Early in the season, the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team has had some players improve under first-year coach Megan Duffy and her staff. Players who returned under their new coaching staff have made significant improvements from last season to this season.
One of those players is sophomore guard Samyha Suffren. The Charlotte native has provided the Hokies with a spark off the bench at both ends of the floor. Offensively she has used her speed to go by her defender to get to the basket while attacking the offensive end in the fast break. Unfortunately, she won’t be doing that for Virginia Tech again this season.
Virginia Tech guard lose Samyha Suffren to season-ending surgery
Since the Hokies opened ACC play at Duke on Dec. 8, Suffren has not been in the Virginia Tech lineup. Thursday night, she did not play against Florida State in their 31-point loss and David Cunningham of TechSideline reported that she had her arm in a sling. After the game, Duffy revealed that Suffren would be undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
This is a big loss for Virginia Tech and they could have used her against FSU. This season she averaged 8.1 points a game, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 56% from the field. She hit double-figures three times early in the season in points.
Against Rutgers on Nov. 19 in a 91-80 win, Suffren had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Against Georgia on Dec. 4 when the Hokies’ rallied in the fourth quarter for a 70-61 win over the Bulldogs, she had eight points and four rebounds to help keep Tech within striking distance. In her final game of the season against Duke, she had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Depth-wise, this is a huge loss for Virginia Tech, but getting her healthy for the future is key and now this opens the door for Mackenzie Nelson and Leila Wells to get more time and valuable experience.