Winners of six straight, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team will look for a seventh on Sunday afternoon when they host Virginia in the first of two Commonwealth Clashes this season. The two teams are coming in off two different wins on Thursday night. The Hokies held off a pesky Pittsburgh team to win at home, while the Cavaliers beat Wake Forest, 109-103, in triple overtime.
This is a big game for a number of reasons for both teams. The results will be big for both teams in terms of the ACC race, while both teams are on the NCAA Tournament bubble according to Charlie Creme of ESPN. On Friday, Virginia Tech was part of the "Last Four In", while Virginia is the first team in "First Four Out.'' The Hokies know that all too well after being the first team left out last March of the 68-team field.
Virginia Tech vs. Virginia women's basketball: How to watch
This is a monster game for Megan Duffy and the Hokies. After this, they face a rather daunting February schedule. They have a road game at Notre Dame next Thursday before hosting North Carolina State next weekend. That is followed by a trip out west to play Stanford and California. They then return home to host North Carolina. That is a tough schedule, but one that they can benefit from in building an NCAA Tournament résumé.
During their winning streak, the Hokies have been getting contributions from up and down their roster, including Texas Tech transfer Kilah Freelon, who has been turning into a double-double machine. Carys Baker and Carleigh Wenzel, the two veterans on their roster, have stepped up and made some big shots and plays defensively. If Virginia Tech is going to collect a big win on Sunday, it'll need to shoot the ball better from the outside than it did against Pitt on Thursday night.