Winners of five out of their last six games, including a big win at home over Louisville on Sunday afternoon, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team was looking for a road win over a struggling Pittsburgh team Thursday night before the schedule picks up with some difficult matchups.
If the Hokies were going to avoid an upset at the hands of the Panthers, they were going to have to find a way to contain Pittsburgh's Khadija Faye who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds a game. It's clear that she was a priority of Megan Duffy and her team as they doubled and even tripled teamed her when she got the ball and never let her get into a rhythm. On the other end, Tech's offense was flowing as once again used a balanced effort.
Carleigh Wenzel led Virginia Tech with 16 points, Lani White had 15 and Rose Micheaux recorded another double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Matilda Ekh had 14 points and Carys Baker had 13. Here are some quick gut reactions after the Hokies improved to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in the ACC.
Gut reactions from Virginia Tech women's basketball win over Pittsburgh
- Defense wins games and the Hokies frustrated Faye from the beginning of the game. They held her to 3-for-6 from the field in the first half and she finished with seven points after making a single free throw in the second half. She went to the bench in the third quarter with her fourth foul.
- Pitt made a run to close the gap at the end of the third quarter, but Baker opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to restore order.
- The more she plays, the more she scores from the outside, the more confidence White is getting, which is nice to see.
- After allowing 73 points to Virginia last Thursday night in an eight-point loss at home, the Hokies have turned in solid back-to-back defensive performances.
- The ball was moving on offense in the first half and aside from a little spurt at the end of the third quarter, it was moving in the second half as well. With the number of scorers the Hokies have, if they can move the ball like that and get whatever shot they want, they will be tough to defend.
Things really get busy for Virginia Tech with a trip to North Carolina State on Sunday, then they return to Cassell Coliseum on Jan. 30 to host Notre Dame. Two golden chances to improve their NCAA Tournament résumé.