After beating Loyola of Maryland by 14 points in what was a sloppy game at times, Virginia Tech women's basketball coach Megan Duffy was looking for a more crisp performance against Gardner-Webb at Cassell Coliseum on Thursday night.
Gardner-Webb came out and made some shots early, but the Hokies used a 15-0 run to end the first quarter and begin the second to build a 12-point lead. After taking a 40-23 lead into halftime, the Hokies turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter to pull away from the Bulldogs and improved to 3-0 early in the season with an 87-51 win.
Virginia Tech women use balance to beat Gardner-Webb
Virginia Tech pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs, 29-17, for a 69-40 lead. They ended up holding Gardner-Webb to 11 fourth-quarter points. As for the Hokies, they placed five players in double figures, with their leading scorer not being a starter.
Samyha Suffren led Virginia Tech with 17 points off the bench, which was good for her after she had her 2024-25 season cut short with an injury. Northwestern transfer Mel Daley had 14 points, Carleigh Wenzel and Texas Tech transfer Kilah Freelon each had 12 points. Freelon had a double-double after grabbing 18 rebounds, which was a career-high.
Kayla Petersen had seven points, and Mackenzie Nelson had another good game, dishing out seven assists. Virginia Tech's defense forced 23 turnovers, which led to 28 Hokies' points. Tech had eight turnovers, but held a 15-3 advantage in fast-break points and scored 30 points in the paint. They had 11 steals to go along with 18 assists.
Virginia Tech returns to the court on Saturday when Coastal Carolina visits Cassell Coliseum at 2 o'clock to continue a season-opening five-game homestand for Duffy's team before things get harder on the road.