Virginia Tech used a dominant rebounding performance and a balanced offensive attack to cruise past Gardner-Webb 87–51 on Thursday night at Cassell Coliseum.
Kilah Freelon led the Hokies with a double-double, finishing with 12 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end. Her presence inside fueled Tech’s 54–27 advantage on the glass and helped generate 35 second-chance points.
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Freelon opened the scoring at the free-throw line before Mel Daley added a jumper. Gardner-Webb briefly moved in front 8–7 midway through the first quarter, but Virginia Tech responded with a 13–0 run, sparked by three straight layups off turnovers, to take a 20–8 lead.
Carleigh Wenzel ignited the offense in the second quarter, scoring eight of her 11 first-half points, including back-to-back 3-pointers. Samyha Suffren added a 3-pointer in the final minute of the half to send the Hokies into the break with a 40–23 lead.
Tech pulled away in the third quarter, shooting 53 percent from the field and outscoring the Runnin’ Bulldogs 29–17. After Gardner-Webb scored first, Carys Baker answered with a personal 6–0 run. Daley added 10 points in the frame, and Mackenzie Nelson closed the quarter with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 69–40 entering the fourth.
Leila Wells, Sophie Swanson, Špela Brecelj and Amani Jenkins contributed to the scoring down the stretch as the Hokies continued to extend their advantage. Brecelj hit a 3-pointer at the 2:30 mark to give Tech its largest lead at 41 points. Gardner-Webb closed with a late 3-pointer, but Virginia Tech finished comfortably ahead, 87–51.
UVA upset by UMBC
Breona Hurd scored a career-high 22 points, but Virginia fell 61–56 to UMBC on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. The Retrievers improved to 2–1, while the Cavaliers dropped to 2–1.
Heidi Williams and Gabby Scott each scored 14 points for UMBC, and Carmen Yanez added 11. The Retrievers never trailed and held off a late Virginia surge to secure the win.
Hurd went 7-for-10 from the field and 8-for-11 at the free-throw line, adding seven rebounds and four blocks to her standout performance. Kymora Johnson finished with four points while shooting 1-for-16 as the Cavaliers struggled offensively, going 19-for-59 (32.2 percent) from the floor and 0-for-14 from 3-point distance.
Tabitha Amanze added nine points and seven rebounds for Virginia, while Gabby White contributed seven points and six boards.
UMBC opened the game on an 11–2 run before Virginia responded with a 9–2 stretch. The Retrievers hit two 3-pointers and shot 7-for-8 at the line to take a 19–15 lead after one quarter. Scott scored eight points in the frame, while Hurd scored six for the Cavaliers.
Tiera Bellamy knocked down a 3-pointer to spark a 14–4 run for UMBC to start the second quarter. Virginia answered with six straight points on baskets by White and Hurd, trimming the deficit to 33–25. UMBC made four 3-pointers in the period and led 35–27 at halftime.
Virginia forced three turnovers early in the third quarter to fuel a 6–0 run, but Scott buried a corner 3-pointer to help UMBC push the lead to 46–38. The Cavaliers closed the quarter with a 14–8 run, including Johnson’s first points of the night from the line and six points from Hurd, to pull within 46–42 entering the fourth.
Virginia tied the game at 54–54 on a layup by Romi Levy, but UMBC regained the lead on a free throw by Kennedy Austin. Bellamy then converted a reverse layup to put the Retrievers up 57–54 with 27.8 seconds left. Hurd hit two free throws to make it a one-point game, but Williams sealed the win by sinking four free throws in the final seconds, giving UMBC the 61–56 victory.