Three Takeaways from Virginia Tech Women's Basketball's 92-36 Victory Over Presbyterian

Kaden Reinhard breaks down three takeaways from Virginia Tech's 92-36 victory.

The Virginia Tech Women's Basketball teams stands side-by-side while the national anthem plays. | Virginia Tech Athletics.

Virginia Tech women's basketball bounced back at home following its loss to Duke with a 92-36 victory over Presbyterian. Here are three big takeaways from the Hokies' win:

Got it done ☑️ pic.twitter.com/aVc3rL4fDU

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) December 11, 2025

No. 1: Leila Wells blossomed in her first start.

While the 5-foot-9 sophomore guard, Leila Wells, had donned the maroon and orange 35 times prior, Wednesday's contest marked the first time she was on the hardwood for the opening tip.

Right away, she made an impact, kicking out a pass to guard Carleigh Wenzel on the opening possession for a three-point connection.

Wells made an impact on both ends of the court, amassing a career-high three steals just two minutes into the second quarter before ending her first start with five total steals.

By the third quarter, she had matched her career-high in steals by passing her career-high of seven points, opening the second half with an early shot from behind the stripe.

"I thought Leila [Wells] was great," said Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy. "Her stat line: 13 points, five assists, 0 turnovers, was awesome. I think the greatest thing about Leila is that she just continues to buy into the selfless attitude."

Wells reached her third milestone in the fourth quarter. After a sneaky inbound steal, she found reserve Sophie Swanson trailing behind her towards the paint for her career-high fourth assist.

Overall, Wells produced a standout outing for her first start.

No. 2: This game reset confidence following the Duke affair.

A game against the Blue Devils can kill the confidence of the best of ACC squads, especially with the high-caliber defense that Duke possesses.

With the loss, the Hokies turned to the Presbyterian game to fall back into stride, which they did.

Against Duke, Tech netted a mere 26.6% mark (17-64) from the floor, yet against the Blue Hose, the Hokies bounced back and recorded a 52.1% (38-73) shooting affair.

Tech's 92 total points stands as the highest mark the team has reached since the season opener against Townson. It's a standout effort coming off the 54-point affair against the Blue Devils, as that game continues to rest as an outlier.

No. 3: The Hokies' bench impressed against the Blue Hose.

The Hokies' roster, across the bench, shone in the contest against Presbyterian. Tech's leading scorer Samyha Suffren started the contest on the bench.

Purdue transfer Sophie Swanson was effective on the defensive end off the bench; she tallied career-highs in assists (2), steals (2) and rejected her first block of the season.

Off the bench, five Tech players accumulated career-high scoring efforts: Suffren's 17 points matched her season-high of 17 against Gardner-Webb. In addition to her, Spela Brecelj (four points), Amani Jenkins (eight points), Aniya Trent (nine points) and Sophie Swanson (six points).

"I thought we shared the ball well," Duffy said. "It was great to see our freshmen really be aggressive when they were out there."