Hokies Drop Ranked Matchups, Bounce Back Against Mustangs | Hokies WBB Weekly Recap

The Hokies walked into Reynolds Coliseum with a chance at taking down a ranked opponent for just the second time this season. Unfortunately, those hopes were quickly extinguished as they found themselves down 17 at the end of the first quarter. It's hard to win a game win perennial deep threat Matilda Ekh went 1-8 from the field, and 0-3 from deep. The absence of the 3-pointer didn't just sit with her, it was felt by the entirety of Virginia Tech. The team shot 18.8% from beyond the arc, the 2nd worst 3-point shooting performance this season after hitting 14.4% of deep shots against Duke. The Hokies showed some fight, winning the second quarter 17-15 but never really able to cut into the huge deficit after the first quarter as they would go on to lose 85-57. This was not the result the team was hoping for before the 3rd ranked team of the country walked into Cassell Coliseum.

Despite dropping another game versus a ranked foe, the Hokies played better and shot better despite playing a much better opponent. The ladies in maroon and orange even took a 30-28 lead with 3:17 left in the 2nd quarter. Carys Baker led the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds, continuing her career year as Ekh and Micheaux added 13 and 10 respectively. The monstrous effort from these three was no match for Hannah Hidalgo. The sophomore sensation dropped a smooth 30 piece, dropping in 10 of her 16 attempts. Hidalgo is second in the country in scoring and shows no signs of slowing down as her and her Notre Dame squad boast a 10-0 record in ACC play. As for the Hokies, a great effort against a great team definitely provided some confidence as they put the cap on their week Sunday against a struggling SMU squad.

Exactly what the doctor ordered. After a dismal week against ranked opponents, Virginia Tech was able to capitalize in a game against an SMU team that had been far below the rest of ACC competition so far this season. The difference in skill was easy to see as four starters were able to amass 10+ points. This included 23 and 21 point performances from Ekh and Wenzel respectively. It's also a big help when a team goes to the line as much as the Hokies did on Sunday afternoon. They went to the stripe 29 times, converting 22 of their chances. This proved to be a monster difference as they went +15 compared to SMU from the free throw line. All things considered this was a very positive win for the Hokies, and proof that Megan Duffy is able to capitalize on bounce back opportunities.

Feb. 6th vs Syracuse @ 6pm

Feb. 9th @ UVA @ 12pm