Three Takeaways from Virginia Tech Women's Basketball's 79-67 Victory over Stanford

Kaden Reinhard compiles three takeaways from the Hokies contest in the Golden State.

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

On Thursday, Virginia Tech women's Basketball started its two-game California road trip with a 79-67 victory over Stanford, powered by a second-half surge. Here are three big takeaways from the contest:

Big road W 😤 pic.twitter.com/1ebwGGDaV3

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) February 13, 2026

No. 1: The third quarter won this contest for Tech

After junior forward Carys Baker nailed a catch-and-shoot wing three with 52 seconds left in the second quarter to even out the periods scoring at 18 a piece, yet Tech (19-7, 9-5 ACC) still trailed the Stanford Cardinal (16-10, 5-8) 34-32.

By the end of the third quarter, however, the Hokies found themselves on top, 60-52, after a 70.5% (12-for-17) shooting split as a team, with Baker leading the team with 10 points in the stretch.

The facilitation was a large part in getting the open looks for the Hokies to continue to put the pressure on Stanford, with eight of baskets coming off an assist. Two of the other four makes were from guard Mackenzie Nelson after a coast-to-coast defensive rebound opportunity, and an interior finish off an offensive rebound by Mel Daley, which didn't count as an assist but was very close.

With the multi-possession advantage with just a quarter to play, Tech was able to slow down the pace for a modest 7-for-17 split in the quarter, while still nabbing five assists as well. Only six of the Hokies' 19 connections in the went without an assist against Stanford.

No. 2: The Hokies sized up in the second half

After not finding much success on both the glass in the first-half, but interior scoring; Tech ramped up and got physical with Stanford to take over the second-half.

Stanford is dominant on the rebounding battle as is, with 6'3 freshman Lara Somfai averaging 9.7 rebounds per game. At the half she had eight.

While Somfai finished with15 rebounds against the Hokies, it was vital in the second-half to limit rebounds to anybody on the Cardinal but her.

Fellow freshman, 6'5 Alexandra Exchmeyer, only had seven rebounds in the game, but she had five in the second quarter alone, one of which counting for a second-chance offensive effort.

No. 3: The Hokies have bounced back well

After Notre Dame snapped Tech's seven-game win streak on February 5, the Hokies returned home to host NC State, where they dropped that battle by 20, 82-62.

For Tech, it was their third back-to-back loss of their season (JMU and BYU, Miami and Louisville), and venturing cross country for a two-game road stand looked daunting, especially with the size Stanford possesses.

Instead, the Hokies attacked the second-half strong to rally back and get back in the win column for their ninth conference victory.

Three out of the last four matchups for Tech will be against top-10 ACC teams, with the exception being Georgia Tech, who sit at No. 11, just three games back of the Hokies still.

Next up, Tech stays in California, where they take on Cal on Sunday, February 15, at 5 p.m. EST. Coverage will be available on the ACC Network.