Three Takeaways From Virginia Tech Women's Basketball's 76-64 Win Over Virginia

The Hokies captured their seventh straight victory of the season with a 12-point win over Virginia.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech women's basketball captured a pivotal, potentially season-defining victory over Virginia Sunday afternoon, vanquishing the Cavaliers 76-64 inside Cassell Coliseum. The victory marked the Hokies' seventh straight; Virginia Tech has not lost since Jan. 4 vs. then-No. 13 Louisville.

OUR HOUSE. OUR STATE. 🏆#CommonwealthClash | @SmithfieldBrand pic.twitter.com/1ysoncfr3M

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) February 1, 2026

No. 1: Virginia Tech's on a roll.

That much is clear by way of its seven-game winning streak, but the Hokies (18-5, 6-3 ACC) have thrived via a balanced scoring effort, too. Four Virginia Tech players scored in double figures. Guard Carleigh Wenzel led the way against the Cavaliers (15-7, 7-4 ACC) with 23 points, despite going 5-for-18 from the field.

Despite the Cavaliers cutting the lead to five late, Virginia Tech did not yield and pulled away with a Wenzel layup, a Wenzel free throw, a Samyha Suffren lay-in and finally, a Carys Baker triple with 73 seconds left that brought the Hokies' lead up to 11, cinching the game up.

Though the metrics were quite even in regard to team stats — with bench points being a 29-14 margin in favor of Virginia — Virginia Tech thrived via its effort to get to the line, logging 38 free throws and staying diligent in its distribution.

In a victory that Virginia Tech needed, with both teams sitting on the bubble, the Hokies did as needed, stamping down on the Cavaliers to claim their seventh straight victory.

"It's in the back of everybody's head, but at the end of the day, it's just a rivalry," Wenzel said. "I think that's when we come out and are swinging. I think both teams played at a very high pace and high competitiveness.... I don't think it was really thought about as ACC standings or bubble terms. It was more, 'We're going at each other because we're competing for the state,' than anything."

Virginia Tech currently ranks No. 37 overall in Bart Torvik's metrics and should see a serious jump in its tournament prospects after defeating another bubble team in Virginia.

No. 2: The two teams were polar opposites in regard to distribution and ball security.

On Sunday, Virginia Tech logged 11 assists, compared to eight turnovers. In comparison, the Cavaliers produced only five assists and coughed up the ball 13 times. Consequently, Virginia Tech produced a 1.38 assist-to-turnover ratio in contrast to Virginia's 0.38 mark.

"Credit to Virginia Tech," said Virginia coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. "I thought they played hard. We had some lapses in our chemistry, a little bit on the court. But then, also the game plan. So, that's pretty much why it turned out the way that it did... We had some defensive breakdowns."

Virginia Tech has thrived in distribution entering the contest ranked fifth in the ACC in assists per game with 16.59 dishes per game. Moreover, the team also ranked fifth in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio with a 1.19 clip, exceeding that today with a 1.38 mark.

No. 3: The Hokies thrived in regard to getting to the free-throw line.

Two Hokies were particularly effective at the free-throw line. Guards Mackenzie Nelson and Carleigh Wenzel combined for 32 attempts, converting 20.

Wenzel's 20 free throw attempts set a program record for the most free throws attempted in a single game; the previous record was 18 by Nikki Davis on Jan. 24, 2010.

Wenzel and Nelson combined for 38 points, alongside 10 assists and four turnovers, to boot. Though three Hokies — forwards Kilah Freelon and Baker, plus Suffren — accumulated four fouls apiece, Virginia Tech logged 38 foul shots in total, nearly double Virginia's output of 21 attempts from the stripe.

Virginia Tech will play against Notre Dame next, with the contest set to be on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.