Virginia Tech routed Boston College 78-56 on a snowy Sunday afternoon in Blacksburg for its second straight win.
It was another decisive victory for the Hokies (13-5, 3-3 ACC) after crushing Syracuse 77-57 on Thursday, which came on the heels of back-to-back setbacks.
“Just our intensity, our effort to rebound, effort on kind of both ends of the court,” Tech guard Carleigh Wenzel said of the team’s mentality this week. “Defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds, just being a little bit tougher on both ends of the court and letting our defense rally our offense.”
The Hokies pulled away from the Eagles (4-15, 0-6) via an 11-0 run late in the first quarter, where BC was scoreless for 3:24, and led 22-9 through 10 minutes.
It was a choppy game that featured 48 fouls and 50 free-throw attempts — Boston College was 23-for-31 while Tech was 17-for-19 — but the Hokies gradually pulled away from the Eagles. They outscored them 19-13 in the second quarter and 20-15 in the third.
“Two nights ago when we were at Syracuse, it was a slugfest,” Duffy said. “I mean, just bodies on bodies, and they let us play and they called certain fouls. Then today, a little bit of a change in style. It was more five out and some cuts and some different things, so that’s really when you have to lock into your discipline of you might not be able to hit as hard, you still have to be really good defensively, but they’re calling it a certain way.”
Tech shot 50.9 percent for the game, converting 28 of its 55 field goals. It was 23-for-37 (62.2%) on 2-point shots but just 5-for-18 (27.8%) on its 3-point looks. It outscored BC 40-16 in the paint, too.
“We knew coming in that there were going to be some advantages for us in the paint,” Tech forward Carys Baker said, “and I think in these past couple of games, we’ve done a really good job of just getting paint touches, just getting into the paint … and kicking out or just getting a layup.”
Baker paced the Hokies with 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting, which included three triples. She also added four rebounds.
Wenzel joined her in double figures with 10 points, four assists and three rebounds, as did Mel Daley, who came off the bench for the second straight game and added 10 points and six boards.
Tech received production from a number of other places, too, particularly the backcourt. Samyha Suffren posted nine points, four rebounds and three assists while Leila Wells started for the second consecutive contest and notched up seven points. Mackenzie Nelson added six while Sophie Swanson chipped in four, which included her second 3-pointer of the year.
“We’ve been working on it for really the last week or so,” Duffy said, “and I’m very happy with the progress we made this week. When we put this team together, we talked about how we have a lot of versatile guards and they can do different things at different points. I thought we weren’t hitting the mark on showcasing that. For us in this program, it doesn’t matter who’s starting, it doesn’t matter if it’s 10 minutes you get to play or 30 minutes to play. You have to be producing for us, whether it’s getting a rebound, being a defensive stopper, hitting a big basket.
“I think we were all in a little bit of our own selfish world with that, and this game is too hard to do it if you’re only doing it on your own, so I’m very proud. … Like any team in the country, the more players you can help contribute, the better you’ll be, and I think they’ve taken it to heart.”
In the frontcourt, Aniya Trent tallied four points and four rebounds while Amani Jenkins contributed two points. They played the majority of the second half after Kilah Freelon suffered an injury upon landing after attempting to block a Boston College layup at the 8:17 mark of the third quarter.
Freelon was taken to the locker room by trainer Erin Cash and did not return to the bench. Duffy said the 6-foot-1 forward rolled her ankle, and though she could’ve gone back in the game if needed, they decided to rest her with the lead in hand. Freelon had nine points and nine rebounds.
It appears to be more of a long-term deal for Hokies forward Kayl Petersen, who was kicked in the face in Thursday’s win at Syracuse.
“Kayl took a hell of a hit at Syracuse and got popped in the face, as you can see with her bruising,” Duffy said. “We’re just literally going day-by-day with her, and she’s feeling pretty good. We’ve just got to make sure everything structurally is good. … I haven’t seen a hit like that in a long time, and she’s been a champ and a great teammate. She’s a little Coach Petersen yesterday at practice and was great on the bench today, so hopefully she’ll be back soon.”
On the other side, Boston College was just 14-for-40 (35%), though it knocked down five of its 11 treys — three from Amirah Anderson, who had a team-high 14 points, and two from Erin Houpt, who posted 12 points.
The Hokies are now 3-3 in the ACC, putting them in the middle of the pack in the conference standings, and head to SMU with an opportunity to get above .500 for the first time this season. The Mustangs (7-9, 0-4) have struggled in Year 1 under Aida Barnes.
It’s Tech’s first trip to Dallas since making the 2023 Final Four at the American Airlines Center. The only current members of the program who remain from that group are Wenzel, athletic trainer Erin Cash and radio play-by-play voice Evan Hughes.
It’s a particularly meaningful trip for Wenzel, a San Antonio native who redshirted that season. She’ll have many friends and family in attendance on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, as will Freelon, who hails from Denver, Colorado.
“I am so excited,” Wenzel said. “Obviously, it’s going to be a tough game for us on the road, any game is tough in the ACC, but just being able to have my family there, I know I’m going to have a lot of people there, just in support of me and support of the team. I know Kilah’s got a lot of people coming, so just being able to go back home — not really home, but close to home. I’m really excited about that.”
Box Score: Virginia Tech 78, Boston College 56