though Malaya Cowles responded with a layup, it was just one of two Demon Deacons baskets over the game’s final four minutes. The Hokies closed the contest on a 12-4 run, which featured six points — four free throws and a jumper — from Wenzel and two each from Baker, Ekh and Mackenzie Nelson.
“Carleigh had a tough time getting in the rhythm and flow,” Duffy said. “I’m not against putting players in the first half with two fouls, but we had the lead and we were doing OK so I kind of decided to keep her and Lani on the bench while we kept that lead. Still struggled in the second half to get her some flow, but her ability to create contact and get downhill a couple times was huge momentum for us.
“Sometimes it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet, but her poise on the floor for us was really good down the stretch. It’s just great — for how good she was at Georgia Tech, couldn’t get that same flow today, but still impacted the game in that late fourth quarter, which was huge.”
Tech also only allowed the Deacs to make one of their final six shots and forced two miscues in the waning moments. A travel from Wake Forest guard Tamia Jones with 16 seconds remaining, followed by two foul shots from Nelson, iced the game. The 5,502 fans in attendance also helped propel the Hokies across the finish line.
“I thought that crowd pushed us with that extra energy we needed,” Duffy said. “It was awesome. They were yelling at the refs too, which is good because I didn’t have to.”
Ten days ago, Florida State dominated Tech 105-74. In the three games since, the Hokies have found different ways to win, whether it be through Baker’s 3-point shooting in Coral Gables, holding the Yellow Jackets to 0-of-6 in the second overtime period in Atlanta or making 8-of-10 free throws in the final four minutes at home vs. Wake.
Tech has fought tooth and nail for 40 minutes (and sometimes more) and done whatever is necessary to come out on top over the last week — a positive sign for a pretty young team still finding its footing. Though it’s early in ACC play — Duffy & Co. will be a third of the way through their 18-game slate after Thursday’s Commonwealth Clash vs. Virginia — the Hokies are trending in the right direction.
“I just think we’re learning as a group, figuring out like finding ways to win doesn’t always have to be offensively,” Baker said. “Obviously, Rose had a really good night, but just stopping their best players defensively as well, I think that was really big for us in the fourth quarter. I just think our defense has been pretty up to par and we’re just going to go back into the gym and go back to practice and work on that a little bit more. …
“If shots aren’t falling or if something’s not going well for someone personally that usually does, just being able to find something else to do to help us win. Coach Duffy, that’s a big emphasis with her, like, ‘OK, your shots aren’t falling? What else can you do? You can rebound, you can get back on defense, you can guard their best player.’ So just finding other ways to impact the game is a big emphasis on our team and I think we’re learning how to do that pretty well.”
Baker finished in double figures with 11 points and five rebounds. White chipped in 10 points while Wenzel had nine points and five dimes. Ekh racked up seven points, four boards and four assists while Nelson posted four assists to go with two points, two rebounds and two steals. Leila Wells also had two points off the bench.
On the other end, Elise Williams paced Wake Forest with 15 points. It was her second straight impactful performance against the Hokies after she recorded a game-high 29 points in last year’s clash in Winston-Salem, an 82-73 Tech win.
Entering the day, the Deacs were paced by the frontcourt duo of Cowles and Demeara Hinds, who were averaging a combined 19 points and 13 rebounds per game. Tech limited them to just 13 points and seven boards before they both fouled out of the contest.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 61, Wake Forest 54
ACC Standings: Click here
Thoughts from #Hokies' 61-54 win over Wake Forest: pic.twitter.com/xNVAvek0F3
— David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) January 13, 2025