Winners of five straight, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team was looking for a sixth straight win on Thursday night at Cassell Coliseum against a struggling Pittsburgh team. With the first of two Commonwealth Clashes looming on Sunday afternoon at home, it would have been easy for the Hokies to overlook the Panthers.
Despite pulling away a few times in the first three quarters, Pittsburgh hung around. In fact, they were down just 55-50 in the fourth quarter. Unable to put the pesky Panthers away, Virginia Tech needed a 12-0 run to close out the game to secure a 17-point victory. Megan Duffy's team improved to 17-5 overall and 7-3 in the ACC. Pittsburgh fell to 8-15 and 1-9 in the ACC.
Virginia Tech fends off Pittsburgh for ACC win
Every time the Hokies looked like they were going to pull away, Pittsburgh battled back into the game. Part of the problem was that Virginia Tech struggled shooting the ball from behind the arc. They went just 3-for-16 and shot just 36% from the field in the game, while Pitt shot 37% from the field. The Hokies did a lot of their damage from the free throw line, making 14 of their 17 attempts.
Offensively, Texas Tech transfer Kilah Freelon recorded another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Carleigh Wenzel had 17 points, and Carys Baker also finished in double figures with 13 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. Samyha Suffren finished with eight points, and Mackenzie Nelson chipped in with seven points and had five assists.
Virginia beat Wake Forest, 109-103, in triple overtime on Thursday afternoon, and after the Hokies' win, both teams are on the NCAA Tournament bubble, and both teams are 7-3 in ACC play. This is a massive game for both teams. The Hokies will need to shoot better to take down the Cavaliers.