Three Takeaways From Virginia Tech Women's Basketball's 65-56 Loss To JMU

The Hokies surrendered their first contest of the 2025-26 campaign.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech women's basketball lost its first game of the 2025-26 campaign, falling, 65-56, to James Madison Sunday. This game felt due as the Hokies were overmatched and unable to overcome poor shooting and rebounding. Let's get into a few takeaways.

FINAL | Hokies 56, Dukes 65

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) November 23, 2025

No. 1: This felt due.

As I mentioned, this game felt due. They struggled against Loyola Maryland and Coastal Carolina more than the score let on. Coming into this game, they were shooting just 43.5% from the field and 28% from three. Those aren't numbers that can win games.

The difference maker on the season had been that they were able to take care of the ball and avoid turning it over while forcing opponents to turn the ball over a ton. While they won the turnover margin, it wasn't by enough to win the game.

No. 2: Rebounding was an issue.

The reason turnovers weren't enough? Rebounding. Virginia Tech was completely unable to rebound effectively, losing the battle 47-27 and only scoring three second chance points to JMU's 21.

JMU Had 13 offensive rebounds to Virginia Tech's seven. Those aren't winnable numbers, they're bad. Virginia Tech was not good today, and they honestly haven't been. As it was mentioned above, turnovers and rebounding are able to make the difference in a lot of games, but the rebounding just wasn't there in this one.

No. 3: There doesn't appear to be an able sharpshooter on this roster.

For as long as I've watched Virginia Tech women's basketball, the team has hard a sharp shooter that could really lock things down on the defensive side. It was Aisha Sheppard at first, then she graduated and Cayla King took over. After that? Matilda Ekh was the shooter.

Ekh graduated last year, and the Hokies went to the Big 10 to replace her, just like they did to get her. They got Sophie Swanson from Purdue. Swanson was a deadly sharp-shooter as a freshman at Purdue, but as a sophomore, the volume went up and the efficiency went down.

The Hokies got her in the offseason, hoping that she'd be able to fill the tenured role of the sharp shooter for Virginia Tech women's basketball. She has not only been unable to do that, but she has only played in four games.

Earlier in the season, it was mentioned that she was on a minutes restriction, so the assumption is that she is unavailable due to injury.

Regardless, the absence of a sharp shooter on the roster has been visually detrimental. The Hokies are unable to effectively stretch the floor, as there are only a select few players that you really trust to knock down a three when they line up to fire it away.