Virginia Tech recovered after its slow start against Loyola (Md.) to win 64-48 in Sunday’s matinee in Cassell Coliseum.
“I thought today was a really good game for us,” Hokies head coach Megan Duffy said. “I mean, it’s not going to be always as fluid and as perfect as it was on opening night, and there’s going to be a lot to take from this film. … A great learning experience for us. Wins are wins, and I think for the first week we have a lot to kind of hold our hat on and really get back to work at the same time.”
The Hokies (2-0) were cold out of the gates and trailed the Greyhounds (0-3) by two at the end of the first quarter, 16-14, but started the second period with a 14-0 run that created some breathing room.
“Really just coming out and understanding we need to play disciplined and kind of punch them in the mouth,” Tech guard Carleigh Wenzel said. “I don’t think we were being as aggressive as we could’ve or should’ve been, so just staying disciplined defensively, but also kind of taking it and going and not just pulling it out and running offense right away, but pushing when we got the ball at the net.”
It was an ugly, scrappy game, and Tech never pulled away completely — Loyola hung around and made it an eight-point margin with 2:49 remaining in regulation — but had a pretty comfortable cushion. Wenzel cited the Greyhounds’ physicality.
“I think that we kind of weren’t expecting it, and we should have,” Wenzel said. “They kind of came out and weren’t letting us get things right away, just playing through first and second actions. They also kind of got deep in their plays in terms of they weren’t taking what the first option was of their sets, they were running it through all the way, so that’s something we have to just stay disciplined on and continue making different reads defensively.”
Wenzel led the Hokies with 18 points and six rebounds. The majority of her output came in the first half when she had 14 of their 34 points and was the lone double-figure scorer. Tech led 34-26 at intermission.
A few of her teammates found the bottom of the net in the second half, including Carys Baker, who finished with 17 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Kayl Petersen added 10 points and nine rebounds. She started in place of Kilah Freelon, who was unavailable. Duffy said the Texas Tech transfer is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Samyha Suffren chipped in eight points, the majority of which came down the stretch, while Mel Daley had seven. Tech point guard Mackenzie Nelson was also an efficient distributor with a career-high 11 assists to go with two points and five boards.
“I’ve been playing with her since high school,” Baker said of Nelson, “so that’s something she’s always been able to do. And then just translating that to college basketball has been huge to see. The progress she’s made from last year to this year was honestly amazing, and she’s been pretty vital for us in these past couple games, and she will continue to do that.”
The Hokies were 5-for-21 in the first quarter and finished the game shooting 39.6 percent (21-for-53), but they were much better over the final three periods: 16-for-32 (50%). They didn’t have an efficient afternoon from behind the arc, though, converting just four of their 15 looks (26.7%) as Loyola ran them off the 3-point line.
Tech’s defense saw an uptick after the first, too. The Greyhounds shot 58.3 percent in the opening 10 minutes (7-for-12) but made just 12 of their remaining 44 field goal attempts the rest of the way (27%). They were held to just 10 points in the second quarter and six in the third.
“We made some adjustments, and I thought we had a hard time executing some of the adjustments,” Duffy said. “When you look back at it, you’re like, ‘Hey, how can I communicate better to them?’ … We were trying to make a few adjustments off some of the things they decided to run. And then early season with scouting, you have a very small sample size. The day before when they played La Salle, La Salle played almost all zone, so you didn’t maybe get to see their full package and you’re going off last year.
“It’s good for me and our staff to be able to figure out what can change the tempo a little bit. We only gave up 10 and six points in the second and third quarter, which I thought was really good, so as much as it felt like a slug match, you still only gave up 10 and six points, which is solid — and kept them under 50.”
It was a stark difference from Monday’s season-opening 100-56 victory over Towson when Tech shot 48.7 percent and made 37 field goals. While the Tigers played at a quick pace, which allowed the Hokies numerous transition opportunities, Loyola slowed everything down, leading to 19 fewer possessions — 87 vs. 68 — and a sluggish game.
“It was just hard to get much flow going on either side,” Duffy said. “Every game is going to be a little different with their pace, and they were trying to wait until [late in] the shot clock to execute. … Not maybe as free-flowing as we thought, but that’s really good when you’re in the non-conference right now, to really be able to adjust and figure out lineups and what you’ve got to do to kind of create those runs and manufacture points. Sometimes it’s not going to be as smooth as you always think.”
Koi Sims led the Greyhounds with a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double while Lex Therien posted 15 points and eight boards. Kimmie Hicks also contributed eight points before fouling out.
Sunday marked the second of five straight home games to open the season for the Hokies, who host Gardner-Webb on Thursday (6 p.m. ET) and Coastal Carolina on Sunday (2 p.m. ET).
Box Score: Virginia Tech 64, Loyola (Md.) 48