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Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball Smothers Delaware, 101-53 - The Deep Dive

"Insane" Dmaro Scored 19, Wenzel Dropped 18, Suffren Had 16, and Jenkins Records a Career-Best 10

Michael Turner·November 6, 2026

Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball Smothers Delaware, 101-53 - The Deep Dive

Blacksburg, VA. Virginia Tech women’s basketball smothered Delaware, 101-53, in the second game of the 2026-27 season Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum.

GAME SUMMARY

First Quarter

The Hokies were a bit sloppy on offense to start the game, committing three turnovers in the first two minutes. However, they settled in when Carleigh Wenzel opened the scoring with a three pointer from the wing while getting fouled. Wenzel hit the free throw to put the Hokies up 4-0.

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Delaware drew within 4-3 when Frances Ulysses hit a driving layup, drawing a foul and making the subsequent free throw.

Virginia Tech’s forward Jessica Dimaro went to work: she grabbed a Leila Well’s miss and put it back and then, after a Wells field goal, Dimaro made a mini-jumpshot in the lane to extend Tech’s lead to 10-3. Wenzel hit Samahya Suffren cross court for a fastbreak bucket. Wenzel then found a gap in Delaware’s zone and threaded a pass to Alyssa Latham for a layup that threatened to break open the game.

Delaware hung around, though, for a minute. The Blue Hens’ Kendall Scott hit a wide open three pointer when two Hokie defenders went to the same player in transition, and then closed within 14-8 from free throws with four minutes left in the quarter.

From that point on, the Hokies clamp down, using defense to fuel their offense for an 11-2 run that included two Kate Sears pull up jumpers. Indeed, Tech forced seven turnovers and held Delaware to 3-for-14 shooting (21.4%), ending the quarter up 25-10.

Second Quarter

In the opening game of the season against NC Central, Virginia Tech held the Eagles to four points in the second quarter. For the first nine minutes of the second quarter against Delaware, the Hokies replicated the same level of defense, holding the Blue Hens to three points. Only a late three, a mid-range jump shot, and a free throw with ten seconds allowed Delaware to reach nine points total for the second frame.

Meanwhile, the Hokies exploded, parlaying five steals into 11-3 and 20-0 runs. Suffren seemingly got the basketball at will and knocked several mid-range jumpshots.

Dimaro continued to make her presence felt, grabbing two offensive rebounds and scoring eight more points in the quarter. Wenzel, meanwhile, got free for layups, including one of a steal by Suffren and another one in transition.

The Hokies went into the half up by a commanding 53-18 score. Jessica Dimaro had 17 points and 7 rebounds while Wenzel and Suffren both had 10 points. In fact, eleven players saw the court, and ten of those scored.

Second Half

The rest of the game was a bit more competitive . The Blue Hens’ Frances Ulysses had success posting up, drawing several fouls against Hokie players. Nevertheless, Virginia Tech still shot 55% and outscored Delaware 48-34 in the final two quarters. It also provided an opportunity for Tech to get playing time for every player on the roster. In fact, all twelve active players scored enroute to the final 101-53 margin.

In the post-game news conference, Head Coach Megan Duffy said, “Thrilled with our effort today. I thought we improved from Monday night’s open. To get everybody in the scoring column was awesome. Just loved our effort and toughness from the defensive end. I thought we disrupted Delaware and a lot of the things they were trying to do. Overall, just happy with the win.”

SIX THOUGHTS AFTER THE GAME

DEFENSE CREATES OFFENSE

Early in the season, Virginia Tech’s disruptive defense has generated much of the team’s offense. Tech’s defense against Delaware was sensational: it forced the Blue Hens into 3-for-13 shooting (23.1%) in the first quarter, 3-for-15 in the second quarter (21.4%), and 28.6% for the game. The Hokies blew up many of Delaware’s screening sets, blocked 12 shots and forced 34 turnovers, including 10 steals, that led to 20 transition points.

The offense only shot 11 three pointers, which shows how little the team needed to rely on that component of the game given how much the defense led the way.

Wenzel noted that they were “letting our offense fuel our defense, not settling. We were not really pushing up too much in the beginning of the game, and that was something we emphasized in timeouts, quarters ending, etc. to set the tone.” This could explain the uptick in defensive intensity that carried over into the second quarter when Delaware was help to those 19 first half points.

POSTS SHOW VERSATILITY AND DEPTH

Virginia Tech’s interior players made a significant impact on the game, with five players contributing both defensively and to an overall 66 points in the paint.

Jessica Dimaro was the star of the game, especially early in the game. She scored 17 points in the first, going 7-for-8 from the field, and finished with 19 points for the game. She played with so much energy, blocking shots and grabbing

She also grabbed 7 rebounds, including 5 offensive rebounds - several of which were off of her own misses.

Carleigh Wenzel said of Dimaro, “She’s just insane. Her athleticism, the way she’s able to find the ball, the way she’s able to track it down, but then just running the floor. She’s super athletic and lanky, and it's easy to find her. And she’s going to call for the ball; that’s not necessarily an issue.”

Duffy said, “Jessie was pretty special tonight. She played with a lot of confidence, played solid. Obviously, confident with her offense and then is extremely disruptive in the paint

Sophomore Aniya Trent started her second straight game and notched four points and three rebounds before fouling out. Coach Duffy pointed once again to Trent’s leadership having a positive impact on her fellow posts, “Aniya Trent’s going to be huge for us throughout the season, but when she didn’t have her best tonight, we had her teammates and younger players helping to step up a little bit. She had a huge smile on her face knowing she has led us in a lot of ways in this post group early in the year, and to have some of the people have her back today was also great to see.”

Amani Jenkins has made significant contributions off the bench to start the season. Duffy said she “thought Amani had another great game, just being solid and playing her role.” Indeed, after scoring 8 points in the season opener, Jenkins continued her surge with10 points and 7 rebounds against Delaware. Even more, Jenkins showed confidence in her offense, making moves past defenders in traffic and even leading a fast break that ended in her passing to Arianna Harris-Mott for a layup.

Regarding her improvement, Jenkins pointed to consistency and her “preparation and practice. Just getting extra reps in. If it is a workout in the morning or after practice, just helping my teammates get better, and they are also helping me get better as well.”

Alyssa Latham made her debut in the first quarter after missing the Maryland exhibition and the opener against NC Central. She played 17 minutes as she works her way back into shape and contributed with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block.

Coach Duffy said, “Thrilled to have Alyssa back. For her to get some good, quality minutes and just working her back into the rotation and getting her in shape a little bit more. It gave us a great boost. She can guard multiple types of players. She can guard on the perimeter. She can guard inside. She’s only going to get better as we go.”

Freshman Arianna Harris-Mott also made her presence felt. She added four points and six rebounds, while blocking five shots. Both Wenzel and Trent gushed over Harris-Mott’s tendency to block them in practice! Duffy echoed her players' thoughts, saying, “Ari comes in and she’s a presence inside, being able to block shots. She has a great knack for doing that.”

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Even acknowledging that it is difficult to use early season non-conference games as a gauge, Virginia Tech’s group of forwards have been impressive. All five have made contributions, whether through scoring, rebounding, blocking shots, or dishing out assists. Defensively, they showed the ability to guard on the perimeter, often having to switch onto opposing guards. This is something that Jenkins pointed out, noting how she was, “working with the guards”

Offensively, they worked the high-low action well and players like Dimaro, Jenkins, and others started transition breaks and passed ahead to teammates. They can also put the ball on the floor and get the basket from outside the lane. The biggest area to work on is avoid the fouls that were called late in the fourth quarter against Delaware. Their depth and versatility already makes this group the strongest set of interior players in Duffy’s tenure. The key will be how they perform during ACC conference play.

VETERAN GUARDS ARE PLAYING WITH CONFIDENCE

Carleigh Wenzel is going into her fifth year and, while Leila Wells and Samyha Suffren have been around for several years, they just really stepped into more prominent roles last year. After a summer of hard work, all three appear poised to have huge seasons.

Carleigh Wenzel was second on the team with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting. She was 2-of-3 from three, showing greater efficiency in her shot selection, and delivered four assists. Even more importantly, she is providing key leadership to the team..

Duffy thought, “Carly got us off to a great start. Hit the four-point play. Just gave us great emotion, emotional energy. Again, she was efficient in what she did on both sides of the ball, which I thought was great. She has been a great leader and example for us. I think the way she is speaking to the younger players is really positive.”

Samyha Suffren seemingly got to the basket at will. If there was a sliver of space available, Suffren and attacked. She was also deadly accurate with her mid-range jumpshot. Overall, she scored 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Defensively, she had two steals, including the bang-bang steal and pass to Wenzel for the layup in the first half.

Wenzel commented on Samyha’s quickness, “We were joking about it in a timeout. She was like, ‘Well, they were just standing there.’ I said, ‘Yeah, Samyha, because your first step is so fast. That’s how all of us feel whenever you take off.’ So, just reminding her quick she is and how versatile she can be.”

Leila Wells had 8 points on 3-of-shotting, including going 1-for-2 from three. She took on the lead point guard duties to start the game. The key to Virginia Tech having a good season is that fact that Wells is shooting seemingly with confidence: she is not hesitating to let fly three pointers when open.

Wenzel highlighted Wells’s offseason work, saying, “Leila had the biggest summer of her career, the ways she’s expanded her game and built her confidence as well.”

She also displayed “tenacity on the defensive end” per Duffy, including an episode when she had to switch off on a big and prevented an interior pass from being made.

Overall, though, Wells may end up being the most improved player from last season, a development that will be key for Virginia Tech’s goals this season.

FRESHMEN / “NEW” GUARDS MAKE AN IMPACT

Behind the top three veteran guards are a set of newcomers who are making early season contributions when called upon.

Kate Sears was the first guard off the bench and immediately took over the point guard duties, running the offense and showing the vision to pass ahead in transition. While Sears is not a newcomer, she is playing for the first time due her injury last season. She scored 7 points, including two left-handed pull up jumpshots - one off a dribble and another in transition - and a three pointer late in the game. Defensively, she drew a charge and blocked a shot on a drive, both of which energized the bench.

Kaleo Anderson showed her own versatility, scoring 6 points, recording 5 rebounds, delivering an assist, and blocking a shot. She plays with craftiness and maturity as a freshman, never getting sped up on offense and locking down opposing players on defense. The fans are getting small glimpses of what could make her special.

Francesca Baldassarre contributed two points and two rebounds. Even more importantly, she played with confidence, willingly handling the ball against pressure and shooting without hesitation.

Natalie Goff, the transfer from Emmanuel, played the final four and half minutes of the game and had her highlight of the game when she secured a weakside offensive rebound off a three point miss and put back up a one-handed bucket.

SHARING THE LOAD

The Hokies shared the ball against Delaware, recording 20 assists on 41 made baskets. In fact, 11 players had at least one assist. In addition, four players were double-digit scorers.

More broadly, when asked about other players sharing the scoring load to take pressure off of Wenzel, Duffy said, “I hope that is the narrative. I hope we can have more people in double figures. We have a group of young guards and we have some veterans, some blending them together… I am not sure how it is going to roll game in game out with rotation. It is so critical to rely on that practice each and every day, and watch them compete against each other. The more people we can have contribute, the better we will be as we go.”

NEXT UP

Virginia Tech welcomes James Madison to Blacksburg on Sunday, November 8 for a 6:00 pm ET game. The game will be streamed on ACCNX.

JMU won the Sun Belt regular season and tournament titles as well as made the NCAA tournament in 2026. It will be an interesting matchup as JMU defeated Virginia Tech last year in Harrisonburg, 65-56. The Hokies had trouble guarding the high screen and roll and stopping weakside rebounds, so playing with great effort and toughness will be key.

Wenzel didn’t shy away from mentioning the loss when discussing the team’s mindset going into the game. “ Kind of just building our confidence but also knowing that they beat us last year, so not letting us forget that,” Wenzel said. “We’re coming in kind of with a chip on our shoulder, but I think we definitely just built our confidence . We’re trying to play with toughness and effort, and that’s something that we’ve done that we’ve done the past two games.”

Michael Turner

Women's Sports Analyst

I have been a Hokie since 1985. I graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in international relations and received my Master’s in international relations as well, which included spending time in Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.