After opening the season with five straight home games and wins, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team hit the road for the first time on Sunday afternoon. It was the first true road game for Megan Duffy and her team at James Madison.
After falling behind by double-digits in the second half, the Hokies rallied twice to take the lead, the last time on a Carleigh Wenzel 3-pointer for a 55-53 lead, but the Dukes closed the game on a 12-1 run for a 65-56 victory. The loss dropped Virginia Tech to 5-1 overall.
Wenzel led Virginia Tech with 20 points, Carys Baker had 11, Mackenzie Nelson had 10, and Kilah Freelon chipped in with eight. The Hokies turned the ball over 12 times and only had eight assists. They shot 33% from the field, 19-for-58, and made just five of their 19 3-pointers. JMU shot 40% from the field, was big on the glass, and missed one of 16 free throws.
Virginia Tech heads to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and plays BYU on Thursday night at 5:30 in the first round of the Paradise Jam. The Cougars are 6-0. Virginia Tech will play either Vanderbilt or Oregon State on Saturday in either the championship or consolation game.
James Franklin picks up in-state commitment
Saturday was a big day in Blacksburg for newly-hired Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin in terms of recruiting in the Hokies' 34-17 loss to 13th-ranked Miami. There were several recruits on campus, and many from Penn State who are either de-committed or still committed to the Nittany Lions.
Franklin picked up his first commitment when Class of 2026 wide receiver, Hudson Zell, comitted ot the Hokies after the game. The 6-foot-0, 185-pound Woodberry Forest native visited on Saturday and hopefully is the first of many in-state commits coming to Blacksburg.
After a great conversation with @coachjfranklin I am excited to announce my verbal commitment to Virginia Tech! 🦃 #gohokies #home pic.twitter.com/Zbqp7g1yNt
— Hudson Zell 2026 (@hudson_zell) November 23, 2025
Mike Norvell returning to Florida State
Last month, after a loss at Stanford, Florida State announced that they were going to decide on the future of Mike Norvell at the end of the season. After losing 21-11 to North Carolina State on Friday night, many Seminoles fans were calling for Norvell to be fired. That's not happening.
On Sunday, the school announced that Norvell will return in 2026. Likely a big reason why he's returning is his $56 million buyout, something that the school is not waiting to pay at this point. James Franklin was a name linked to the job if Norvell was fired, but he has since been hired at Virginia Tech.
Cal fires Justin Wilcox
One day after getting blown out by Stanford, 31-10, California fired football coach Justin Wilcox. The Golden Bears are 6-5 after the loss and headed to another bowl game, but the loss to the Cardinal was a tipping point.
California picked up a huge road win a couple of weeks ago at Louisville in overtime, but losing to the Cardinal in the fashion they did cost him his job.