The Virginia Tech women's basketball team began the 2026-27 season on Monday night with a convincing 85-39 non-conference win over North Carolina Central at Cassell Coliseum. Once the Hokies settled in, it was all gas and no brakes in terms of their play, pushing the tempo and playing suffocating defense.
How much depth third-year head coach Megan Duffy was going to have this year was a question that was facing Virginia Tech. I know, it's just one game against a lesser opponent, but there was one player who opened some eyes: freshman Jessica Dimaro. How good was she? Let's just say that she joined one elite former Virginia Tech star with crazy stats, according to David Cunningham of Tech Sideline. Dimaro's 13 points and 13 rebounds were good enough to join Elizabeth Kitley as a true freshman to record a double-double. Kitley did it last in 2020 at Wake Forest. Her performance didn't go unnoticed by Duffy.
Jessica Dimaro finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds in her #Hokies debut.
— David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) November 3, 2026
Last Virginia Tech true freshman to accomplish that: Elizabeth Kitley in 2020 at Wake Forest (21 points, 14 rebounds).
“She has a motor, she cares about rebounding, she wants to be great defensively,” said Duffy, per Virginia Tech athletics YouTube page. “I thought she set the tone for our team right off the bat, which was great for her to get some experience with that. We see it every day in practice; she’s capable of getting big numbers on the rebounding side.”
Virginia Tech placed six players in double figures and will return to the court at home on Wednesday night at 6 against Delaware in a rare early-season quick turnaround.
Virginia Tech men's soccer opens ACC Tournament play at home on Wednesday
Believe it or not, the ACC Men's Soccer Tournament begins on Wednesday night. Virginia Tech will begin the tournament as the sixth seed and host North Carolina State at Thompson Field, also at 6 p.m., the same time the women's basketball team gets underway inside Cassell Coliseum.
At 8-5-3 overall and after finishing 4-2-2 in ACC play, the Hokies will play the Wolfpack for the second time this season. They opened ACC play in Raleigh back in September and battled to a 1-1 tie in what was an evenly played game. David Skovborg-Andersen scored the Tech goal in the 30th minute before NC State tied the match in the 57th minute.
Virginia Tech has visions of making the NCAA Tournament later this month, and a win in the first round of the ACC Tournament will certainly help their cause with the committee in a couple of weeks.
More Virginia Tech Hokies News
- Virginia Tech's women's soccer team will wrap up the season on Thursday night at Florida State at 6:30. The Hokies are 7-5-5 overall and 3-4-2 in conference play. A win would allow them to finish .500 in ACC play and be a big turnaround from last season.
- The Hokies volleyball team, coming off splitting a pair of matches at home last weekend against Florida State and Miami, will host Notre Dame on Friday night and Louisville on Sunday afternoon. Virginia Tech is 7-14 overall and 4-8 in ACC play.
- Virginia Tech's wrestling team will open the season at Lehigh on Friday night, and Bo Bassett is expected back after his big win last weekend, where he captured a World Championship.
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