Women's Basketball Overcomes Sluggish Opening Frame To Topple ETSU

Trailing 16-10 after one quarter, the Hokies outscored ETSU 63-39 the rest of the way.

Virginia Tech Athletics

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Though Virginia Tech women's basketball languished through a sluggish opening quarter against East Tennessee, it was not stymied for long Sunday. The Hokies recovered from the opening 10-minute struggle and outscored the Buccaneers, 63-39, over the remaining three frames for a 73-55 final score.

Sunday funday! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/51UPKijn8b

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

“A really good win by our team,” Virginia Tech (9-3, 0-1 ACC) head coach Megan Duffy said. “... They’re coming off a nice win. With everything going on with finals, kind of getting to the end of the semester, I was just really proud of the way our team made a couple big runs in the game."

The surge was spearheaded by junior forward Carys Baker, who logged 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Baker's efforts marked the third time this season that she's tallied 20 or most points and it came after a two-game stretch against Duke and Presbyterian where she tallied a combined 11 points.

With the Hokies trailing, 20-17, Baker knocked down the team's first triple. Following her trey, the team knotted eight straight points to assume a 47-30 lead over the Buccaneers (4-8) at the under-6 media timeout.

The second quarter marked a clear defensive shift, with the Hokies tightening up after a shaky opening quarter. Baker said as such, remarking that Duffy said that the team needed to pick up its pressure and amp up its confidence. Once that pressure arrived, so did the Hokies' offensive opportunities. Before then, the team appeared timid and tentative., their offensive gameplan stunted by ETSU, which limited Tech to 3-for-14 shooting in the first quarter. In the second.

Afterwards, it appeared comfortable and aggressive, shooting over 42.9% from the field in each of the final three quarters after a 21.4% opening frame.

"I think once we got back to what we were doing in practice, it kind of helped our offense," Baker said.

Another player that shined Sunday was true freshman Aniya Trent, who tallied three assists, seven rebounds and two blocks against the Buccaneers.

"I thought Aniya did awesome," Duffy said. "She's one of those players first coming off the bench that just do small things that are that are huge for us. She had two or three blocks as well, just kind of protected the paint for us. Grab a couple offensive rebounds, some big defensive rebounds when they were crashing hard. So, for a young player getting some good minutes, I'm really proud of the way she's handling herself and continuing to improve. Her voice is strong and doing all the things we're asking her to do."

Baker credited Trent for helping create offensive opportunities for her throughout the game; though Trent didn't score, she generated extra possessions for Baker and created space offensively as a rebounder.

“I want to give a big applause to Aniya Trent,” Baker said. “She was opening a lot of stuff up for me, which was helping a lot, and getting offensive rebounds for us. Huge props to her. She’s only a freshman, so the ceiling, she hasn’t even touched it yet.”

Aside from Baker and Trent, several other Hokies turned in strong performances. Guard Samyha Suffren provided a spark off the bench, finishing with 12 points and four steals while consistently pressuring the ball. Duffy’s impact came more quietly, as she helped steady the lineup and contributed in ways that didn’t always show up in the box score.

After missing Virginia Tech’s previous game against Presbyterian, guard Mackenzie Nelson returned to the starting lineup and played a key role in keeping the offense organized. Nelson scored seven points while dishing out eight assists, adding three rebounds and recording her first block of the season.

Guard Mel Daley was another steady presence offensively, finishing with 13 points and consistently getting to the free-throw line. She converted 7 of her 11 attempts at the stripe, helping sustain Virginia Tech’s scoring flow.

Baker, however, was the clear centerpiece of the performance. Virginia Tech effectively put the game out of reach with a decisive 15–0 run in the third quarter, seizing control of the frame by a commanding 25–14 margin. Baker was at the heart of that surge, accounting for 13 of the Hokies’ 25 points in the period, knocking down four of her five attempts.

Virginia Tech next plays Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. ET. After that, the Hokies will play their next two games at Cassell Coliseum. First is Radford on Sunday, Dec. 21 at noon ET, then after a 10-day break, Miami kicks off Tech's 2026 slate on Thursday Jan. 1, at 6 p.m. ET. Both contests are available for viewing on ACC Network Extra.