Going into the first of two Commonwealth Clashes on Sunday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum against Virginia, Virginia Tech women's basketball guard Carleigh Wenzel didn't beat around the bush about defending home court. Leading 55-50 through three quarters in what was a back-and-forth game until that point, Wenzel made sure that the Hokies would defend their home court while picking up a huge win.
Wenzel scored a game-high 23 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out five assists as Virginia Tech outscored the Cavaliers, 21-14, in the final 10 minutes to collect a monster win and improve to 18-5 overall and 8-3 in the ACC. Virginia fell to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in conference play.
OUR HOUSE. OUR STATE. 🏆#CommonwealthClash | @SmithfieldBrand pic.twitter.com/1ysoncfr3M
— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) February 1, 2026
Carleigh Wenzel powers Virginia Tech over Virginia
Make no mistake about it, winning players make winning plays, and that was the case with Wenzel. She only made one of her four 3-pointers and was just 5-for-18 from the field, but she made her presence felt at the free-throw line, going 12-for-20. As a team, the Hokies went 25-for-30 from the charity stripe. On the flip side, the Cavaliers went just 16-for-21. I think I know where Virginia fans will direct their gripe after this loss, just like they did when Mike Young and the Virginia Tech men won in triple overtime in December at home.
Anyway, Mackenzie Nelson had 15 points for Virginia Tech with five assists, while Carys Baker had 11 points and six rebounds. Baker knocked down a huge fourth-quarter 3-pointer that sealed the win. Samyha Suffren had 12 points and five rebounds.
This win was huge for several reasons. It moves them one game ahead of Virginia in the ACC standings, while it also adds a big résumé-building victory for the Hokies when it comes to the NCAA Tournament next month. Virginia Tech begins a daunting stretch of its schedule on Thursday night at Notre Dame, before hosting North Carolina State. They will then travel to play Stanford and California before returning home to host North Carolina. That stretch could determine their NCAA Tournament hopes.