Three Takeaways From Virginia Tech WBB's Win Against Coastal Carolina

Here's three takeaways from Virginia Tech's 82-59 win over Coastal Carolina on Sunday.

Carleigh Wenzel moving the ball up court vs Gardner Webb | Virginia Tech Athletic

Virginia Tech comfortably handled Coastal Carolina in an 82-59 win on Sunday for Megan Duffy's crew. A few things stood out to me in this game that could point towards how this season could go for the team. Here are my three takeaways.

TOTAL TEAM EFFORT 😤 pic.twitter.com/FDOD8qbZ0U

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) November 15, 2025

No. 1: This team has struggled against physicality.

The Hokies outscored Coastal Carolina 53-29 in the first half and then proceeded to drop a four-point dud in the third frame. Coastal Carolina really upped the intensity and physicality and the Hokies did not respond well.

That comes on the heels of last Sunday's game, where the Hokies struggled against the physicality that Loyola Maryland brought to the court.

A team that struggles against physicality is nothing new in Blacksburg, and those teams have been able to find ways to win and be very successful, but it makes things a lot harder. Mel Daley and Kilah Freelon are two players who seem to thrive on physicality, but players like Kayl Petersen or Carleigh Wenzel seem to show struggles when things get messy on the floor.

It's not a dire issue, but a few teams in the ACC, such as Duek, are very physical and the Hokies will need to be able to match that physicality to have a chance to take on some of the conference's top dogs.

No. 2: This team is unreal from the free-throw line.

The Hokies are shooitng a stellar 76.4% from the line and that comes from Wenzel and Freelon showing incredible ability to get to the charity strip so far in the season. Between the two of them, they went 14-16 from the line today and totalled all but five of Virginia Tech's makes.

While the team can struggle against physicality, a way to combat that without being physical is drawing fouls, which is what a lot of Kenny Brooks teams did to battle physical approaches. The ability to take fouls, get to the line, and make your free throws is something that can seperate good teams from great teams.

This team found different ways to produce in the second half against a physical team, and that can be invaluable down the stretch.

No. 3: This team has a clutch factor.

In multiple games this year, the Hokies have found themselves in brawls against inferior competition. Yet, they found their way to get out of it with a win, and a strong one at that on this occasion.

This game against Coastal was an 11 point game while Coastal had the ball with about five minutes remaining. In those remaining five minutes, Virginia Tech fought, battled and found a way to outscore the Chanticleers by 12, leading to a 23-point victory that looks much more dominant on the scoreboard than it was in reality.

Much like the free throw ability, the ability to hit the big shot when it really counts is something else that decides close games like this one. Virginia Tech was able to hit those big shots when it counted the most, and that is what led to the big win.

Virginia Tech faces off against Niagara on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. ET.