Virginia Tech led wire-to-wire on Thursday night in Tallahassee and steamrolled Florida State 79-54 for its first ACC win of the season. The 25-point margin is its largest ever in the 45-game series that dates back to 1979.
The Hokies (10-3, 1-1 ACC) jumped on the Seminoles (4-9, 0-2) early and scored the game’s first seven points. They led 18-4 through four-plus minutes, forcing FSU head coach Brooke Wyckoff to call timeout, and didn’t look back en route to their first road victory of the year.
“I loved our response these last two days of just getting a little bit more confident, sharing the ball,” Tech head coach Megan Duffy told Evan Hughes on the Virginia Tech Sports Network after the game. “We play at a very fast pace, Florida State does too, so it’s kind of a battle of who could do it better. Got off to a great start, followed the game plan really well. I was really proud of our team for being truly focused on what we were trying to do.”
Tech kept its foot on the gas as it shot 44.4 percent for the game (32-for-72) and held FSU to 28.6 percent from the floor (16-for-56). The Noles, who entered as one of the nation’s best 3-point shooting teams at 34.1 percent and averaged nine makes per game, were just 4-for-15 from deep.
The Hokies turned them over 15 times, which they converted into 18 points, and only had eight miscues of their own — including just one in the first half.
Mackenzie Nelson controlled the flow of the game for Tech and had a stellar night with career-highs in points (18) and assists (12), good for her first career double-double. She was 8-for-13 from the field and paced an offense that assisted 22 of its 32 made field goals.
“Phenomenal,” Duffy said of Nelson. “She had great balance, great energy, she’s feeling good. I thought her decision-making was tremendous.”
Mel Daley also notched her inaugural double-double with 16 points (6-for-9) and a career-high 10 boards. She and Nelson were joined in double figures by Carys Baker, who recorded her fourth 20-point game in the last six outings with 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting, and Carleigh Wenzel, who added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
“She got some shots because everyone was in sync, moving better, knowing where they were going to be,” Duffy said of Baker. “She was the benefactor of that, so I just thought she took great shots. Missed a couple of easy ones, but overall, I thought she had a great start, and then some of the other ones picked it up after that.”
Tech also received contributions in the frontcourt from Kilah Freelon, who posted five points and seven boards, and true freshman Aniya Trent, who had two points, seven rebounds and a block. Guard Samyha Suffren chipped in six points, three rebounds and two assists, too.
Florida State was without some key pieces in Emma Risch and Sydney Bowles. On top of that, it lost Solé Williams to an injury with 2:15 remaining in the first half. FSU’s leading scorer at the time with nine points, she did not return to the game.
The Seminoles, who have been a historically dominant program in the ACC with at least 10 conference wins in all but four seasons since the turn of the century, have struggled mightily this season. Thursday marked their fifth consecutive loss. Jasmine Shavers was their only double-figure scorer against the Hokies with 19 points (6-for-18) and eight rebounds. She was also responsible for three of their four 3-point makes.
Virginia Tech led for 39:34 of the game’s 40 minutes and was up by as many as 31 points with 3:05 left in regulation.
It’s just the Hokies’ fourth-ever win in Tallahassee in 22 tries, joining victories in 1980, 2006 and 2021. After the Noles beat them 105-74 in Blacksburg last December, they got their revenge this year in the Donald L. Tucker Center. It was also a solid response in league play for Tech, which lost to Duke 70-54 in its ACC opener on Dec. 7.
The Hokies host Radford in their final non-conference game of the year on Sunday (noon ET). After that, they turn their complete attention to the ACC, where they’ll host Miami on New Year’s Day before a road trip to No. 16 Louisville.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 79, Florida State 54