Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball Gets Gritty 68-58 Win Against Cal - A Deep Dive

Virginia Tech ventured to the West Coast for its first swing across the country to face Stanford and California as  ACC opponents.  Coming off its impressive showing against Stanford, the Hokies faced a California team that had won 7 of its last 9 games, including impressive wins against Notre Dame and UVA. Nevertheless, an undeterred Hokie squad showed toughness, discipline, and poise in gutting out a 68-58 win over the Cal Bears.

GAME SUMMARY 

First Quarter

The game started with Cal having a clear game plan: with 6’5” Sakima Walker in their arsenal, the Cal Bears immediately looked inside to her. The Hokies took the defensive approach of fronting her. On their second possession, Cal tried a lob that took Walker deep toward the basket. Tech’s Kilah Freelon recovered and made the shot difficult and blocked it from behind. That set the tone defensively for the remainder of the game.

Tech struck first with a baseline out of bounds play for an easy layup by Carys Baker. Two possessions later, Cal scored on a pick and roll into the lane for Walker. Meanwhile, the Hokies looked for opportunities to drive, but the Bears met those drives with blocks.  Undeterred, Freelon got a post-entry pass, turned to face Walker, and then drove by her for a layup to put Tech up 4-3 at the 6:16 mark. 

One again, Cal looked for a lob into Walker, but Carys Baker tipped it away. After a turnover by Virginia Tech, Cal’s Aliyahna Morris set a backscreen for Walker and then popped out to make a three pointer to put Cal up 6-4. Turnovers and missed shoots derailed a bit of Tech’s offense. Indeed both teams were a bit discombobulated. Baker created an offensive rebound opportunity and then got the ball back for a short jumper in the lane. Baker blocked Cal’s next shot and then Freelon grabbed an offensive rebound off a Suffren missed layup for a put back, and Tech was up 8-6.  Cal went right back inside and scored along with the foul to put the Bears back up 9-8. 

The Hokies came right and kept attacking the rim, though Cal’s length turned those shots away until Samyha Suffren drew a foul. Her free throws put Tech back up. The first quarter ended with Cal up 13-12 after a backdoor score by Cal and then a Suffren layup.

Second Quarter

Neither team shot particularly well in the first quarter. Tech was 5-for-17 for 27% whereas Cal was 5-for-13 (38%). The main difference was that early three by the Bears. Both teams began to heat up to start the second as they traded blows.. After another screen and roll score to Walker, Daley nailed a mid-range jumper. Cal came back with a post score only to be matched by a driving layup by Mackenzie Nelson to make 17-16 Cal.  Then Cal struck twice in a row - a drive by Lulu Twidale and a jump shot in lane by Walker gave the Bears a 5-point lead, their largest of the game.

The Hokies began to slowly take over. Carleigh Wenzel hit Freelon for a pick and roll that drew the second foul on Walker.  Wenzel came back with a driving layup on a baseline inbounds play. Daley hit another mid-range in transition. Then Sufften heated up for the first mid-range of many to come and just like that, the Hokies had reclaimed a 24-23 lead.

Part of the story of the second quarter was Tech’s defense.  Wenzel forced an offensive foul on Walker.  A lineup of Wenzel, Freelon, Sufften, Daley, and Aniya Trent ratcheted up the defensive intensity  causing tips, forced airballs, and charges. The highlight was two-play sequence by Trent: she short-circuited a Cal high-low effort by tipping away the entry pass and then came right back and stripped Cal of the ball.

Meanwhile, the Hokies Sufften and Daley continued to put on a mid-range clinic. After a nice steal by Nelson, the ball ended up in Freelon’s hands who hit Sufften on the opposite side of the court for a layup to put Tech up 30-23. After both teams essentially traded free throws, Tech went into half-time with a 33-29 lead.

Third Quarter

A Leila Wells baseline drive and dish to Freelon in the lane put the Hokies immediately up 35-29. Then Tech drew the third foul on Walker on a moving screen, and she was effectively neutralized for much of the game’s remainder. Even when Cal showed it was not going away with another inside score, Tech came right back with Baker posting up and then Wells getting her own miss for a foul. She hit one of her free throws to stake Tech to a 38-31 lead. Unfortunately, a 7-0 run by Cal, including a foul on a Cal 3-pt shooter and then another three point play for Cal tied the game up at 38-38 with 4:41 left in the third.

After a 3-pt miss by Cal, Wenzel hit Freelon in transition who was fouled; her two free throws gave Tech back the lead. The teams traded a series of free throws to finish the 3rd quarter with the Hokies clinging to a 34-33 lead.

Fourth Quarter

On the first play of the fourth, Cal went into its star Walker, who scored to give Cal its last lead of the game. As it has in so many of its wins this season, the Hokies took control of the game in the fourth quarter. After struggling with her shot for much of the game, Carleigh Wenzel came off a screen for a wide open three from the wing. Bang. Tech had reclaimed the lead for good.  On the next possession, Sufften stole an entry pass intended for Walker and sped coast to coast for a layup to extend the margin.

As soon as Cal fought back with a backscreen to Walker for a layup, Wenzel came down and drove, only to be fouled and go to the line. Every Cal move, though. was matched by Tech that maintained its breathing room. 

Then came the separation that sealed the game:

• With the shot clock winding down, Sufften drove for a layup and scored.
• After another steal by Suffren, Wenzel drove in transition and drew the fourth foul on Walker. Wenzel hit the two free throws to put Tech up 8.
• Baker posts up only to be fouled by Walker, sending her to the bench for good with 5:32 left. Baker made both free throws.
• On the ensuing inbounds play, Daley drove into the lane from the wing only to be fouled, sending Cal’s Miracle Sheppard to the bench with 5 fouls. Two free throws later, the Hokies were up 10.
• Then came the play: After forcing a miss by Cal, Nelson got the defensive rebound and drove the length of the court. She missed the layup, but Daley was there for the offensive rebound and putback.

The Hokies had gone on a 10-0 run to stake out its largest lead of the day at 12 with 5 minutes left. Despite some heroics from Cal, the Hokies kept the Bears at bay with defense, free throws, and a layup by Baker with the shot clock at one to essentially seal the game. Tech completed its West Coast swing with a decisive 68-58 win.

SIX THOUGHTS AFTER THE GAME

Baker and Wenzel - Law Firm Leads the Way

Carys Baker and Carleigh Wenzel did not have dominant nights, but they led the way. Baker scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. She added five defensive rebounds and a block early in the game that helped set the defensive tone against Cal’s inside attack. Baker didn’t get it going from deep, but she scored in different ways around the basket.

Carleigh Wenzel was the team's second leading scorer with 15 points. She was 2-for-10 from the field, including that three pointer in the third that gave Tech back the lead after Cal had closed the gap. She did most of her scoring damage from the line where she was a perfect 10-for-10. Wenzel also contributed 3 defensive rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block that stifled a Cal attempt at the rim.

Kilah Freelon - Another Double Double

Kilah Freelon achieved yet another double-double, her fifth of the year and third in ACC play. She scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Three of her rebounds were on the offensive end. Freelon also added 1 assist, 1 block, and was the team leader with 4 steals. Amazingly, she only picked up one foul despite having to deal with a sustained effort by Cal to go inside.

Freelon did get an injury scare in the fourth quarter when she got her arm entangled with Cal players on a rebound attempt.  She immediately walked away from the scrum holding her arm in what appeared to be a popped shoulder. Tech was up four at that time with seven minutes left, which could have been a crucial blow to not only this game but to the rest of the season. Fortunately, she returned to the game unscathed but with a wrap on her shoulder. 

The Dynamic Duo Comes Through - Suffren and Daley Show Off

Quality teams need more than just their stars to step up, and two players in particular did so in a big way for Virginia Tech.

Entering the game in the first quarter when neither team was playing with any flow, Superwoman Suffren went into “Samyha Mode.” She grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a Baker jumpshot and then attacked the rim from the wing only to be fouled for two made free throws.  Sufften then closed out the first with a layup for two more.

She really made her mark starting in the second quarter when she had 8 of Tech’s 10 points during a stretch when the Hokies reclaimed control of the game. Throughout the rest of the game, she hit layups as well pull-up mid-range shots both in the half-court and transition. Overall, Sufften scored a team-high and career-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including going 5-for-7 from the free throw line.

Not only did she lead the team in scoring, Suffren's defense on Lulu Twidale, Cal’s leading scorer at 15.2 points per game, was fantastic.  It felt like anytime her player got a pass, she was on the ball immediately.  Suffren helped hold Twidale to four points on 1-for-8 shooting and forced 7 turnovers. About Sufften, Coach Duffy said, “I thought Samyha Sufften was incredible on Lulu. I mean, that kid can shoot it. Just made it as difficult as possible….I thought we were really disciplined. Samyha was the queen of that today, just the way she ballhawked and never made a mistake going under a screen.”

Mel Daley also made significant contributions to the win as she continued her resurgence. Since the Louisville game on January 4, her minutes have fluctuated to the point that, over her last ten games before this West Coast trip, Daley had averaged 13 minutes per game. However, she played 28 and 25 minutes respectively against Stanford and California and she made them count.

Against California, she scored 8 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-2 from the free throw line. She also added 1 steal and 3 defensive rebounds. It was her lone offensive rebound and stick back in the second half that capped a 10-0 run and effectively sealed the game.

Together, the duo of Sufften and Daley personally outscored Cal 12-0 during a three minute stretch in the second quarter that pulled Tech from being down three to being up seven.

Aniya Trent and Kayl Petersen - Deserve a Spotlight

Aniya Trent and Kayl Petersen only played 8 minutes and 4 minutes, respectively, but both made contributions in their time on the court that helped the Hokies win.

Aniya Trent showed good recognition on defense. She consistently found and bodied up her player. She switched or moved into help position as needed and kept an eye on the ball. She also hedged and then rotated back to her play in the lane.  She had two key defensive plays in the second quarter that helped Tech pull ahead. She drew an illegal screen on one play. In another sequence, she hedged high above the three point line, recovered back and was then caught on the topside of her defender. Cal tried to work a high-low combination into the low post, but Trent tipped away the attempted entry pass.

Trent also came in during the fourth quarter when Kilah Freelon went out with the hurt shoulder and held her own against the 6 '4 Walker, forcing a travel, and later blocked another Cal shot.

Kayl Petersen epitomized the intelligence and grit that Coach Duffy is demanding of her players. Petersen knows her role in the offense and smartly set screens and moved the ball. A play in the first quarter, however, shows her effort. Petersen hedged high on a screen and then recovered back as the guard drove through the defenders. When Suffren tipped away the ball, Kayl dove into the loose ball scrum, secured the ball, and got it to Nelson.

Defense Was the Key to the Game

Cal had the players and the game plan to beat Virginia Tech:  the Bears were going to post up Sakima Walker. When Tech fronted the post early, Cal tried to lob the ball inside, but Tech held strong. Even though Walker scored 11 points, Tech forced her into uncomfortable situations that led to her committing two illegal screens and, ultimately, fouling out in only fifteen minutes of playing time. 

Cal tried throwing a heavy dose of screen and rolls and high-low action at the Hokies. There were times that the help was late, but Virginia Tech worked to deny Cal easy opportunities. Hokie guards Wenzel, Nelson, and Wells fought through the screens. Suffren made life miserable for the Bears. Trent tipped away passes inside. Nelson flew in to deflect passes.  Baker and Freelon contained the size that Cal tried to throw at them.  When one of Tech’s forwards like Trent or Freelon had to hedge high, a teammate dropped down to take a defender until the forward could recover. 

Overall, Virginia Tech held Cal to 16 or fewer points in every quarter, for an average of 14.4 points per quarter. Tech also held Cal to 38.3% (18-of-47) shooting and 18.8% (3-of-16) from three  for the game.  The Hokies also forced 22 turnovers, including 12 steals, and scored 22 points of those turnovers.  Freelon had 4 steals while Nelson added 3 and Trent took 2. Sufften, Daley, and Petersen each contributed one off the bench.

Coach Duffy praised the team's effort and pointed to the focus on causing turnovers. “We knew Cal could turn the ball over at times, so we were trying to be very disciplined and scrappy and get our hands on balls, “ she said. “They were going to get a couple of easy ones, but I just thought we kept fighting, being in the right spots. They had 10 at halftime and we said, ‘Hey, we can get another 10.” Give us more possessions so we don’t have to be perfect on offense.”

Maturity and Growth - Consistency in the Fourth Quarter

This team has vastly improved from last year’s version when guards like Carleigh Wenzel, Mackenzie Nelson, Samyha Sufften, and Leila Wells were becoming first time starters and gaining experience. 

Last year, it lost close games against Boston College and Stanford in overtime that affected its post-season fortunes. If we look at the team’s ACC wins this year, Tech has won 9 of the 11 games against opponents below it in the standings so far and has defeated 5 teams that were in the vicinity of Tech in the standings, i.e., Syracuse, Clemson, UVA, Stanford, and California. In short, the Hokies have taken care of business against weaker teams and held its own against the better teams.

The key has been the maturity and growth of both team leaders Wenzel, Baker, and Freelon, as well as the continued development of other players like Nelson, Sufften, Wells, and Trent. Nowhere is this more apparent than the number of games that Virginia Tech has essentially won by showing poise, efficiency, and maturity in the fourth quarter. Ever since that loss to Miami to start the New Year, the Hokies have gone 12–3 with the Notre Dame game being the only one in which they experienced a lapse late in the game. 

TIDBITS

• Starting point guard Mackenzie Nelson scored 3 points and added 4 assists, 3 steals, and 4 rebounds.
• Leila Wells scored 1 point on a free throw and added 1 offensive rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal.
• Tech outscored Cal in the paint 30-20 despite the presence of 6 '5 Sakima Walker, 6' 4 Claudia Langarita, and 6 '1 Naya Ojukwu.
• Sakima Walker only played 14 minutes due to foul trouble.
• Tech had 13 second chance points to Cal’s 3.
• The Hokies had 15 fast break points to Cal’s 1.
• Thanks to Suffen and Daley, Tech’s bench outscored Cal’s 27-17.
• Tech shot 61.5% in the second quarter and 55.6% in the pivotal fourth quarter.

WHAT IS NEXT?

With their West Coast swing in the rear view mirror, the Virginia Tech women sit tied for 6th in the ACC standings with a 10-5 conference record and 20-7 overall record. The last two games enhanced their resume as they took home a Quadrant 1 win at Stanford and a Quadrant 2 win against Cal. Right now, the Hokies are projected by ESPN’s latest bracketology to be a March tournament team.

No. 22 North Carolina comes to Blacksburg on Thursday, February 19 for a 6:00 pm game. Last year, the Hokies lost a close game against the Tar Heels who were ranked 12th at the time of that game. Now, the Hokies face a resurgent UNC team that is 21-6, 10-4 in the ACC that is coming off a loss to Duke this past Sunday.

No matter what happens against UNC, the Hokies then play 11th place Georgia Tech before closing out the regular season against their state rival, UVA - two more opportunities to enhance their resume for March.

Youtube Video of Condensed Game