When Hokies head coach Megan Duffy called timeout at the 5:38 mark of the first quarter, her team trailed North Carolina A&T 9-0.
Virginia Tech was a different team after that. It outscored the Aggies 38-9 over the remainder of the first half, a giant momentum shift in its 61-45 victory on Thursday evening in the first round of the WBIT.
“Being off for two weeks, you never know how that first few minutes is going to go,” Tech head coach Megan Duffy said, “but I thought after the timeout we took, I thought our defense turned up, and that was the difference in the game.”
Though it was a quiet second half for both teams, the Hokies (19-12) held the Aggies (19-12) at bay, all thanks to their big turnaround.
Prior to Duffy’s timeout, Tech was 0-of-8 from the floor with three turnovers, including its first possession of the game where it grabbed four offensive rebounds but couldn’t convert.
It also struggled defensively, and after back-to-back layups where A&T’s Jordyn Dorsey got downhill too easily, Duffy brought her group together. It responded well, particularly on the defensive end.
Carleigh Wenzel sparked the Hokies’ offense with a layup through traffic and a 3-pointer, and after a trey from Lani White, they used a 9-0 run to jump in front 17-13 at the end of the period — a 17-4 swing. Forcing four turnovers and getting out in transition was key.
“I think we just picked up the intensity,” Tech guard Mackenzie Nelson said of the team’s defensive uptick. “We were getting good shots [on offense], but at the end of the day, we had to get some stops, and they were taking hard shots, but we weren’t kind of affecting anything.
“Coach Duffy mentioned that it starts from our defense, and when we went on those runs, it wasn’t necessarily always our offense; it was a lot of getting stops on defense and then pushing in transition, so I think that’s what started it.”
Indeed. It changed the complexion of the game. The Hokies’ improvement in that area was obvious in the second quarter as they held A&T to 2-of-12 shooting and just five points total. Both baskets came in the first 3:30 of the period. After that, it was all Tech as it ended the half on a 13-0 run and led 38-18 at intermission.
The Hokies’ 3-point shooting picked up as well. Though it was just 8-of-24 for the game, all but one of those makes came in the first half as it was 7-of-15. In the second, the Aggies limited them to 1-of-9.
It was a variety of players getting the threes down, too. Wenzel, Nelson and Matilda Ekh each buried one while White and Carys Baker knocked down two apiece. White also nailed Tech’s lone trey in the second half.
Virginia Tech was outscored 27-23 after halftime — the teams shot a combined 7-of-35 (20%) in the third quarter — but did enough to keep North Carolina A&T in check. The Aggies were led by 6-foot-4 center Chaniya Clark, who spent part of the first half in foul trouble but finished with 19 points (on 9-of-11 shooting) and 13 rebounds. Dorsey also added 11 points.
Meanwhile, the Hokies played all 10 available players, including the quartet of freshmen: Kayl Petersen, Leila Wells, Ramiya White and Myah Hazelton. Petersen was very effective in some critical minutes with Rose Micheaux in foul trouble and posted career-highs in rebounds (eight), blocks (five) and steals (two). One of Wells’ two buckets came off a steal that led to a transition layup.
Lani White was 7-of-11 for a team-high 18 points while grabbing a career-best seven rebounds. Nelson joined her in double figures with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists to just one turnover. Wenzel and Baker had nine points apiece.
“Coach had been telling us all week that she had found this quote, ‘In March, the dawgs come out,’” White said, “and I think we used that as our motivation. We had talked about it for two weeks. That was kind of our mentality going into this game — be a dawg and get the win … by any means possible.”
It was a solid result for the Hokies, who hadn’t played since their 72-57 defeat to Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament two weeks ago. Throw in an emotional selection show, where it missed out on the NCAA Tournament, and Thursday’s contest in Cassell Coliseum was a challenge — both physically, against a physical A&T team that does a variety of things defensively, and mentally.
Nevertheless, Tech’s players settled down, came together and, most importantly, had a blast.
“It’s March,” White said. “This is the most fun time of the year. I think just having the opportunity to play in March is a blessing in itself, so just taking it one game at a time and trying to enjoy it because you can’t win them all unless you win the first one.”
On an injury note, Duffy said Hokies guard Matilda Ekh is “doing fine.” She was hit in the nose when going for an offensive rebound at the 8:37 mark of the third quarter and did not return. Her nose appeared to be bleeding, and after spending some time in the locker room, she went back to the bench with her nose plugged up.
Tech is back in action in the second round of the WBIT on Sunday in Cassell Coliseum vs. Texas Tech (4 p.m. ET, ESPN+), who beat No. 4 seed Wyoming 65-48 in Laramie on Thursday.
The Red Raiders (18-17, No. 77 in NET) lost nine contests at the end of the year before a three-game winning streak over Colorado, Kansas and Utah — two of which came in the Big 12 Tournament. It’ll be the fourth-ever meeting between the programs and the first in Blacksburg. They last met in Dec. 2005 in Cancun, Mexico.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 61, North Carolina A&T 45
Thoughts from #Hokies' 61-45 win over North Carolina A&T in the WBIT: pic.twitter.com/kqtIPaXlSl
— David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) March 21, 2025