Coming off their first loss of the season to James Madison on Sunday, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team was looking to rebound in the opening round of the Paradise Jam Island Division against BYU out of the Big 12.
After a sluggish first half that both teams would rather forget, with the Hokies holding a 27-23 lead, both teams shot better in the second half, but it was the Cougars who made more shots and took care of the ball better to advance to the Championship Game on Saturday against either Vanderbilt or Oregon State. The Hokies will play the loser in the consolation game.
Virginia Tech drops second game in a row with loss to BYU
It was more of the same for the Hokies against the Cougars as it was against the Dukes, poor shooting and turnovers proved to be too much to overcome in falling to 5-2. BYU freshman Sydney Benally scored a career-high 18 points to power BYU to 7-0. After not making a 3-pointer in the first half, the Cougars hit three in the third quarter to take the lead and hold off a Hokies' rally.
Virginia Tech was led by Carleigh Wenzel, who scored 18 points, and 16 came in the second half. Northwestern transfer Mel Daley had 16, and MacKenzie Nelson added nine. Carys Baker chipped in with six points, and Texas Tech transfer Kilah Freelon had 14 rebounds.
What will drive Megan Duffy crazy is 18 turnovers, and the Cougars had 20, but the difference was that BYU shot 40% from the field, and the Hokies just 34%. All five of BYU's 3-pointers were in the second half.
The consolation game is a must-win for Duffy's team after this weekend, when they host Florida in the ACC/SEC Challenge, and then they open conference play at home against Duke.