HOKIES UNABLE TO FIGHT OFF CARDINAL COMEBACK

Luke Boran

Staff Writer

February 20, 2025

BLACKSBURG – In their first-ever women’s basketball meeting, Stanford edged out Virginia Tech in a thrilling overtime battle, 75-74, on Thursday night, fueled by a 30-point explosion from Chloe Clardy.

The Hokies (16-10, 7-8 ACC) fall below .500 in conference play and possibly put their NCAA tournament hopes in jeopardy after their past two losses. 

All seemed lost for Stanford (14-12, 6-9) heading into the final quarter of regulation. However, Clardy put the team on her back, scoring 14 of her eventual 30 points in the period alone. The Arkansas native fueled the Cardinal’s 23 fourth-quarter points, slowly chipping away at the Hokie lead. 

“She got what she wanted,” Tech head coach Megan Duffy said. “That three by [the Stanford] bench was a dagger, and she just continued to step up and make plays.” 

The once 12-point lead for the Hokies dwindled down to just four with 40 seconds left. Clardy got to the cup twice in a row thanks to a drawn charge and tied the contest at 63 apiece. 

In overtime, Stanford played nearly perfect, sinking four of their five shots.

Ultimately though for Virginia Tech, the game came down to turnovers and missed opportunities. 

The most important possessions for the Hokies in the fourth and overtime resulted in turnovers, giving the Cardinal chances to tie and finally ice the game with free throws. 

“I feel like we started overthinking a lot of stuff,” Tech forward Rose Micheaux said. “We didn’t stick to what we knew best, which is execution … things started to unravel.”

Micheaux got back to her double-double ways, recording a staggering 21 points and 13 boards. 

The senior duo of Micheaux and Matilda Ekh gave the Hokies efficient scoring nights, going 9-of-15 and 8-of-11 respectively—but outside of guard Carliegh Wenzel’s 17-point night— they did not receive much help. 

Tech’s Carys Baker was put on ice tonight, hitting a lone layup and sinking four of her six free throws. Baker had not even attempted a shot from beyond the arc, the first time since her freshman year. 

Inefficiency reared its head again for Wenzel. Although the floor general logged 17 points, 10 came from the charity stripe as she shot an abysmal 27% from the field.

Despite Tech’s hot start spurred by Ekh’s nine first-quarter points, Stanford’s adjustment to a press defense late in the game forced sloppy passes and violations.

The Hokies lost the turnover battle by eight, which gave the Cardinal offense a multitude of fastbreak opportunities, and equalized their mismatch on the boards. 

“This one doesn’t feel good, but we can’t control it.” Duffy said. “It’s about moving forward. [This team] has the resilience, they have the fight, they care about each other, and they care about this program … we’re going to be ready to go again.”

Tech will play its next game against California (22-6, 10-5) on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. ET, marking their first-ever matchup as well. The game will be televised on ACC Network.

The Hokies need a bounce-back win in a big way. Although California is an exceptional team, they have struggled against teams like Virginia, North Carolina and Stanford. 

“Down the stretch, you want to be playing your best basketball,” Duffy said. “I think it’s exciting to be playing some really big games down the stretch, no bigger than the one on Sunday.”