Carleigh Wenzel and the Hokies couldn't come out on top at Boston College on Thursday night. (Virginia Tech athletics)

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — In a chaotic game full of twists and turns, the Hokies couldn’t come out on top in Thursday’s 92-89 overtime loss at Boston College.

“It was very, very chaotic and physical,” Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy told Tech Sideline after the loss. “I think the biggest thing was just our defense to start the game. Didn’t come out getting stops and I thought that gave Boston College a lot of confidence, all their kids shooting the three, getting downhill, kind of doing what they wanted to.

“And then there was just a lot of stuff between the technicals and some different calls that went our way sometimes and other times they did not. It’s a really disappointed locker room, a lot of girls that are hurting. We’ve got to recover quick and get ready for Clemson.”

Tech (17-11, 8-9 ACC) played well enough for stretches of the game but couldn’t capitalize on opportunities in crunch time. Yet, all of that was overshadowed by a kerfuffle between the Hokies and Eagles (15-15, 6-11) late in the third quarter.

Tech was up 60-58 with 1:33 to play and had outscored BC 21-15 in the period, which included an 18-8 blitz in the first 4:14 of the second half that forced the Eagles to call timeout. Then things got shaken up.

Hokies point guard Carleigh Wenzel drove baseline and was fouled hard by Eagles guard Andrea Daley and fell to the ground. Daley stepped over her, which the officials labeled as taunting, before Wenzel grabbed her leg in return — an intentional foul.

Tech forward Rose Micheaux and BC guard Savannah Samuel entered the fray and were each given intentional fouls for pushing and shoving. Then came the icing on the cake: A separate technical on Micheaux for language to the official, resulting in her ejection from the game.

“They’re really just putting an emphasis on sportsmanship and just handling situations,” Duffy said, “and there was a foul underneath the basket and just a chain of events. Kids from both sides with emotions. Obviously, Rose [Micheaux] had to leave the game because of it, so it’s just one of those things — you have to trust the refs that they’re doing the right thing and going to the monitor. They spent a long time looking at it.

“So again, from us, we just kind of take that and move on. I thought we were OK after that, but yeah, just unfortunate to have Rose not in the game for us.”



The review lasted 10 minutes, nearly the length of another halftime break, and completely disrupted the Hokies’ momentum — especially because they returned to the floor without Micheaux, their key post player. In the 8:27 minutes leading up to that moment, they had regained control and looked like the much better team. That situation shifted everything, though.

After shooting 51 percent (24-of-47) to that point, Tech made just a 30 percent clip (9-of-30) the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the stoppage seemed to fuel BC, who found some momentum and used a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter to take the lead. The entire sequence of events, from the fouls to the lengthy review that created a giant pause in the action, completely shifted the course of the game.

“I think you just have to respect their process to get it right, especially when you’re talking about technical fouls and having kids leave the game,” Duffy said. “It’s hard for both teams, but I think that’s just the trust we have to have, that they do their job and get their checkpoints and we have to move on.”

At the end of the day, though, the Hokies had chances when it mattered and didn’t convert. They led 79-75 after a Matilda Ekh layup with 3:07 remaining in regulation but missed their final six shots, including a look at the buzzer from Ekh through traffic that deflected off the backboard. Boston College was a tad better, scoring four points over that span — a layup from Dontavia Waggoner off an offensive rebound and two free throws from her that tied the game.

Tech even started overtime with a bang behind two 3-pointers from Ekh and a jumper from Carys Baker before the Eagles responded for good. Forward Teya Sidberry scored twice in three possessions, tying the game at 87, and then got to the foul line after Hokies guard Lani White committed her fifth personal when seeking an offensive rebound. Sidberry buried two free throws to give her team the lead and Tech was without two of its starters.

Matilda Ekh and the Hokies started the second half well, but the long stoppage changed everything. (Virginia Tech athletics)

Hokies guard Mackenzie Nelson drained two foul shots with 1:11 to play that made it 89-all, but a ridiculous rainbow-like shot from BC’s Kaylah Ivey at the end of the shot clock on the ensuing possession was the dagger.

Tech wasn’t completely down and out, but it turned it over on its next possession — an offensive foul on Baker. After a stop, Baker had a 3-pointer from the corner, which rattled off the rim, before Ekh had a last-second shot off an offensive rebound that fell short. The result was a likely résumé-hurting defeat for the Hokies.

“I thought BC’s matchup zone was really, really good for a lot of the game,” Duffy said. “I thought we were a little bit second-guessing ourselves and then we had a couple great looks and they just didn’t go in. I think the thing we needed to still focus on was getting stops. [Ivey] hit a big three, late hand in her face, but our mindset is she shouldn’t get the shot off, so little things like that. We’ll go back to the drawing board and figure out how to execute a little bit better.”

Boston College got off to a favorable start in the contest with a 13-of-21 (62%) first quarter, which included three triples. Leading scorer T’yana Todd had 10 points and was 4-of-5 as the team jumped out to a 32-25 lead. Every shot seemingly went in, even when Virginia Tech had a hand up.

After trailing by as many as nine points (30-21), the Hokies eventually climbed out of the early hole behind an 8-0 run in the second quarter. They still trailed 43-39 at intermission, though.

They blitzed the Eagles in the third, courtesy of three baskets from Micheaux — who had just two points in the first half — and seven points from Baker. Then the squabble occurred and things went sideways.

It was a loss Tech couldn’t afford as it entered the day as the last team projected to be in the NCAA Tournament field by ESPN. It was smack on the bubble, even after dropping last Thursday’s game at home to a poor Stanford team in overtime. That’s the fourth time now it’s lost to teams in the bottom half of the ACC, though, after Stanford, Virginia and Syracuse. It needed a crazy comeback to beat Miami in early January, too.

All the Hokies can continue to do at this point is win and hope for the best. They close the season at Clemson on Sunday (2 p.m. ET) and a victory would secure a single bye in the ACC Tournament, where they’d face Georgia Tech in the 8-9 game. However, barring winning the ACC Tournament, a loss to the Tigers would kill any and all hope — assuming there’s some still there after a draining defeat in Conte Forum.

“I think the biggest thing is we’re going to try and stay consistent,” Duffy said. “Even though we made a lot of mistakes today, no person is bigger or smaller in this situation. We’re going to keep our circle tight, try and get as much rest as we can getting back and resting our bodies tomorrow and then we play a very good Clemson team.

“That’s going to be my job — to keep everybody together and focused and believing in themselves and hopefully all of the emotion is out and we’ll move forward into the next game.”

Box Score: Boston College 92, Virginia Tech 89 (OT)