Behind Roaring Start, Virginia Tech Women's Basketball Rolls Over Florida State

The Hokies led, 22-5, at one point in the opening frame.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech women's basketball produced a stellar effort in its second ACC contest of the 2025-26 campaign, riding a torrid first quarter to a comfortable 79-54 victory over Florida State Thursday evening in Tallahassee.

ACC DUB ✅ pic.twitter.com/VCYbGHXfHO

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) December 19, 2025

The victory marked the Hokies' (10-3, 1-1 ACC) largest margin of victory against Florida State (4-9, 0-2 ACC) in program history, according to Virginia Tech Sports Network's Evan Hughes. In addition, the Seminoles, who averaged 26 threes per contest and nine made triples, hit just four of their 15 looks from deep, struggling mightily in their fifth straight loss.

The Hokies' first-quarter ferocity was anchored by several players. Mackenzie Nelson was active in the passing lanes, both in regard to her own facilitation and in disrupting the Seminoles' offensive flow. Nelson tallied six points, four assists and two steals in the opening quarter. Nelson finished the contest with career-highs in points (18), assists (12) and made field goals (eight), also securing the first double-double of her collegiate career.

Nelson's 12 assists marked the third-most in an ACC game in program history, trailing the 14-assist mark set by Georgia Amoore in Feb. 1, 2024 vs. Virginia.

Then, there was guard Mel Daley. The Northwestern transfer notched 16 points to go along with two steals and a career-high 10 rebounds. Like Nelson, Daley tallied the first double-double of her career, which spans four years at Northwestern and the currently underway Year 5, at Virginia Tech.

Forward Carys Baker continued her stellar stretch, notching her third 20-point game in December, sporting a 9-for-15 rate from the field en route to a team-high 21 points. That team-leading tally came alongside nine rebounds, Baker's third straight contest with eight or more rebounds and fourth of her last five. The output came one board shy of a double-double, which would have given the Hokies three players with double figures in two categories.

Redshirt junior guard Carleigh Wenzel's shooting struggles continued; the redshirt junior put up a 3-for-15 outing, including a 1-for-7 mark from deep. Though Wenzel scored 11 points, it represented another inefficient outing. In the month of December, Wenzel has tallied a 14-for-65 (21.5%) shooting mark from the field and in her last three games, has gone 3-for-13 (23.1%) from deep.

No matter for the Hokies, though., who with the victory, have now gone 4-1 in December. Led by its balanced effort, Tech roared out to an early lead by stifling Florida State in the opening minutes. Florida State made just one of its first 10 shots, scored just twice in the first five minutes and put up a 4-for-19 mark at quarter's end. In contrast, Tech sported a 10-for-21 mark, including a 3-for-9 tally from deep. A 13-2 lead to start gave the Hokies a vast lead it replenished throughout the contest; they backed it up with a steady shooting effort, making 32 of their 72 shots (44.4%) and holding Florida State to a 16-for-56 mark (28.8%).

Though the Hokies outscored the Seminoles by only three over the following two quarters, the fourth and final frame was where Tech keyed back in. The Hokies started the final quarter by canning their first five looks of the frame and extended their lead beyond the 20-point mark with just over nine minutes to play. Tech rode that advantage to an eventual 25-point victory, claiming its third straight win following an anemic 70-54 loss to Duke to open league play.

Through 13 games, the Hokies have appeared synchronized when not forced to rely on their shooting, which sits at a 27.1% clip from deep. That rate currently stands at No. 16 in the ACC, only ahead of Georgia Tech and Syracuse. Tech's average threes made per game — 4.9 — doesn't fare much better, sitting at No. 15, ahead of Pitt, plus the Yellow Jackets and Orange.

Virginia Tech's next contest comes back in friendly territory as it comes back to Blacksburg for a pair of contests. The first comes against Radford on Sunday, Dec. 21 at noon, and will be promoted as the "Autism Friendly Game" in partnership with the Virginia Tech Autism Clinic and Center for Autism Research. The next comes after a 10-day break; the Hokies kick off 2026 with a 6 p.m. ET showdown against Miami in their third ACC contest of the season. Both contests will be available for viewing on ACCNX.