Three Takeaways from Virginia Tech Women's Basketball's 67-50 Victory Over Pittsburgh

The Hokies' win streak extends to six.

Jan 4, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies guard Carleigh Wenzel (1) shoots against Louisville Cardinals forward Anaya Hardy (9) and forward Elif Istanbulluoglu (11) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Virginia Tech 85-60. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech picked up its sixth consecutive win Thursday night, defeating Pittsburgh by a final score of 67-50. Here are three takeaways from the victory.

Make that SIX IN A ROW! 😤 pic.twitter.com/2NRffnnF1C

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) January 30, 2026

No. 1. The game was much closer than the final score suggests.

Despite winning by 17, Virginia Tech allowed Pitt to hang around far longer than expected.

The Hokies led just 33-25 at halftime and were only up seven going into the fourth quarter. Through three quarters, Virginia Tech shot just 35% from the field. Despite this, the Hokie defense did enough to keep the lead for the majority of the game.

"It was not the prettiest basketball game, and give Pitt some credit for that," said Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy. "Their kids played very hard, made some big plays, but I was just really proud of the way we stepped up in the fourth quarter defensively.

It was an off night for most of Virginia Tech's shooters. Carys Baker, Tech's leader in points per game, was held to just 3-for-13 shooting from the field and 2-for-10 from deep. She still made a significant impact on the game, however, with her rebounding, securing nine boards.

"It was just one of those nights," Baker said. "If the shots aren't falling, I have to figure out ways to affect the game in other ways. So, I cleaned up by rebounding and helping everyone on the defensive end as well."

The Panthers slashed the score to 55-50 with 4:05 left, but the Hokies buckled down and didn't allow Pitt to score for the remainder of the game.

No. 2. Pitt's Mikayla Johnson gave Virginia Tech problems all night.

Junior guard Mikayla Johnson was the Panthers' best player by far tonight. She finished the game with 21 points, six rebounds and two assists. The next-closest in points for Pitt was Carla Viegas, who scored eight points off the bench. In total, Pitt's other players netted 29 points.

"She's a great player," said Duffy. "Her ability to get downhill and be physical, she was relentless at times."

The main issue for Johnson was her foul trouble. At halftime, she had already picked up three fouls and eventually fouled out with 3:23 left in the game. Following her fouling out, Pitt did not score a single point, letting Virginia Tech go on a 12-0 run to close out the game.

Freelon remarked that the key down the stretch was attention to detail and communication, especially after Johnson's departure.

"It was just the little things," Freelon said. "Just the details of getting back in front of your man, having each other's help side."

No. 3. Virginia Tech's been on a heater.

After losing the first two games of January, the Hokies ended the month on a six-game win streak. During these games, Virginia Tech has won by an average of 21.2 points. The only close game was the Hokies' comeback against Clemson.

"This league turns into a gauntlet in January and February," Duffy said. "I said to our team they're not always going to be pretty."

Baker echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that the streak hasn't changed the team's approach.

"We can't take our foot off the gas," Baker said. "We're in ACC play, we're in January, it's never going to be easy."

The Hokies will stay at home as they welcome Virginia to Cassell Coliseum on Sunday. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. ET; coverage for the contest will be on ACC Network Extra.