When the Virginia Tech women's basketball team took the floor against Georgia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday night, they were looking to send an early statement to a Yellow Jackets team that had just seven players available. On top of it, 11th-seeded Georgia Tech played the day before against Florida State and eliminated the Seminoles.
In what was the worst possible start for the Hokies, literally, they fell behind 17-3 eight and a half minutes into the game. That's right, three points near the end of the first quarter. Megan Duffy called a timeout at the end of the quarter, and whatever she said worked. Two baskets to close the quarter cut the deficit to 10 points before outscoring the Yellow Jackets, 26-6, in the second qaurter which turned the tide in their favor, and they never looked back. Here are three key observations after Virginia Tech advanced to a matchup with third-seeded North Carolina on Friday night in Georgia.
Virginia Tech overcame rought first quarter
Again, if you didn't see the 10 minutes, it's tough to describe. Whatever it was, rushed offense, poor shot selection, turnovers, the inability to stop Georgia Tech getting downhill on offense, it was a problem. After the timeout near the end of the first quarter, the defense got better, and that carried over into the second quarter.
I get that Georgia Tech was down to only seven players and on a back-to-back, but the first quarter was a season low for points with seven and just plain not good basketball. They were able to overcome it, but clearly better starts are needed going forward.
Virginia Tech thrived off Georgia Tech turnovers
What helped Virginia Tech get back into the game was the turnovers they forced that they turned into points. The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over 17 times, which the Hokies turned into 24 points. That ended up playing a big part in the rally, while Tech turned the ball over 10 times, which was only turned into five points.
For as well as the Hokies' defense played, their offense went through some funks in the second half, which allowed Georgia Tech to rally, but five turnovers played a big part in the Hokies keeping them at bay.
Mackenzie Nelson again was great for Virginia Tech
It's been said before and needs to be said again: where is this team without Mackenzie Nelson? Seriously, she does just about everything for them. In fact, she did do everything for them on Thursday night against Georgia Tech.
Nelson scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and had six assists. She also took three charges on defense. Carleigh Wenzel had 15 points, Carys Baker had nine, and the Hokies got eight each from Kilah Freelon and Leila Wells. However, Nelson is the engine that drives this team at times, and she did well against the Yellow Jackets. It was Virginia Tech's second win over Georgia Tech in a couple of weeks.