Virginia Tech Turns Up the Heat Late, Tops Rival Virginia in Commonwealth Clash
In a game that carried the weight of a rivalry and the tension of postseason implications, Virginia Tech stepped up when it mattered most. The Hokies pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat in-state rival Virginia, 76-64, grabbing a crucial point in the Commonwealth Clash and extending their ACC win streak to seven.
This one had the grit, the physicality, and the emotional edge you expect when two programs separated by just a few hours of highway meet on the hardwood. And Virginia Tech didn’t flinch.
“I’m extremely grateful for the grit and effort this team showed tonight,” said Hokies head coach Megan Duffy. “Hard-nosed, physical game. I thought they were just relentless with staying in the moment, fighting for each other, fixing things as we went - just overall loved the grit of this team today.”
The Hokies leaned on sophomore Carleigh Wenzel, who turned in a relentless performance of her own. Wenzel poured in 23 points, with more than half of them coming at the free-throw line. She drew contact all night and made it count, getting to the stripe 20 times - a new program record for single-game attempts - and converting on 12.
“I love that I was able to keep my poise and take the hits,” Wenzel said. “But I’m not happy with my percentage.
That’s all mental, something you can’t really lean on and focus on too much. I’ll make them next game.
I’ll make them in practice on Tuesday.”
Despite the self-critique, Wenzel’s ability to draw fouls and stay aggressive was a major reason Tech was able to pull away late. That fourth quarter surge was built on physicality - attacking the rim, getting to the line, and wearing down a Virginia defense that had hung tough through three quarters.
Virginia head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton tipped her cap to the Hokies, noting that her team had some breakdowns both in execution and chemistry.
“Credit to Virginia Tech,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I thought they played hard.
We had some lapses in our chemistry, a little bit on the court, but also the game plan. That’s pretty much why it turned out the way it did.”
For three quarters, this one was a tug-of-war. Lead changes, scoring runs, and plenty of physical play defined the early going.
But Virginia Tech entered the fourth with a five-point cushion and never looked back. They ramped up the pressure, stayed aggressive, and closed the game with poise - a sign of a team that’s been through the fire and come out sharper.
“I think we’ve been learning to stay aggressive throughout the year,” Duffy said. “We’ve had a lot of different moments.
Some games, we were down and came back and won, like against Clemson. Others, like the Miami game, we were up and lost the lead.
The more experiences these women can be put in, the more they’re going to get confidence. We try to prepare as hard as we can for every situation.”
Mackenzie Nelson echoed that mindset, emphasizing the team’s focus on consistency over hype.
“I think we play with a chip on our shoulder,” the sophomore said. “But it’s just one at a time.
You don’t think about the next game. You don’t think about the last game.
You just think about consistency. Win, loss, get in the gym, get shots up, go to work, focus on the next opponent.
That’s really all it is.”
Defensively, the Hokies were dialed in. They forced 13 turnovers and held the Cavaliers to just five assists - a stat that speaks volumes about how well Tech disrupted Virginia’s rhythm. Kymora Johnson led the Hoos with 19 points and three assists, but even her efforts couldn’t overcome the Hokies’ defensive intensity.
“We were concerned about a lot of things going into the game,” Duffy said. “You can’t stop everything.
They have a great inside presence. Obviously, with Johnson, she’s phenomenal - the way she can take over a game at times.
I thought we did a good enough job protecting the interior. Virginia is very good at getting paint points in a couple different ways.
That was the grit I was talking about, where we sustain some of those punches.”
Beyond the X’s and O’s, this one had extra juice. Both teams came in tied in the ACC standings and hovering around the NCAA tournament bubble. Add in the in-state rivalry, and you had a game that felt like March in early February.
“It’s in the back of everybody’s head,” Wenzel said. “At the end of the day, it’s just a rivalry.
I think both teams played at a very high pace and a high competitiveness. That’s what rivalry games are.
I don’t think it was really about ACC standings or bubble teams. It was more of going at each other because we’re competing for the state, if anything.”
Duffy, still relatively new to the rivalry, is already fully bought in.
“I’ve learned a lot about Virginia Tech in a short amount of time,” she said. “Obviously our fan base, we know, is tremendous, but just to celebrate where you’ve come from - this rivalry is super cool as well.
The fact that we’re right down the street from each other, and two programs that want to probably rip each other’s hearts out. I love that part about it.
Obviously, we had the upper hand today, and we’ll have to play them again at the end of the season, but they’ve got a really good team.”
Next up for Virginia Tech: a road trip to South Bend to face Notre Dame. But for now, the Hokies can enjoy this one - a rivalry win, a statement performance, and a team that’s finding its stride at just the right time.