Virginia Tech Reigns Victorious In 83-82 Commonwealth Clash Win Over Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Virginia Tech women's basketball's Commonwealth Clash was a tale of two halves. But, as it turned out, the Hokies did just enough early — and two Carleigh Wenzel free throws with 1.7 seconds left sealed a narrow 83-82 escape.

"We talked a lot throughout the game when it was getting ugly at times, everybody has a chance to make a positive play," said Hokies head coach Megan Duffy. "That could be a big rebound, that could be a loose ball, that could be communicating on defense. And so instead of getting a little frustrated, it was just like, 'Stay the course.'"

Like we said...𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 ‼️‼️‼️#CommonwealthClash | @SmithfieldBrand pic.twitter.com/WNK4hSHZUU
— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) March 1, 2026

After one quarter, it appeared as if Virginia Tech (22-8, 12-6 ACC) was en route to a comfortable win; the Hokies held a 27-13 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play were complete. Wenzel had logged seven of her eventual career-high 29 points. Virginia Tech even held a commanding 39-16 margin at the 5:25 mark of the second quarter, looking every bit like an ACC contender after its bye week.

“We came out guns a blazing in that first quarter,” Duffy said.

Yet, Virginia (19-10, 11-7 ACC) went on a 12-4 run to cut the deficit to 43-28 heading into intermission.

Once the second half kicked off, the Cavaliers kept on rolling, stacking up an 8-0 run over 2:11 to slice the Hokies' advantage all the way down to seven. Over a span of seven minutes and 36 seconds (5:25 of the second quarter to 7:49 of the third), Virginia Tech was outscored 20-4, allowing Virginia Tech to close the margin to 43-36.

Wenzel put down seven points to carry Virginia Tech to a brief 12-point advantage, but Virginia continued to charge. Buoyed by a 1-2-2 zone defense, the Cavaliers hindered the Hokies' third-quarter efforts, holding Tech to a 5-for-13 mark while making 13-of-22 from the field.

"It was sticky little zone, but I thought we just sustained it enough," Duffy said. "Like I said, it wasn't pretty, but we sustained it enough to obviously come out with the W."

Virginia produced a 9-2 run to close out the third, with Kymora Johnson delivering a buzzer-beating three to trim the margin to 61-57 entering the final frame.

From there, the advantage was whittled down smaller and smaller until a Paris Clark lay-in sliced the Hokies' lead to two with 8:42 left in the final frame.

The Hokies also dealt with serious foul trouble. Six Virginia Tech players racked up three or more fouls, with guard Mackenzie Nelson and forward Kayl Petersen picking up four. Forward Kilah Freelon fouled out after posting 10 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes of play.

Virginia Tech's offense became stagnant in stretches in the second half, with the Hokies lacking the composure they had possessed in the second half. The team was no longer displaying equanimity, hindered by what eventually became a 48-24 deficit in paint points.

Though Virginia Tech logged 40 second-half points to the Cavaliers' 54, it did ameliorate its defensive woes down the stretch.

And it was Wenzel that was the pillar keeping Virginia Tech afloat. The redshirt junior guard logged an incandescent 29 points, the highest totaled by a Hokie since Georgia Amoore's 39-point game vs. Virginia on March 3, 2024. Eight of Wenzel's 19 looks from the field found the net, while the guard also went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Wenzel also added four rebounds, four assists and a trio of steals.

"I'm very proud of her the way she handled herself all week," Duffy said. "... She knew we had to find a balance of rest in this bye week. It's kind of strange, the last week, when you want to keep playing, and all of a sudden, you don't have a game on Thursday. For her and some of our high-minute players, to get a little bit of rest on their bodies but still get better was the biggest key."

And then there were her monumental free throws.

Virginia Tech was trailing by one with 24 ticks on the scoreboard after Clark was fouled by Nelson. With the score deadlocked at 81-all, Clark nailed one of two shots at the stripe to allot Virginia a one-point lead.

Then, Nelson missed a three-pointer. Virginia Tech gobbled up the offensive board, but a Mel Daley tip-in attempt also didn't fall. The Hokies kept the ball with five seconds remaining, however, setting up the foul on Wenzel. With the game hanging in the balance, the redshirt junior buried both looks — and with it, guaranteed the Hokies' first season sweep of Virginia since the 2022-23 campaign.

"She had great clock awareness once they figured out the clock," Duffy said. "And then I had no doubt that she was going to make those two free throws."

Duffy spotlighted the redshirt junior guard's poise and her defense on Virginia guard Kymora Johnson, who produced 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists on an unremarkable 9-for-21 line.

"Her poise was the best part about her day today," Duffy said of Wenzel. "She went and switched off on Mo, to just maybe give her a little more resistance. It was challenging, but I thought her mindset was contagious to everybody else, and just very proud of the way she gutted it out for us today, along with many others."

The Cavaliers' last-second heave was no good; Virginia Tech opted to double-team Johnson, leaving a nonplussed Sa'Myha Smith to take the final shot. Her look was short, cementing a narrow one-point victory for Virginia Tech in what was a back-and-forth thriller down the stretch.

In addition to Wenzel, Virginia Tech saw contributions from multiple spots in the lineup. Forward Carys Baker shined early, logging nine points in the opening quarter and producing 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting (4-of-8 three-point). Baker also gobbled up seven rebounds and swatted away three shots.

Nelson was active in distribution, though she was initially quiet from the field. Eleven assists were produced by the redshirt sophomore guard, who logged five dishes by the end of the opening frame.

Virginia Tech's 2025-26 regular season has concluded; the Hokies now wait until March 5, when the ACC Tournament kicks off in Duluth, Georgia. Virginia Tech will receive a single-round bye and progress directly to the second round, where it will play the winner of 11-seed Georgia Tech vs. 14-seed Florida State.

Heading into the tournament, hopes are high. Virginia Tech has won four of its last five and 11 of its last 14. The Hokies have acquitted themselves well in nearly all of their ACC contests and save for stumbles against NC State, North Carolina and Notre Dame, they have been on a strong run over the last two months and ended the season with an invigorating rivalry victory.

"It's amazing," Wenzel said. "It feels great. I'm definitely glad. Rivalry games are always fun, whether it's at Cassell [Coliseum] or here."

And now, the stretch run is here — this is March.

"Hopefully, this gives us a great amount of confidence going into the tournament in Atlanta," Duffy said. "We'll figure out and watch some games here on the way home on the bus ride. But I want them to enjoy this. They worked extremely hard this past week.

"... It's a great group to be around, and I'm thrilled that we're going to now have an opportunity to go win a championship."