Virginia Tech’s offense never really found its rhythm Tuesday night, but the Hokies didn’t need a pretty night to keep rolling.
Behind a second-quarter burst and a defense that squeezed James Madison all over the floor, Virginia Tech beat the Dukes 59-43 at Cassell Coliseum to move to 3-0. It was the Hokies’ toughest test so far, and they answered it with grit more than flair.
“Just really excited about the the effort our team showed tonight,” said Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy. “We knew it was going to be probably a lower scoring game and just a gritty, hard-nosed defensive battle, and boy, was it at times.
So just overall, really proud of our team. Obviously, JMU is a very, very good program.
[JMU head coach Sean O'Regan] does an awesome job, just the way his kids fight and claw. And I know they’re going to have a pretty successful season when it’s all said and done.”
The turning point came in the second quarter, when Virginia Tech erased an early deficit and ripped off an 18-5 run. Sophomore guard Kate Sears was right in the middle of it. After the Hokies trailed 11-8 after the first quarter, Sears scored six straight points in the frame and finished with eight points, adding a jumper in the fourth quarter as well.
Virginia Tech was still searching for offensive flow early, and Sears’ scoring came at a key moment. Duffy singled out Sears for hitting a “couple nice ones”, and said Sears and freshman guard Kaleo Anderson were “great”.
“[They were] giving us a little bit of a spark in that first half,” Duffy said.
The shooting numbers tell the story of how uneven it was for Virginia Tech. The Hokies hit just 36.1% from the field, going 22-for-61 overall, and the 3-point shot was mostly quiet outside of the second quarter. Tech made 3 of 6 from deep in that period, then went a combined 1-for-11 across the first, third and fourth quarters.
Even with the shaky perimeter work, Virginia Tech controlled the game with its defense. James Madison managed only 15 field goals for the night and shot 25.9% overall.
The Hokies also held the Dukes’ leading scorer, Zakiya Stephenson, to 10 points on 2-for-14 shooting in 27 minutes. Bree Robinson, JMU’s second-leading scorer, finished with six points on 3-for-12 shooting and had three fouls, though she did grab five rebounds.
The Dukes’ offense never fully recovered after Virginia Tech’s pressure tightened. O’Regan pointed to the second quarter as the stretch where his team lost ground.
“I just thought the second quarter, there was a stretch there where I just thought we gave in just a little bit to that physicality and athleticism,” O’Regan said.
Virginia Tech’s edge on the glass made the margin even more comfortable. The Hokies out-rebounded James Madison 47-32, and forward Jessica Dimaro posted a career-high 14 rebounds in the win.
“Jessie’s going to keep getting more confident as we go,” Duffy said. “She fits us so well, being able to play fasst and run the ball.
We get on her probably the most if she doesn’t have a rebound, right? So we want her to get a potential double-doble every night.”
The win also marked a step up in competition for Virginia Tech, which entered the night ranked No. 42 in BartTorvik. James Madison came in at No. 78, a tougher challenge than the Hokies’ first two opponents, North Carolina Central (No. 347) and Delaware (No. 283).
Virginia Tech now turns to another test on the road. The Hokies travel to Richmond, Va., to face VCU, ranked No. 113, on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. ET.
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