Women's Basketball Routs Towson In 44-Point Victory

The Hokies steamrolled the Tigers by a 34-12 margin in the third quarter.

Virginia Tech guard Mackenzie Nelson during pregame introductions. | Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech women's basketball got out to an optimal start, routing Towson 100-56 for a dominant season-opening victory. The win marked the Hokies' 12th straight season-opening victory and the 13th straight home-opening victory for Tech.

Had ourselves an evening! 😎 pic.twitter.com/wGX6QivQoY

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) November 5, 2025

"it was great to be back in Cassell [Coliseum]," said Hokies (1-0) head coach Megan Duffy, who moved to a unblemished 9-0 record in season openers. "Awesome environment. I missed it for a few months and just proud of our team. You never know in the first game, as a coach, how we're all going to come out.

"But I thought we made some improvements as the game went on. It was great to have everybody get in the game. So, just overall super excited about the first win."

Tech's charge on Tuesday was anchored by sophomore forward Kayl Petersen, who tallied a career-high 17 points against the Tigers (0-1). Petersen also notched the first double-double of her career, gobbling up 11 rebounds, nine of them defensive boards.

The Hokies struggled out of the gate, trailing 11-10 after 2:47. However, after reserve guar Mel Daley notched back-to-bac Tech knuckled down. After that 11-10 mark, the Hokies never trailed and ran away with it, outscoring Towson 90-45 the rest of the way.

Across the contest, the Hokies possessed a 28-rebound advantage, compiling 59 in total. Tech also tallied 22 assists and produced a 1.57 assist-to-turnover ratio.

A large reason for Tech's forcefulness to end the first quarter on a 10-2 run was new transfer forward Kilah Freelon. The senior, who played on the Texas Tech roster that eliminated Virginia Tech from the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) last year, put up 15 points alongside 11 rebounds (five offensive).

In the third quarter, the floodgates opened for the Hokies. Anchored by Petersen and Wenzel, who tallied nine and eight points in the frame, respectively, the Hokies notched 34 points, including 20 points in the paint and 15 off second-chance opportunities. Meanwhile, Tech stifled Towson on the other end, holding the Tigers to a drab 4-for-14 (28.6%) mark in the third quarter.

The contest was a fast-paced affair, featuring a total of 172 possessions, meaning a new possession occurred roughly every 14 seconds.

The Hokies' speed in transition was aided by the return of junior guard Samyha Suffren. The guard played in 10 contests last season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury that required surgery. Against Towson, Suffren notched 12 points, all of which came in the paint.

"I'm just happy for her, I told her at one point, 'Can you have some fun out here?'" Duffy said. "Like, you're back and just being grateful for the opportunity to play again. And it was a long year for her to obviously have the surgery and then spend time getting back in the swing of things and get the rust off. The more she plays, the better she's going to get.

"And I think she's pretty hard on herself at times. We're just trying to get her to stay emotionally involved in the the small things of the game of basketball because she's very talented. Again, the more minutes she can play and get that game experience again, the better this team will be."

In total, five Hokies finished with double-digit points. In addition, all 12 of Tech's players saw the court, including each of Tech's freshman. Kate Sears was the only one not playing; the top-100 recruit will miss the entirety of the 2025-2026 campaign due to a foot injury, per the Tech Sideline Podcast.

Had a great time chatting about the #Hokies' upcoming season with Megan Duffy today.

Of note, Duffy said true freshman guard Kate Sears, a top-100 recruit, will miss the 2025-26 season with a foot injury that required surgery. https://t.co/drLKuetE4O

— David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) October 28, 2025

"First game, you don't know who's going to score," Duffy said. "A little bit of the lineup, I wasn't sure exactly what it was going to be because a lot of players deserve to be out there. They're working hard. They're pushing each other."

Duffy remarked that the depth was improved from the year prior and that the lineup will remain a work-in-progress that will shift over time. 10 Hokies played ten-plus minutes in the season opener, offering more lineup flexibility than last year's roster, where the lineup typically ran around seven to eight players deep after Suffren's injury.

"We talked from last year to this year of having a little bit more depth in all positions and I thought we showed that a little bit," Duffy said. "I felt like I was hockey subbing in that first and second quarter, just getting a lot of fresh bodies in. Kept it a little bit more stable in that third quarter, but we're going to keep evolving into our lineups.

"That's why our practices are so important, what we're charting their their mindset to help our team with winning plays and be successful. So, it'll keep evolving as we go, but overall, it was good to see a lot of people contribute and be in that scoring column."

Virginia Tech's next contest comes against Loyola Maryland on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. ET; the game will be available for viewing on ACC Network Extra.