Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech suffered a 66-63 overtime loss to No. 22 North Carolina Thursday evening inside Cassell Coliseum.
The Hokies move to 20-8 overall and 13-4 inside Cassell Coliseum.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia Tech and No. 22 North Carolina exchanged three-point baskets to kick off the contest until an 8-2 run from the Tar Heels opened the game, up 11-5, with 4:23 remaining in the quarter. Carys Baker saw her look from beyond the arc at 4:16 rattle around a few parts of the few before falling in and then knocked down another at 2:20 to pull the Hokies within three, 14-11. It was all Tech in the final two minutes of the quarter, including Mackenzie Nelson’s off-balance, last-second heave from long range to beat the buzzer as Virginia Tech moved in front, 18-14.
Defense reigned supreme in the second quarter as the Hokies held No. 22 North Carolina to seven points on 1-11 (0.091) shooting from the field overall. Samyha Suffren led the quarter with four points off a driving layup (9:38) and two makes from the line (5:54) to push Tech’s lead to 22-16. Virginia Tech stretched its advantage to nine, 26-17 at the 1:51 mark, off Kilah Freelon’s layup. Both teams utilized the free throw line in the remaining 41 seconds of the half as the Hokies held onto the 28-21 lead headed into the locker room. The Tar Heels’ 21 first half points marked their season-low against power conference opposition.
Tech saw another three-pointer fall from Baker (7:58) in the opening minutes of the second half before Carleigh Wenzel (7:18) sank a pair from the stripe to keep No. 22 North Carolina at bay, 33-25. The Tar Heels scored six unanswered points to close to 35-34 at the 3:54 mark, then Wenzel drilled a triple to keep the Hokies ahead (38-34, 3:09). Four quick points from Virginia Tech off an Aniya Trent (1:47) layup and Mel Daley (1:15) long two-pointer kept it a seven-point game, but the Tar Heel scored the final five points of the period to make it interesting, 44-42.
Both sides traded two-point blows to keep it close until a three-pointer (4:48) and a three-point play (3:37) gave No. 22 North Carolina its first lead of the contest since the opening quarter, 54-52. Suffren (3:37) answered on the other end as she drew contact on her made layup and converted the extra shot from the line to move the Hokies back in front, but the lead was short-lived as the Tar Heels knocked down a shot from beyond the arc (2:21) to stay ahead by two, 57-55. In crunch time, Tech played stifling defense that forced a shot clock violation and fed the ball to Suffren for the game tying layup with 26 seconds left in regulation. The Hokies’ defense sat down, defended well, and committed timely fouls to frustrate the Tar Heels offense to force an extra period.
Virginia Tech scored the opening basket of overtime as Freelon (4:35) corralled the offensive board and went back up for the second chance shot. The lead then swung into the Tar Heels’ favor by one, 62-61 at 3:41, as they hit an outside the paint jump shot. Baker knocked down two shots at the line for the one-point advantage, but No. 22 North Carolina’s final four points at the stripe were the difference as the Hokies fell, 66-63.
GAME NOTES
- Virginia Tech held No. 22 North Carolina to 9.8 points under its season scoring average (75.8 ppg, 66 in the contest) and 9.2 percent below its season field goal percentage of 46.0 (36.8 percent in the game)
- The Hokies bench outscored their opponents in the last five contest, holding a 21-8 advantage in bench points over the Tar Heels
- Tech dominated the points from the paint (24-18) and turnovers (19-9) battle
- Virginia Tech was a perfect 13-13 from the free throw line. It was the team’s first performance without a miss from the stripe since they were 4-4 at NC State on Jan. 23, 2022
- Carys Baker and Samyha Suffren paced the Hokies in scoring with 15 points apiece
- Baker pulled down eight rebounds while adding two assists and two blocks. It is the seventh straight game where the forward recorded at least one block
- Suffren pulled down five rebounds and dished two assists
- Guard Carleigh Wenzel rounded out the double figure scoring with her 14 points and shot a game-best 6-6 at the free throw line
- Wenzel, who has scored in double digits in 12 straight contests, is 10 points away from reaching the 1,000-career point scoring milestone
- Forward Kilah Freelon collected 10 rebounds in the contest, her fourth time in the last five games to corral double figure boards
- Freelon added six points, an ACC-best three blocks, and a steal
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech closes out the home portion of its regular season slate on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. as Georgia Tech rolls into Cassell Coliseum. Kilah Freelon, Mel Daley, and three managers will be honored pregame as part of the Senior Day ceremonies.