Three Takeaways From Virginia Tech Women's Basketball's 71-68 Win Over Clemson

The Hokies were down eight late, but found a way to win the game.

Jan 4, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies forward Carys Baker (10) shoots against Louisville Cardinals 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 came back from being down 10 after three quarters to defeat Clemson 71-68 in Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies relied on their grit, toughness and late-game execution to pull off the comeback. Here are three takeaways from the game.

JUST WIN, BABY! LGH! 🦃 pic.twitter.com/7UiUbXaENZ

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) January 23, 2026

1. Virginia Tech's late game execution won the game.

With 2:38 left in the game, Clemson's Mia Moore converted an and-one opportunity to put the Tigers up 68-60. What seemed to be the dagger instead became the turning point; Virginia Tech subsequently responded with an 11-0 run to close the game.

Guard Carleigh Wenzel and forward Carys Baker both knocked down a pair of free throws to bring the game within four. Then a turnover on the other end set up a wide-open three-pointer by Samyha Suffren.

"We made a great pass across the baseline and Samyha was wide open," said Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy. "I was just so proud of her because she had some up-and-down moments throughout the game, but no bigger than a few of her steals and that big three."

Still down a point, Clemson had the ball with 1:27 left. Clemson's Taylor Johnson-Matthews had her shot blocked by Baker, which gave the ball right back to the Hokies.

After a timeout by Duffy, Suffren couldn't convert on a layup attempt. However, forward Kilah Freelon was able to grab a crucial offensive rebound. After another Hokie timeout, Wenzel dove to the basket but lays it off perfectly for Baker, who drained the six-foot jumper to give Virginia Tech a 69-68 lead.

"We knew what we were going to get into," Wenzel said. "I told Carys, 'I'm driving baseline, so when I cut, go get it."'

2. Carleigh Wenzel and Carys Baker took over in the fourth quarter.

Both Baker and Wenzel finished the game with 24 points.

Wenzel shot an efficient 8-for-14. Over the past four games, all of which have been won by Virginia Tech, the junior from San Antonio, Texas, has shot the ball 48.9 percent from the field. This has been a large leap from her season field goal percentage of 32.2.

"I think the break was just good for me, just good to mentally reset," Wenzel said. "Just getting your mental straight and coming back and understanding it's time to work. When I came back, I was in the gym a lot, just getting extra reps, seeing it go in. So I think I got my rhythm back."

Both players said there was a moment in the fourth quarter when they looked at each other and decided it was time to take control.

"We literally looked at each other in the fourth quarter and said we got to take over this game," Baker said. "We've been playing with each other for a while now, so we trust each other in those moments that we knew we had to take over."

3. Clemson's turnovers proved to be costly.

Going into this game, the Tigers paced the ACC with the fewest turnovers a game, averaging just 11.9 a contest. Tonight, Clemson turned the ball over 20 times. Moore led all players in turnovers with seven.

"I thought the pressure kind of dismantled us a bit," Clemson head coach Shawn Poppie said.

Virginia Tech outscored Clemson, 28-8, in the ponts off turnovers statistic.

"I think it started on the defensive end for us," said Wenzel. "We picked it up in the fourth quarter, and I think it showed, and it led into our offense."

Virginia Tech will look to take this momentum into Winston-Salem, North Carolina, when it takes on Wake Forest on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. ET. Coverage for the game will be on ACC Network Extra.