Virginia Tech Women's Hoops Sunk by Insipid Second Quarter In 82-62 Loss to NC State

The Hokies made just three of their 16 shots in the second frame and subsequently fell to 8-5 in league play.

Virginia Tech Athletics

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech women's basketball dropped its second straight contest following a seven-game heater, falling to NC State 82-62 in its Saturday matinee in Cassell Coliseum.

FINAL | Tech 62, NC State 82

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) February 8, 2026

"Overall, disappointed with our defense," said Virginia Tech (18-7, 8-5 ACC) head coach Megan Duffy. "This afternoon, we knew that we probably had to have our best defensive effort of the season. NC State has five elite-level players who can score at a pretty high clip. I thought we were a step slow on our scout and just had too many breakdowns. I thought we had some good moments throughout the game as it went on.

"Overall, not enough defensively to stop, really, their big three."

The Hokies were undone by a second-quarter lapse where they only scored eight points, doing so on 3-of-16 (18.8%) shooting. Conversely, NC State (17-7, 10-3 ACC) was an adept 8-for-13 (61.5%) on the floor. Across the game, NC State also went 15-for-16 (93.8%) from the charity stripe, doubling Tech's eight total free throw attempts.

Virginia Tech led 13-6 with 6:30 remaining in the first quarter; however, over the final six and a half minutes of the opening frame, the Wolfpack went on a 13-6 run to close out the first quarter, then pulled away from the Hokies via the aforementioned decisive 25-8 second-quarter swing. NC State went on a momentum-shifting 21-2 run where the Hokies went scoreless from the field for 8:23.

Guard Samyha Suffren hit a jumper with 9:28 to go in the second quarter to give the Hokies a go-ahead 23-21 lead. When Virginia Tech made its next bucket, a layup from fellow guard Mackenzie Nelson at that mark, the margin was 42-27 in favor of NC State.

"The thing is, they don't run a ton of complicated stuff, but they're very good at what they do," Duffy said. "So, the quick ball screens, the one-on-one attacks. That run was huge, and I thought we were back on our heels too much, instead of being the aggressor in that moment and in different moments throughout the game."

Virginia Tech clawed back from a 26-12 point deficit in the paint, narrowing the gap to a four-point shortfall late in the contest. NC State eventually won the battle in the paint, 44-36, boosted by a 10-2 gap in the second quarter.

Moreover, NC State guard Zoe Brooks outshot the entire Virginia Tech team from the free-throw line, attempting 14 charity-stripe shots to Tech's eight — and draining all but one. Brooks ended the day with a joint-team-high 25 points, on a 6-for-14 clip from the field, plus her 13-for-14 mark from the free-throw line.

In addition to her efforts, NC State forward Khamil Pierre was highly accurate from the field. Both Pierre and Brooks did their damage exclusively in the paint — Brooks through drawing contact en route to the free-throw line, and Pierre via playing through that contact. Pierre attempted three free throws, draining all of them while going a stellar 11-for-17 from the field for 25 points.

The junior forward, who transferred from Vanderbilt in the offseason, also compiled a team-high 12 rebounds. Though Virginia Tech outdid the Wolfpack on the offensive boards, 15-8, NC State clawed back with a 29-26 advantage on the defensive boards. The Wolfpack narrowly lost the rebounding battle, 41-37.

In contrast, Virginia Tech's top two scoring options — guard Carleigh Wenzel and forward Carys Baker — combined for 30 points on a 12-for-35 clip from the field. The Wolfpack limited Baker to a 4-for-16 clip from the field, as well as a blank 0-for-6 mark from deep. Baker was still active throughout the contest, ending the day with eight points, nine rebounds and two assists.

Meanwhile, Wenzel went 8-for-19 for a team-high 22 points against NC State. The output marked Wenzel's sixth straight contest with 19 or more points.

Meanwhile, forward Kilah Freelon accumulated 14 points and a joint-career-high 18 rebounds, hauling in nine boards each on the offensive and defensive ends.

"I thought Kilah had a really nice game today," Duffy said. "I thought she was pretty hungry after the Notre Dame game, of just what she wanted to do out there. Her rebounding was tremendous. I thought she had some great defensive plays.

"... She always has a great voice and is hungry for us. Hopefully, her energy will continue to be contagious."

The Wolfpack outclassed Virginia Tech on the defensive end, holding the Hokies to a mere 4-for-18 (22.2%) from three-point land. The Hokies went 2-for-13 (15.3%) from long range in the final three quarters, while NC State made a solid six of its 16 (37.5%) three-point looks across the game's entirety.

The Wolfpack also tallied 10 steals to Virginia Tech's six, while forcing the Hokies into 16 turnovers. NC State itself only committed nine miscues, forcing Virginia Tech into 10 turnovers in the second half.

In its seven-game win streak prior to their losses vs. the Wolfpack and Notre Dame, the Hokies won by a combined 139 points, winning each contest by an average of 19.9 points per game. There were quality opponents in that stretch, most notably Clemson, Virginia and Syracuse.

While Virginia Tech's door to the NCAA Tournament isn't closed, it is beginning to seal, and stacking up quality wins, with the ACC Tournament now less than a month away, comes at an utmost premium.

Virginia Tech draws winnable contests in its final five games, coming against Stanford, California, No. 25 North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Virginia. Of those five, North Carolina and Virginia are ranked higher than the Hokies in the ACC standings, sitting at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, to Virginia Tech's seventh-placed ranking.

Meanwhile, California (No. 10 in ACC), Stanford (No. 11) and Georgia Tech (No. 12) slot in below the Hokies, offering the Hokies a chance to end the season with a 10-8 record in league play if each game proceeds as chalk.

"We have to really flip the mirror, look at ourselves from coaches to players and reset ourselves with our effort," Duffy said when asked about what her message to the team was after their loss to NC State. "We can get better at the basketball part. Maybe it's good to get on the road, head out to the West Coast, and see what we're made of out there."

Virginia Tech's contests against the Golden Bears and Cardinal both come as part of a back-to-back road trip. Duffy remarked that the team will travel to California on Tuesday, offering roughly 48 hours of respite before its two-game stint in the Golden State.

"I had to ask my staff who we play first, I'm still in the moment with stuff," Duffy joked. "But I look forward to it. Stanford's a really good team. Cal always plays well at home. I think we're going to have some great Hokie fans out there, it sounds like. So, excited to reset ourselves."

Virginia Tech will travel to Stanford next, playing against the Cardinal on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 10 p.m. ET. The contest will be carried on ACC Network Extra as the Hokies look to get back to their winning ways in league play.

"This one doesn't feel good, especially on our home floor, but to respond and get on the road, it'll be good to see what we're made of," Duffy said.