The Hokie Women Earn their 9th Win, Defeating East Tennessee State 73-55 - A Deep Dive

Note: All Videos are credited to Virginia Tech's Athletics

The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team cruised to a 73-55 win over East Tennessee State, but it was not easy. 

The Buccaneers ventured into Blacksburg Sunday as part of the backend of a men's-women's Hokie double-header looking for the upset. They had played two Power 4 teams prior to the game against Virginia Tech, losing 97-47 to #8 Tennessee and 88-50 to #22 Louisville. This shaped up to be a tune up for Tech before facing Florida State this coming week.  The Bucs did not start the game as if they were someone’s tuneup!!

GAME SUMMARY

The two teams came out trading blows over the first two minutes. Tech scored six seconds  in from a long pass from Mackenzie Nelson to Kilah Freelon running to the basket. Two possessions later, Carleigh Wenzel nailed a mid-range jumper off an inbounds play, and then Nelson knocked down a three point shot to stake Tech to seven points.  The Bucs started just as hot, making two three pointers and a free throw to keep the score knotted.

Unfortunately, the Hokies went cold for the rest of the quarter going three minutes without scoring. In fact, Tech would only score 3 points over the final 4:40 of the first quarter.  No one could buy a mid-range jumpshot! Tech shot 3-for-14, or 21.4%, from the field and missed 5 free throws (3-for-8). East Tennessee was not much better, shooting 5-for-15 (33.3%); however, the Bucs hustled and found second chance opportunities to pull ahead of the Hokies 16-10 at the end of the frame.

The coaching staff might have lit a fire under the Hokies because their defense was much better in the second quarter. There were still issues shooting, but the Hokies started chipping away at the lead with improved defense and rebounding. Samyha Suffren jumpstarted the offense by picking a pocket for a steal and transition layup. After Suffren missed a three-point shot, Mel Daley grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on a mid-range jumper. Daley made a free throw but missed the second one; Kilah Freelon snared the offensive rebound, and after a series of misses, Carleigh Wenzel nailed a two pointer to pull Tech within one at 18-17. Finally, Carys Baker calmly hit a three to tie the game at 20-20 apiece with 5:40 left in the first half.

From there, Tech took control of the game. The Hokies turned up the defensive intensity and effort, and their shooting improved to 47% for the quarter. Tech went into half-time up five at 32-27.

The third quarter was literally the Carys Baker-Mel Daley show. The dynamic duo scored 21 of the team’s 25 points as the Hokies extended the lead to 57-41. Baker scored 13 points off a three pointer, two jumpers, a layup, and four free throws.  Daley scored 8 points off a layup, jumper, and four free throws. The only other Hokies who scored in the third were Freelon and Kayl Peterson, who both scored 2 points apiece. 

Baker especially acknowledged Aniya Trent's role in her productive night, “I think it was just my teammates finding me. I want to give a big applause to Aniya Trent. Coming in as a freshman, I always tell her and Amani to stay in the gym and stay confident. I think Aniya coming into this game, she was opening up a lot of stuff up for me,  which is helping a lot, getting offensive rebounds for us. Huge props to her. She is only a freshman. The ceiling..she has not even touched it yet”

While East Tennessee remained competitive, Virginia Tech cruised to the final 73-55 victory to go 9-3 on the season. Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy said, “A really good win by our team. ETSU and Brenda [Mock Brown] do a great job, the way they are scrappy, they share and move the ball. They’re coming off a nice win. With everything going on with finals, kind of getting to the end of the semester, I was just really proud of the way our team made a couple big runs in the game … and made some big strides.”

Baker led the way with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Daley added 13 points (7 of those came from free throws). Suffren scored 12 points and pilfered team-leading 4 steals.  Wenzel contributed 8 points and 6 defensive rebounds. Mackenzie Nelson chipped in 7 points and dished out a team-high 8 assists. Freelon also scored 7 points and snared 5 rebounds. Peterson and Leila Wells rounded out the scoring with 2 points each.

Coach Duffy specifically pointed to Suffren having a nice all-around game, “Samya quietly just fills up the stat sheet. It kind of happens at different points in the game. She can go on her own little run. I thought she did a great job helping us in a couple of different ways: she got a nice three, she got a steal, got downhill, she was sharing and moving the ball, great defensive pressure. I just celebrated her in the locker room for doing small things that led to, she ended up getting double figures, but I thought the way she impacted the game was really important."

SIX THOUGHTS AFTER THE GAME

Shooting Is Officially a Problem

At times in the first quarter, the Hokies could not buy a mid-range jump shot or layup. Tech shot an overall 41% for the game, but it was only 3-of-14 in the first quarter (21.4%). For the game, Wenzel was 3-10, Nelson 3-9, Daley 3-8, Peterson 1-5, Suffren 5-11, and Wells 1-3. If you take away Baker’s performance, the rest of the team shot combined 35.8%. 

We have to keep in mind that Suffren and Nelson were primarily drivers last year, and their shooting is a work in progress. Both hit three pointers in the game, and Samyha also scored off two mid-range jumpshots. The team needs both to be confident in their outside shot and, indeed, continue to shoot from distance to bring that dimension to the team's offense. Daley and Wenzel will get open looks, so it is imperative that they get hotter as the team enters ACC play.

Free Throws Are Unofficially a Problem

The team shot 16-of-26 from the line against East Tennessee for 62%. This follows on the heels of the Presbyterian game where Tech shot 13-of-26 from the line for 50%. With players like Suffren, Wells, Aniya Trent, and Sophie Swanson getting more opportunities in recent games, they will need to knock down any chances they get at the line. The normally reliable Wenzel, Baker, and Daley have shot 63%, missing 10 free throws, over the last two games.  To her credit, Baker shook off her first two misses to go perfect the rest of tonight’s game, and Wenzel is likely to raise her free throw shooting percentage back into the 80s over the course of the season. Overall, it is crucial that the team improve its overall percentage to ensure missing free throws does not come back to bite it in close games.  

ETSU Outworked Virginia Tech in the First Quarter

It is one thing for shots not to fall; the bigger problem was that East Tennessee State outworked the Hokies early in the game  The Bucs hustled, scrambled, and scrapped for loose balls. There were several instances where Tech players seemingly stopped a Buc possession either by blocking or forcing a miss, only for an East Tennessee player to scramble to save the ball from going out-of-bounds and pass to an open teammate who nailed the second shot. Indeed, East Tennessee outrebounded Tech and earned 7 second chance points in the first quarter.  The Bucs had 12 second-chance points for the game, so the Hokie defense clamped down; however, the Hokies have to avoid getting off to slow starts, especially defensively.

The Hokies Turn up the (Help) Defense

The Hokies got the message during the intermission between the first and second quarter because, from that point on, Tech’s defense was largely on point and turned the game around. The team is susceptible to 1-on-1 drives into the lane; however, the Hokies' help defense was excellent. The guards have the versatility to switch on screens and dribble hand-offs. In addition the forwards are athletic enough to switch onto ball-handlers. Players, especially those on the weakside, know where the ball is and repeatedly jump into position to help position challenge drivers without losing focus of their defensive assignments . There were probably only two situations when East Tennessee beat the defensive rotation for open outside looks.  

According to Baker, "It started with our defense. We were talking about it a lot in the huddle before Coach Duffy got in. We just need to pick up our pressure because that is what we are really confident in is just pressuring the ball. Just getting our confidence starting there and I think that is what opened up stuff on offense. We just know that once we get disciplined..that is what we talk about alot..being disciplined on defense. Once we got back to doing what we do in practice, it kind of helps our offense."

Mel Daley echoed that and said the key to the turnaround was that, “We were in the passing lanes . I think we were pressuring. Not allowing them to see anything. We were being aggressive.”

The message to the team? Coach Duffy said, "Pretty calm. I thought we were a little bit tentative with our defensive game plan and, after that first quarter, we turned up the intensity. We were just almost letting them dictate between the dribble drive and some of their staggers, dictating what they wanted to do. I think we just kind of turned the pressure up a little bit in the right spots. After a couple of days of practice, it just took us a little bit longer to get going than i would have liked to.”

Aniya Trent Continues Her Ascendance

The two freshmen forwards Aniya Trent and Amani Jenkins have increasingly got more time. It feels like they are alternating who gets the spotlight. It was Trent’s turn against East Tennessee. She played 21 minutes, more than Freelon and Peterson.  Trent only took one shot and did not score, but she pulled down 7 rebounds, including 3 offensive rebounds. Trent also 

More importantly, she played great defense and showed poise on offense. Defensively, she was awesome at the point of screens. Trent stepped out and hedged on screens and then recovered back to her player.  She helped her teammates by challenging drivers who got into the lane and bodied up her own assignment.  She had three key blocks to snuff out East Tennessee scoring opportunities. On offense, Trent did not try to do too much and, in fact, was second on the team with three assists. At least twice, she got a nice pass but could not do anything with it. Instead of panicking, traveling, or turning the ball over, she delivered nice passes to Baker who scored off Trent’s poise. 

Coach Duffy praised Trent, “I thought Aniya did awesome. She is one of those players coming off the bench who does just small things that are huge for us. She had 2-3 blocks as well, just kind of protecting the paint for us. Grabbed a couple offensive rebounds and big defensive rebounds when they were crashing hard. For a young player getting some good minutes, I am really proud of the way she is handling herself and continuing to improve. Her voice is strong and she is doing all the things we are asking her to do.”

It will be interesting to see how her, and Jenkins', playing time evolves during the ACC season,  but Trent is showing that she is not a liability on defense and can make the right plays on offense.

The ACC Season Truly Starts Now

While there is one more non-conference game against Radford to cap off 2025, the Hokies dive into ACC play now. Tech travels to Tallahassee this coming Thursday (December 18) for a game against the Seminoles. FSU is coming off a 75-70 loss to Charlestown, lost by 22 points to the same Florida team that Tech defeated, and lost by 10 to Missouri State.  Tech has the same 9-3 record it had at this point last season. 

Coach Duffy discussed the mindset preparing to go on the road, saying, “Coaches will work hard to get the scout ready. You have to bring a different toughness on the road. YOu have to bring a mindset to bring the small things. There are alot of things you can’t control when you get on the road. Doing those small things together. I am going to lean on our upperclassmen who have been there, done that. AS well as our coaching staff. Having some going down and getting an ACC win.”

The Seminoles look vulnerable, but the Hokies have to take advantage of their opportunities if they want to start the new year with momentum in the ACC.

Youtube Video of Condensed Game