Going into their third ACC game of the season, it was a rather big game for the Virginia Tech women's basketball team in terms of NCAA Tournament résumé-building purposes against Miami. In Charlie Creme's latest NCAA Tournament bracketology at ESPN, Miami was in the "First Four Out", while the Hokies were in the "Next Four Out".
Things were going in the right direction for Megan Duffy's team, which led by 18 points in the third quarter before things fell off the rails quickly. The Hurricanes turned up the defensive pressure, started knocking down shots, got to the free-throw line, and completed an incredible comeback with an overtime win over Virginia Tech by eight points. Here are some observations from the game, and it is a brutal loss for the Hokies.
Virginia Tech women's basketball observatins from OT loss vs. Miami
- To say that this is a devastating loss is an understatement. This would have been a résumé-building win over the Hurricanes, but instead, it's going to be a difficult loss to recover from. Next up for Virginia Tech is a trip to Louisville on Sunday.
- When the Hokies lead peeked at 18 points, 49-31, the Hurricanes closed out regulation on a 31-13 run from the end of the third quarter and in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
- Carleigh Wenzel led the Hokies with 16 points, but foul trouble in the second half had her on the bench, and she was dearly missed on the offensive end when they went through their drought. She ended up fouling out late in overtime.
- Kilah Freelon had 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds, and Mel Daley had 12 points. Mackenzie Nelson had nine points, on three 3-pointers, and Carys Baker had eight points.
- Miami did a tremendous job on Baker defensively when Wenzel was out, which hurt the Hokies.
- Miami was 11-for-19 from the free-throw line, and Virginia Tech was just 2-for-5.
- The Hurricanes had 15 second-chance points and 18 points off turnovers. Devastating numbers for Duffy's team.
At 11-4 overall and 1-2 in the ACC, the Hokies travel to play Louisville on Sunday in a game they could use an upset to get back on track.