Hokie ClubDULUTH, Ga. – The Virginia Tech women's basketball team's run at the 2026 Ally ACC Women's Basketball Tournament came to an end Friday night as the sixth-seeded Hokies fell to the third-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels 85-68. Carleigh Wenzel led all scorers in the game with 26 points, her second time in three games scoring 26 or more, but the Hokies could not put together enough stops defensively as the Tar Heels shot 51.6% from the field.
The Hokies are 23-9 on the season ahead of Selection Sunday on March 15.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tech grabbed an early lead in the first quarter after a Wenzel jumper (6:58) made it 4-2 in favor of the Hokies. Then, Carolina scored the game's next five points to take a brief 7-4 advantage into a media timeout (4:53). The Hokies reeled off eight straight points to take control of the game as Wenzel knocked down two free throws (4:26), a jump shot (4:04), Mackenzie Nelson scored a layup (3:44) and Samyha Suffren added two free throws of her own (2:31). A minute later, Tech would enjoy its largest lead of the night after a Mel Daley jumper (1:31) extended the lead to six points 14-8. After the first period, the Hokies held a 16-11 advantage.
The second quarter would belong to the higher seeded Heels who outscored Tech 29-11 on the strength of 56.3% shooting from the field. Six different Heels scored in the quarter which featured three different runs of five or more points. For the Hokies, Suffren (8:59), Leila Wells (7:46), and Wenzel (5:48) connected on their three made field goals in the frame. North Carolina led 40-27 at the half.
In the third quarter, both squads found their scoring touch as the teams each added 24 points to their tally. Tech finally found the bottom of the net from distance with Wells' triple at 7:44 serving as the first made three for the club in the game. The Hokies were able to string together stops too, owning a scoring run on 7-0 to pull with 11 at 7:44 after the Heels had tacked on the first five points of the half and an 8-0 spurt at 3:34 closed the gap to nine. Wenzel scored six straight Hokie points from the free throw line during the quarter.
The final frame opened with an Aniya Trent layup (9:46) which began a stretch in the game that both teams traded field goals. A Wenzel free throw at 6:33 cut the Heels' lead to 10 points, but that would be as close as the Hokies could get as Nyla Harris (19 points) scored consecutive buckets to add to the Carolina cushion. Nelson would connect on a triple (4:58) the team's second in the game and Kilah Freelon (4:31), Wenzel (0:47) and Daley (0:09) would close out the scoring for the Hokies.
GAME NOTES
- For Wenzel, the 26-point effort was her seventh 20-point game of the season. Including her regular season finale total of 29 points, the guard is averaging 23.3 points per game in her last three contests.
- Wenzel went 14-15 from the free throw line, threatening Amy Wetzel's program record of 16 made free throws set on March 14, 1998 against Wisconsin. Wenzel has made 10 or more free throws three times this season.
- Forward Carys Baker recorded eight rebounds, a team-best.
- The Hokies got 18 points from the bench, including a 3-for-3 performance from Trent.
UP NEXT
The 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Selection Show is on Sunday, March 15 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.