Instant Takeaways From Virginia Tech Women's Basketball's 77-66 Win Over VCU

RICHMOND — Virginia Tech women's basketball eked out an arduous 77-66 victory over VCU in the Hokies' first road contest of the 2026-27 season.

The Rams (1-1) were slotted at No. 116 on BartTorvik entering the game, representing a solid out-of-conference foe for the Hokies (4-0) to test their mettle against.

The 11-point victory was also third-year head whistle Megan Duffy's 200th as a head coach. She's up to a 46-23 (.667) record in her two-plus seasons with the Hokies.

"The funny part — I didn't even know it was 200 wins until I walked in the locker room and the girls are throwing confetti at me," Duffy aid.

Here are three takeaways following the Hokies' 11-point win.

No. 1: Jessica Dimaro was incandescent in the Hokies' win.

Dimaro smashed both the Hokies' single-game records for offensive rebounds (17) and total rebounds (24), setting a double-double within the first 12 minutes.

Through the first fourth-quarter timeout (6:36), her 21 rebounds were more than VCU's entire unit (20). The final rebounding margin was 52-27, Virginia Tech, and Dimaro's 17 offensive boards broke the previous record by six.

"Jessy's a talent," Duffy said. "... She set the tone with her offensive rebounds and just has a knack to find the ball. We needed it, especially early in that first half, just getting those second-chance points when we weren't flowing and missing a lot of shots. But those numbers are incredible."

Dimaro was 4-of-6 for 12 points and seven rebounds in the first 10 minutes, adding eight more rebounds (four offensive, four defensive) in the second half. Her 24 total boards were the second-most in ACC history.

Dimaro's 17 offensive rebounds more than quintupled VCU on the offensive glass; the Rams finished with three O-boards. It was the first time in program history that a Hokie notched a 20-point, 20-rebound performance.

Her 23-point, 24-rebound total represents a stat line that Duffy's not sure if she's ever said that with any of her players.

Despite Dimaro's efforts, Virginia Tech had trouble establishing control early. The Hokies and Rams were deadlocked at 30 points at halftime after VCU mounted a late 9-3 run over the final three minutes of the second quarter.

Virginia Tech's dominance on the offensive glass helped it pull away, though. The Hokies finished with 26 points on second-chance points while holding VCU scoreless in that regard. Tech was also more active in transition, scoring 22 fastbreak points to the Rams' eight.

No. 2: Beyond Dimaro, the team struggled in the first half but found more footing in the final 20 minutes.

At the conclusion of the first half, Dimaro was 5-for-8 for 15 points and as many rebounds. The rest of the unit was 3-for-23 — and outside of forwards Aniya Trent (1-for-1) and Alyssa Latham (2-for-4), they were 0-for-18.

However, in the second half, the Hokies found their way. While Dimaro was 4-for-7 in the second half for eight points, the rest of the unit totaled 39 points on a more respectable 17-of-38 (44.7%) clip.

Guard Carleigh Wenzel missed her first eight shots, but made six of her next 12 en route to 17 points. Latham came off the bench for 19 points on a 7-of-11 clip, her most in a Virginia Tech uniform.

"[Latham] just had a huge spark for us, coming in, steadied us in the third and fourth quarter," Duffy said, "and obviously, we were able to do enough at the end to hold off VCU."

Junior guard Samyha Suffren finished with eight points and seven rebounds, though she shot 2-of-11 from the field. Forward Aniya Trent logged four points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

"I don't think that any of our guards made too many shots in the first half, so we just tried to reset ourselves at halftime and just say, 'Hey, if we're moving the ball, let it fly, be confident," Duffy said. "I thought Carleigh made some big buckets for us, played like a veteran. So critical on the road to have that poise, to be able to knock down shots, get a big rebound or get a big defensive stop.

"... Leila had a couple big buckets for us. Then late in the game, Samyha, who struggled a little bit, hit a big three and a big pull-up. So, sometimes, it's not what the ending numbers look like — it's the timing of it."

No. 3: Despite strong second-half numbers from VCU, Virginia Tech's tempo-heavy attack proved too much for the Rams to handle.

Five Rams finished in double figures, paced by foward Nicole Torresani's 17 points. Despie shooting 57.1% in the second half, VCU was outscored 47-36 after intermission.

Why? Shots, shots and shots. Virginia Tech hoisted 45 attempts in the final 20 minutes of basketball and forced 10 VCU turnovers while committing only three itself.

"Coach Duffy just instilled confidence into us, telling us that we do this every day," Latham said. "We work on our shots; we work on our offense. We prepared for this game. So, [it's] just settling in, trusting our preparation and just being confident in what we do every day."

Virginia Tech returns home to Cassell Coliseum on Sunday, Nov. 15, to host La Salle. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, with the broadcast airing on ACC Network Extra.

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