Three Takeaways From Virginia Tech Women's Basketball's 87-51 Victory Over Gardner-Webb

Kaden Reinhard breaks down three takeaways from Virginia Tech's win over the Runnin' Bulldogs.

Three Takeaways From the Hokies 87-51 Victory Over Gardner-Webb | Virginia Tech Athletics.

Virginia Tech women's basketball picked up its third straight victory to open the season in a 87-51 contest over the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs. Here are three takeaways from the contest.

Moving to 3-0! 🏰 pic.twitter.com/lsuyPmVDIg

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) November 14, 2025

No. 1: The Hokies ran rampant on Thursday.

Whether it was off turnovers or just quickly pushing the ball up court after a defensive rebound, the Hokies' pace offensively was a challenge all night for Gardner-Webb.

Tech scored 28 points off turnovers, 15 of which were fast break looks, overall out-matching the Runnin' Bulldogs by 22.

"I think they had fun doing it [running a full court press in the first quarter]," said Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy. "Just a little pressure, we've been working on it a little bit."

Beyond the quick turnover caused points, even on the drives up the floor, the Hokies pushed the pace with emphasis, letting the ball fly on open shots before half of the shot clock was allotted.

"Based on their zone, we knew we were going to be able to get some shots pretty early in the shot clock," said Duffy. "They're taking the right shots."

No. 2: Kilah Freelon balled out.

As if a mere double-double in Kilah Freelon's first contest in the maroon and orange wasn't enough, in her second outing, she set a career high in rebounds with 18.

"I don't necessarily aim to have a double-double," said Freelon. "I more so aim to help my teammates in any way that I can; whether that's running the floor or rebounding the ball."

Before the tip, the most rebounds Freelon had secured in a contest was 11, and she had already matched this count early in the second quarter.

Freelon's 18 rebounds against the Runnin' Bulldogs came just three rebounds shy of tying the school record of 21, most notably tallied by Liz Kitley, in a 2021 matchup against Wake Forest.

The perfect split of nine offensive and defensive rebounds allowed Tech to feast on second-chance opportunities, outscoring Gardner-Webb 35-6 on second-chance looks.

"Gardner-Webb plays zone for near 40 minutes," said Duffy. "It's hard sometimes to have those perfect block outs, so we really emphasize the whole team, trying to find those pockets to rebound and get extra possessions.

No. 3: The Hokies were extremely physical.

For 40 minutes, on both sides of the court, Tech played physical and forced themselves onto the Runnin' Bulldogs.

Redshirt sophomore Samyha Suffren led the Hokies with four steals, jumping in both the passing lanes of Gardner-Webb, or getting on-ball steals against the Bulldogs' various ball-handlers.

"I thought there was some major physical plays on both sides," said Duffy. "Those small things bring great energy to our team and our program."

Outside of the defensive physicality, Tech earned 27 charity stripe shots from eight different players.

No Hokie was scared to get into the paint and go up for the strong finish against Gardner-Webb, and if that trend remains, that will be a vital asset for Tech.