Virginia Tech Women Overpower Boston College for 500th Program Win at Cassell Coliseum - A Deep Dive

GAME SUMMARY

After its dominating rout of Syracuse last week, Virginia Tech  (13-5, 3-3) overpowered Boston College, 78-56, for the program’s 500th win at Cassell Coliseum and a statement two-game winning streak.

Boston College came into the game as the last place team in the ACC with an 0-4  record in conference and  4-14 overall. The Eagles had suffered losses by 51 to Duke and UNC, 34 points loss to Notre Dame, 26 pts to UVA, and 3 points to Pittsburgh. It is one thing to lose big to the top teams in the ACC; however, Boston College had also lost to teams such as Quinnipiac (NET ranking 79), Murray State (NET 94), Bryant (NET 114), Holy Cross (NET 170), Merrimack (NET 238), and Northeastern (NET 289). This was an opportunity for the Hokies to add to their resume, especially after the heart-breaking loss in Chestnut Hill last year. 

Sophomore guard Leila Wells kicked off the scoring for Tech with a three, which gave the Hokies the lead they would never relinquish.  After a Boston College score made the score 3-2, the Hokies went through a spell of being discombobulated:  Forward Carys Baker picked up an offensive foul in a crowd and threw away the ball on the next possession; Tech was called for a back court violation on a ball that seemed to be knocked away by Boston College; and guard Carleigh Wenzel picked up an offensive foul dribbling through a crowd and then committed a turnover. Half-way through the first quarter, the score was still knotted at 3-2. Despite these miscues on offense, the Hokie defense made life difficult for the Eagles. They switched, helped, and hedged aggressively. Most of Boston College’s shots attempts were coming late in the shock clock, including at least one actual shot clock violation.

Then Tech hit a switch on offense at the 5:34 mark in the first quarter and took over the game, courtesy of an 11-0 run. Wenzel drove down the lane and was fouled making her layup. Even though Wenzel missed the ensuing free throw, Forward Kilah Freelon grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled on the put back attempt. She knocked down those free throws as well two others after being fouled again. Guard Samyha Suffren hit a pull up jumper, and then Wenzel drove and found Baker for a kick back three and made a cross-court pass to guard Mel Daley for a mid-range two. In the span of three minutes, Tech had exerted its dominance to carve out a 16-4 lead.

After a nice block from Freelon, Suffren drove the lane for a layup. Boston College then fouled Daley on two consecutive possessions, resulting in four made free throws. Only a late three pointer and baseline jumpshot by the Eagles allowed them to close the gap to 22-9. Nevertheless, Tech had taken firm control of the game.

Boston College was more competitive in the second quarter, but Tech continued to dominate. Freelon rebounded a missed three by Wenzel and then hit a cutting point guard Mackenzie Nelson for a layup. Wenzel was fouled on a pull jump and made both free throws. Daley hit a driving layup and then Freelon was fouled making a layup off a lob pass from Suffren.  The Hokies continued to play stellar defense, forcing travels and missed shots. The main scoring for the Eagles came from free throws off of random fouls.

Over the course of the second quarter, Boston College made the random play to be competitive, but Virginia Tech continued to knock down buckets. Leila Wells scored off a transition pass for a  layup. Freelon scored on a layup. Shooting guard Sophie Swanson nailed her second three pointer of the season. Nelson hit a driving layup and then Wells blocked a shot and hit Swanson who was fouled on a drive.  The Hokies ended the first half leading 41-22.

The rest of the game was a bit of a messy affair due to the increasing number of foul calls. It was also marred by an injury to Freelon less than two minutes in the third quarter. However, Tech picked up offensively and defensively where it left off to start the second half.  Nelson made a full court layup and Wenzel hit a pull up jumpshot. Freshman forward Aniya Trent then rebounded a miss by Wenzel for an offensive putback. Missed shots, turnovers, and more fouls prevented Tech from creating greater separation. However, Tech’s defense forced a five second call, a pass out of bounds, as well as a charge. In addition, fouls by Boston College led to free throws by Wenzel and Baker. Tech capped off the third quarter with Nelson driving and dishing to Trent for a layup on the weakside, and then Suffren making two plays for Baker: she hit Baker for a layup and then two possessions later dropped a pass to Baker in transition for a splash three!

Virginia Tech started the fourth quarter with a 61-37 lead. It was just a matter of the final margin and whether the team would earn biscuits for the Hokie faithful! Boston College actually out-scored Tech 19-16 in a foul-infested fourth, but it was not enough. The fivesome of Wenzel, Wells, Suffren, Daley, and freshman forward Amani Jenkins each made layups whereas Baker added yet another shot from beyond the arc to close out the 78-56 win.

SIX THOUGHTS AFTER THE GAME:

Mentality Coming off the Two Losses Leading to Two Wins

The Hokies have now won two games in a row after the difficult losses to Miami and Louisville the previous week. However, Virginia Tech didn’t just win these games; it routed both Syracuse and Boston College, respectively, by 20- and 22-points. What was different in the two dominating wins?

There was a stark elevation in the level of intensity and effort on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court, something that both Carleigh Wenzel and Carys Baker pointed to:

Wenzel said, “Just our intensity. Our effort to rebound. Effort on both ends of the court. Defensive rebounds. Offensive rebounds. Just being a little more tougher on both ends of the court and letting our defense kind of rally our offense”

Echoing that focus on intensity, especially on defense, Baker said, “I think our intensity. Going into practice. I think. We just had a lot of discipline. We started defensively, we knew our intensity had to rise. And it always starts with our defense, and I think coming into every game now, we know we need to start on the defensive end. We need to start with rebounding. We had a pretty complete game. I mean, obviously, we had mistakes against Syracuse, but I think in that game we had a lot of people [who] were coming in and they were helping the bigs rebound and I think that was huge and it kind of gained a lot of momentum going into this game. Obviously, we had mistakes and we are going to go into practice on Tuesday and we are going to work on that going into SMU. I think that there is a lot of stuff from this game and last game that we can say we are pretty happy with.”

Suffocating Defense

The Hokie defense was suffocating and forced Boston College to work for everything.   Tech defenders were everywhere, aggressively switching or hedging on screens. If a Boston College player started to drive, there was a help defender.  Tech defenders even made it difficult for Eagles to drive in 1-on-1 situations.

When Tech went on that offensive run in the first quarter, Boston College remained stuck on four points until the 1:11 mark in the quarter!!  Wenzel pointed to the intensity on the defensive end that allowed Tech to pull away. Wenzel said, “I think we did a good job pressuring the ball on both sides of the court.  I think Leila, and Samyha, Mac, they do a really good job just setting the tone for us and picking up the ball full court. That is not easy. That is not something that you usually you can do for full games. Things like that. I think they do a really good job starting us off with that and then continuing that with the offense on the other end. It really gets us going for sure.“

The Hokies’ defense forced 9 turnovers.and made other statement plays that stymied Boston College over the course of the game:

• Tech forced a least three travels by Boston College players
• Tech forced at least one shot clock violation as well as several near shot clock violations that left Boston College trying to get off difficult shots 
• Tech’s Mackenzie Nelson drew two charges, including one in transition that stopped a potential score.
• Tech forced a 5-second call on a Boston College inbounds play.
• Kilah Freelon erased a drive with a block.
• Leila Wells made a statement block that led to Hokie points on the other end
• The Hokies forced a Boston College pass into the backcourt that went out of bounds.
• Aniya Trent hedged on a screen that allowed Samyha Suffren tie up a Boston College ball handler for a jump ball that went to the Hokies.

When asked about getting in passing lanes, Wenzel said, “I think it’s again what leads us. I think whenever we can come out and be strong defensively, I think it opens up a lot for us, just in transition and things like that, especially if the guards are rebounding , that is a big emphasis for us right now. If the guard can get in and rebound and push the ball up quicker, so it does not have to get outletted. Again, I think just our intensity on that end and being able to all get in there for the loose balls and things like that. That is something we have been working on for the past week and half.”

Boston College shot 28.6% in the first quarter and 25% in the third quarter. Overall, Boston College only made 14 total shots from the field on 35% shooting for the game. Even when Boston did score from the field, it felt random. In fact, the Eagles never had a run of more than four points in a tow until the fourth quarter.

Baker emphasized communication as a key factor in Tech’s defensive performance. Baker said, “It starts with our communication. I think that it is huge. Obviously in the second half, we are away from the coaches. We talk about that a lot during practice. The five on the court need to talk. We say it all the time. Coach  Duffy emphasizes it all that time, so we know that coming into games, coming into practice, it needs to start with the five on the court. There are going to be mistakes and there are going to be things that happen, but if we can get into our huddle and talk about that and adjust it quickly, I think that is huge for us. Obviously, we talk about rebounding a lot. That is a major emphasis for us, and so these past two games, we have definitely emphasized it and have gotten a lot better with it. I think going into SMU, going into practice, we need to keep getting better at it.”

Emphasis on Points in the Paint

Virginia Tech placed a significant emphasis on hustling, working on the offensive boards,and scoring in the paint. Indeed, Tech scored 40 of its 78 points in the paint.

KIlah Freelon was on her way to a double double with 9 points and 9 rebounds to start the second half when she injured her ankle in a chaotic possession early in the third. Four of her rebounds were on the offensive end where she pressured the opposing Eagle defense and even drew fouls on her putbacks. She also contributed two assists and one block

When asked about Tech’s size advantage inside, Baker said, “I think it starts with Kilah. She is a huge leader for us. I think that high-low game that we were talking about a lot during this week of practice, I think that was definitely an emphasis for us. I think having Ki in that paint and having her just her voice, having everything that her presence, I think has been huge for us. So, I think we knew coming in that there were going to be some advantages for us in the paint and in these past couple of games, we had a really good job getting paint touches  just getting into the paint. Even our guards, like Samyah, Carleigh, Mac…just getting into the paint and kicking out, or just getting a layup for themselves, I think was really good for us

With Freelon’s injury, both Aniya Trent and Amani Jenkins saw more minutes. Trent scored four points off a penetrating assist from Mackenzie Nelson and an offensive rebound putback.  What was nice to see on Nelson's drive is how Trent saw Nelson get the ball on her side and then moved to the weakside blow to give Nelson a driving lane.  Trent also grabbed four total rebounds, including two offensive rebounds. Unfortunately, Amani Jenkins was in and out of the lineup due to foul trouble, but she did score 2 points on 1-of-1 shooting and added a defensive rebound and an assist.

The forwards were not the only ones attacking the offensive glass. Baker nabbed two offensive rebounds and Wells grabbed the rebound off one of her misses, with both scoring on putbacks.  Mel Daley and Samyha Suffren both contributed two offensive rebounds, while Mackenzie Nelson grabbed one. 

Depth / Diversity of Guard Play on Display

Against Boston College, the diversity and versatility of the guard play was on full display. All of them contributed in various capacities.

Carys Baker led the Tech line up with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-8 from three. I include her here even though she is an inside-outside forward because of her perimeter prowess.  She worked hard on the boards as well, securing two offensive rebounds that also resulted in fouls sending her to the line. Baker also added an assist.

Carleigh Wenzel was second on the team with 10 points on an efficient 3-for-6 shooting.  She played under control and recognized when the drives were not there. In fact, she scored on pull-up jumpers and finished her two layup drives, drawing a foul for an “and-1” on her first layup and making her second one under duress. Wenzel also contributed a game-high 4 assists and 3 rebounds.

Mackenzie Nelson scored 6 points on 3-of-5 shooting and added 1 offensive rebound and 2 assists. However, she was in and out of the lineup due to foul trouble. Indeed, she fouled out late in the fourth quarter. On a positive note, Nelson continues to play excellent defense, including drawing two more charges in the game! After the game, I commented to Head Coach Megan Duffy that “Not only is Nelson the queen of assists, she is also the queen of drawing charges.” Duffy laughed and agreed!

Leila Wells started her third game of the year. She scored 7 total points that included a three pointer to open the scoring for the game.  She also dished out 2 assists and had a rebound of her own missed shot which she put back.

Samyha Suffren flashed her diverse game and continues to earn significant playing time as she knocks off any rust from her missed time last season. She is good for at least one steal a game that results in a transition layup.  She is even mixed up her pace on her drives into the lane. mid-range. Suffren’s biggest area of improvement is becoming more consistent with her mid-range jumpshot.

Mel Daley only played 12 and 8 minutes respectively in the two previous games against Louisville and Syracuse, with Leila Wells starting in Daley’s place against Syracuse and Boston College. If a message was being sent, it seems as if she received it.  She joined Baker and Wenzel in double figures with 10 points and was very active on the boards to the tune of grabbing four defensive and two offensive rebounds.  Daley actually could have had a bigger statline but she missed two open layups. She also missed a wide open Trent for a possible layup on a screen and roll, opting instead for a mid-range shot attempt. In any case, her defensive effort and hustle stood out.

Sophie Swanson got more playing time, playing 9 minutes and scoring 4 points. After what might have felt like an agonizing struggle where she had only hit 1 three pointer all season (versus 21 attempts), Swanson rose up the first half for a nice clean three that sent the fans and bench celebrating.  She also contributed three defensive rebounds.

Speaking of three point struggles, the team is shooting an erratic 28% from beyond the arc. Against Boston College, the Hokies were 5-for-18. When asked what needs to happen to improve the shooting from deep, Baker said, “We think about it obviously, but I don’t think we can go into a game and during the flow of the game get frustrated with it. Obviously, talking for myself, I can’t get frustrated not hitting shots on the perimeter. I know my teammates, they have a lot of confidence in me. They instill it in me all the time. Coach Duffy instills it all the time. And then just talking to Coach Jenn about the versatility that we have. I think obviously we have not been super-efficient from the perimeter, but we have so many other things that we are  really good at. We have a lot of people like Carleigh and Samyha who can get into the pain. We have Kilah who can post up. So, we have a lot of other things we can do, so, obviously, we are going to get in the gym on Tuesday and we are going to work because that is what we do and we can’t really think about that in the flow of the game.“

 When asked if this diversity in guard play is what she had in mind, Coach Duffy said, “We have been working on it for really the last week or so. I am very happy with the progress we made this week. I think when we put this team together, we talked about 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 now, it doesn’t matter who’s starting, it doesn’t matter if it is 10 minutes you get to play or 30 minutes you get to play, you have to be producing for us, whether that is getting a rebound like Carys mentioned, whether that is being a defensive stopper, or hitting a big basket. I think we were all a little bit of our own selfish world with that. This game is too hard to play if you are only doing it on your own, so I am very proud."

Coach Duffy continued discussing the depth and versatility of the guards. "Obviously, Carleigh and Mackey are leading us in that backcourt, but you sprinkle in Mel, Leila, Samyha. You know, Sophie hit a three today. The more we can think like that, to Cary’s point, it is difficult to guard, and it has nothing to do with threes. It’s positive plays. Just getting them to believe in that, being a little bit more stern with that. We really talked about the discipline of this team. Like any team in the country, the more players you can help contribute, the better you will be. I think they have taken it to heart. I think even our scorers are looking at their games a little differently too. It is not just I’m shooting shots, I want to take a better, quality shot. I can turn down a three to get to my pull-up or I can shoot the three on this one because the energy of the ball moving, and that is where Carys, Carleigh, and even Mackey, and Kilah in her role have all dug in a little bit deeper on that.  They look more confident doing it. Again, numbers and percentages are one thing, but the way they’re evolving as players is the most important thing. I am happy with that from our week. At the same time, this is a humbling game, and it can change quickly, so you have to be so in tune with staying focused on that and staying hungry to do that regardless of our opponent in the week.”

Reflecting back on the Miami and Louisville losses, Duffy said, “I think when we got into trouble in those games, the ball was sticking, and we were not fluidly sharing the ball. We have some players on our roster who are three-level scorers,and I think we were getting a little one dimensional. You could see them trying so hard to make the perfect play. In some ways, we have been more disciplined but we have also tried to open it to hey like there are different ways you can be successful. You guys harp on the three point shooting and we are the opposite. We are harping on really good quality plays. When do we need to get it inside? What does our shot selection look like? Even today, the ball was moving and people were getting quality shots off it, and that was super positive.”

Too Many Fouls

The game had an uneven flow as the officials called 48 fouls:  Boston College was called for 22 while Virginia Tech was called for 26. In fact, 23 of Boston College’s 56 points (41%) came from free throws. Mackenzie Nelson and Amani Jenkins fouled out for Virginia Tech, while Wenzel finished with four fouls. For the Eagles, Athena Tomlinson (#0) fouled out, and three other players finished the game with four fouls.

Some of the fouls felt unfortunate (several seemed to hit the unlucky Amani Jenkins):

• A Boston College player lost the ball in the air in the first half. Carleigh Wenzel jumped to try and grab the ball but hit the Eagle player’s hands.
• Mel Daley came down with a defensive rebound but immediately lost it in a crowd resulting in a sudden change and a foul of Jenkins.
• Jenkins was called for another foul in what could be called a scrum/chaos.
• A Boston College player literally fell down in the 4th quarter, and, yes, a Jenkins was called for her fifth foul.

To Tech’s credit, the Hokies made 16-of-their 18 free throw attempts, good for 89%. 

Regarding how the Hokies dealt with the fouls, Daley said, “I thought the game was called a little differently tonight, which is ok. I talked to our team after the game that you have to learn how to adjust to that. They shot a ton of free throws. We did as well. Two nights ago, when we were at Syracuse, it was a slugfest. I mean bodies on bodies. They let us play, They called certain fouls. Today a little bit of change of style, it was more five out and some cuts and some different things. That is when you have to lock into your discipline of you might not be able to hit as hard. You have to still be really good defensively, but they are calling it a certain way…  To our defense, we made our free throws, which is good, but we just gave them too many.

Too Many Tech Turnovers

Even though Virginia Tech shot well and largely played efficiently, it still turned the ball over 18 times (Boston College had 6 steals). Some of these miscues came from attempted passes or drives into tight spaces around the basket.  When asked what Boston College did to cause the turnovers, Carleigh Wenzel said, “I think that is what they do. They have a defense called FSU. It is literally just them jumping passing lanes. It is not a discipline thing. They are trying to mess you up, get you on your toes. That is on us. We have to be more disciplined. Fake a pass to make a pass. Two hands on everything. That is what they do. That is what they are known for, so just coming out being more disciplined on that end.”

Tech also committed at least 3-4 travels, typically when attacking a closeout by an Eagle defender. Coach Duffy said, “We saw more travels than we have seen in a long time. It is hard for players because they are going to get frustrated with that, but we are trying to all preach together like drive your pivot foot down one more half second and put the ball down early and prevent, if they call two of them, let’s not make it a third or fourth.

INJURY UPDATE

KIlah Freelon - When Freelon rolled her ankle in a chaotic possession early in the third, it was easy to think she might be out for a while.  She needed assistance to walk to the locker room; however, she did make it back to the bench late in the fourth quarter. According to Coach Duffy, “she rolled her ankle. We could have put her back in the game, but we decided we got the lead pretty handily and it was not worth it. Just a tough play out in transition. Hit somebody’s foot. She will enjoy the next day and half, and hopefully be ready to go.”

Kayl Peterson - Peterson did not play against Boston College after taking a nasty kick to the face in the Syracuse game. Duffy described how “Kayl took a helluva hit at Syracuse. She got popped in the face as you can see with her bruising and so, 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.”

ODDS AND ENDS

• The Virginia Tech women's program won its 500th game at Cassell Coliseum.
• Virginia Tech shot 50.9% for the game, including establishing a 66.7% first quarter and 57.1% fourth quarter.
• Tech had 40 points in the paint compared to Boston College's 16.
• The Hokies had 6 fast break points; the Eagles had 0 fast break points.
• Boston College only made 14 baskets from the field. 23 of its 56 points came from the free throw line.
• The Tech defense held Boston College to 28.6% shooting in the first quarter, 25% in the third quarter, and 35% for the game.
• Tech shot a season-best 89.5 percent from the free throw line. It made 17-of-18 free throws.
• Mackenzie Nelson leads the ACC and is 8th in country with 3.26 assist to turnover ratio. She is second in the ACC in total assists.
• Kilah Freelon is 8th in the ACC in total rebounds and 2nd in total offensive rebounds.
• Samyha Suffren is 10th in the ACC in total steals and 11th in average steals per game with 1.9.
• All 11 available players on the roster saw playing time; 10 of those players scored.
• Tech has dominated Boston College at Cassell Coliseum with a 11-4 record against the Eagles, including seven straight.
• The Hokies are tied with three other ACC teams with a 3-3 conference record. These 4 teams occupy the 8th through 11th spot in the conference standings.
• Virginia Tech is at 51 in the NCAA NET rankings. It has a 1-2 Quad 1 record, 0-3 Quad 2 record, and a 3-0 Quad 3 record.

WHAT IS NEXT?

The Hokies, now 3-3 in the ACC, brought great intensity and effort in two overpowering victories against Syracuse and Boston College. As Coach Duffy said, the immediate next step is “rest now. They (the players) have given a lot of effort this last week, and I love them for that. Just their fight and their grit. They have been coached hard. They have risen to the challenge. Even in the game today, we challenged them again, and they got it going, so I am very proud of them, so it is rest, recovery… and we will get back to work on Tuesday.”

The Hokies travel to Carleigh Wenze’s home state of Texas to play SMU on Thursday, January 15 at 7:30 EST (televised on ACCNX).  The Mustangs are 7-9, 0-5 in the ACC, with conference losses to Syracuse, Virginia, Louisville, Georgia Tech,  and NC State. However, as Wenzel said, “Obviously it is going to be tough. On the road, any game is tough in the ACC.’ So, according to Coach Duffy, the focus on the Hokies is to “Get better and really lock in on what we didn’t do great today and focus on SMU. I know they have a lot of new players this year, so we will be learning them and bringing the toughness on the road. It is hard to win on the road; hopefully, the Syracuse mindset we had will give us some confidence going into Carleigh’s home stay in Texas.”

Tech has 12 games left in the regular season to build a resume for post-season consideration. The SMU game is the third matchup in this current seven game stretch of winnable games before playing #23 Notre Dame in February. So far, the Hokies are 2-0 to start this segment of their schedule, including getting revenge for two of the losses that hurt their resume last year. 

Youtube Video of Full Game