Matilda Ekh led Virginia Tech with 23 points and got things going in the first quarter. (Ivan Morozov)

Virginia Tech bounced back from defeats to No. 20 NC State and No. 3 Notre Dame with a 79-71 win over SMU on Sunday in Cassell Coliseum.

“Just really proud of the grit of our team today,” Hokies head coach Megan Duffy said. “We knew SMU was going to come out punching, they’re physical, they’re scrappy. They have a kid in [Nya] Robertson that can get hot from anywhere on the floor at times, and I thought our collective effort to guard her and not foul her was really good.”

The Hokies (15-7, 6-5 ACC) shot 56 percent from the floor (25-of-45) against the Mustangs (10-13, 2-9) and were led by a different player on the offensive end in each quarter. They also won the rebounding battle and limited SMU’s two leading scorers defensively.

Matilda Ekh jumpstarted Tech by posting 13 points in the first quarter, as many as SMU’s entire team. She was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field in the period and 3-of-3 from 3-point range, buckets that came on three consecutive possessions. The first was off an extra pass from freshman Leila Wells while Mackenzie Nelson set up the other two by finding Ekh streaking down the court in transition.

Ekh led all scorers with a season-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, which included a 5-of-7 mark from behind the arc.

“I got some really good looks in the beginning,” Ekh said. “I think the first one was from Leila off of a one-more and that’s something that we emphasize in practice — getting the best look. … It felt good to see the first one go in and then Mack found me in transition a couple of times. I was just looking at Mack and saw she was going to get it to me and that I was going to be open enough to get a shot up.”

Then it was Rose Micheaux’s turn to pace the Hokies. She posted 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, six of which came in the second quarter as she was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field.

After entering the period trailing 25-13, SMU chipped away at Tech’s lead and outscored the home side 12-5 through the first 6:01. With the Hokies keying in on leading scorers Nya Robertson and Jessica Peterson, TK Pitts and Kaysia Woods led the charge for the Mustangs and combined for 13 points in the quarter.

SMU guard Nya Robertson scored 22 points, but Virginia Tech made her earn it — on 25 shots. (Ivan Morozov)

However, an Ekh three (her fourth of the day), two buckets from Micheaux and a layup from Nelson gave Tech a 40-32 lead at halftime. Meanwhile, Robertson and Peterson, who average a combined 30 points per game, had just eight on 4-of-21 shooting in the first half.

“We were just moving the ball, playing together,” said Ekh of the team’s first-half success, which featured 63 percent shooting and 13 assists on 15 baskets. “Finding the right shots, like they were in our offense so we got shots in rhythm, shots that we practice every day. Just moving and sharing the ball.”

In the third quarter, Carys Baker picked things up for the Hokies with nine points. She had a huge three-point play during their 10-0 run towards the end of the period that helped push the margin to 16.

The Mustangs didn’t go away easily, though. Robertson responded with 16 second-half points while Peterson added nine, and SMU picked up steam heading into the final two minutes of the contest. It used a 9-0 run, capped off by a three-point play from Peterson, to turn what was a 13-point game into a 74-69 margin with 13 seconds remaining.

Yet, Carleigh Wenzel carried Virginia Tech in the fourth quarter and closed things out at the foul line. She entered the period with just five points but dropped 16 in the closing minutes, nine of which came on free throws (and four in the final 11 seconds). For the game, she was a career-best 12-of-14 from the stripe. She also got a trey, a jumper and a reverse layup down earlier in the frame.

“Matilda got us off to a great start,” Duffy said. “I thought in the Notre Dame game, we were a bit slow with our pace just because of the way Notre Dame can get into you a little bit with [Hannah] Hidalgo, so we really focused on getting out in transition a little bit more. We were able to find Matilda for a couple great threes.

“Matilda took the load for a little bit, then Carys got going, Rose hit a couple nice ones and then Carleigh ended up coming back around towards the end of the game with her free throws and some timely shots. We’re working on that every day. … Just because one person doesn’t have a great night doesn’t mean we can’t win, so just trying to find that balance.”

Carys Baker and Virginia Tech were balanced offensively against the Mustangs. (Ivan Morozov)

While the Hokies shot well, it was their play on the other end that kept SMU in check. Robertson, who entered the day as the nation’s leader in field goal attempts, finished with 22 points. However, that output came on 25 shots (8-of-25) — a result of Nelson guarding her well.

“She’s a really good player and we were definitely on high alert this week just preparing for what she was going to do,” Baker said of Robertson. “She’s a really good shooter. We talked about her shooting from the three a lot, so we wanted to take that away. … I think the guards did an amazing job against her. Obviously, we have ways to improve, but I thought they did a really good job not letting her touch it and then running her off the line a little bit.”

On the interior, Peterson had 11 points and 11 rebounds but was just 5-of-15 and was severely limited by Micheaux, Baker and others.

Tech also improved on the glass after intermission. It trailed 19-17 at the break and had allowed 13 offensive rebounds but cracked down on that issue. In the second half, it outrebounded SMU 17-13 and only allowed three offensive boards. Baker and Micheaux, who combined for 17, were huge in that area.

“We said it at the end of the huddle and I looked at Coach Jen [Hoover] and pointed at her because that’s definitely a big emphasis,” Baker said. “... They’re also a really good rebounding team so that was also a really big emphasis. I think we kind of touched on it a lot in our huddles and stuff. We just knew we had to keep crashing, [that] it was going to be scrappy in there.”

Ekh (23 points), Wenzel (21), Baker (14) and Micheaux (13) kept the Hokies balanced. Nelson had eight crucial assists, too, and Leila Wells added three dimes off the bench. Lani White, who left the game early in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury, chipped in a 3-pointer. After the game, Duffy indicated White is OK.

The Hokies are back at home on Thursday night vs. Syracuse before traveling to Virginia on Sunday.

Box Score: Virginia Tech 79, SMU 71