Hokies Withstand Coastal Carolina 82-59 with First-Half Offensive Output

BLACKSBURG—On Saturday, the Virginia Tech Hokies hosted the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in their first ever matchup, as Hokies head coach Megan Duffy looked to extend upon her best start at helm in Blacksburg, taking down the Chanticleers, 82-59.

The Hokies (4-0) erupted early from the floor, shooting 58.8% (10-17) in the first quarter, setting an early tone for Coastal Carolina (2-3) that it would need to keep up on the offensive end. 

“We started off, had a great first quarter,” Duffy said. “I thought we had some great shots that we made in the first half.”

Just a minute into the contest, Northwestern transfer Mel Daley knocked down an opening possession mid-range jumper and Mackenzie Nelson nailed a wing-three. The quick five-point swing was complimented with a block on the opposite end by Kilah Freelon.

UMass graduate transfer Kristin Williams netted the first Chanticleer points with a finish inside the paint, bringing the game within three, yet that was the closest the contest would reach for Coastal.

Redshirt junior guard Carleigh Wenzel had the hot hand in the first quarter, leading the charge at the first break with eight points. She’s a threat anywhere on the offensive end, showing that by nailing two shots behind-the-arc along with her four assists.

“I think Carleigh’s poise is the greatest thing about her,” Duffy said. “She had some streaks of her scoring and her facilitating, but she was really good on [Tessa] Grady tonight.”

Coastal’s Kinsea Grimes collected the final basket of the first quarter - a jumper inside 10-feet with just 15 seconds left. Before that, the Hokies went on a three-minute, 15-4 run that had five different Tech players contribute to the scoring effort as this propelled the team to a first quarter lead, 30-13.

Wenzel continued in the second to implement her scoring prowess, with more emphasis on her two-level scoring ability. Wenzel worked into physical contact to earn four shots at the charity stripe in the second quarter, knocking down all four. 

After a two-point first quarter by junior forward Carys Baker, she matched Wenzel’s seven point second quarter shooting 75% (3-4) from the floor, finding her mark behind-the-stripe as well, cashing her only attempt of such in the quarter. 

The efforts by Wenzel and Baker catapulted the Hokies to a 53-29 lead at halftime, as the red-hot fiery pace of the first quarter had fizzled out to a near 50% shooting effort as a team at half.

A Tech offensive output in the first half that was on pace for 106 points quickly halted with a third quarter that contested for one of the worst scoring performances in school history, dating back to a two-point third quarter in Charlottesville against the Cavaliers in 2017.

“It’s interesting,” Duffy said. “We talked about how focused we needed to be in the beginning of the third quarter, and I thought we just had a couple lapses with our press offense.” 

The defensive press was stout, only allowing both Wenzel and Nelson to make a shot each, but Tech’s defense remained persistent as well. The Hokies held the Chanticleers to their lowest quarter of the contest.

“Yeah, they only had 12 points [in the third quarter],” Duffy said. “I think the big key [was] they were 5-12 from three [for the contest], they were coming into the game averaging almost 30 threes a game.”

In the third quarter, the two sides managed to go scoreless behind-the-arc in the quarter, yet Tracey Hueston, a Roanoke native, earned two trips to the line, making 3-4 from the stripe. Hueston was Coastal’s leading scorer in the third as the Chanticleers looked to bring the deficit back to a score of, 57-41.

Tech was able to quickly shrug off the sluggish quarter, picking up on a hot run midway through the quarter and never looking back. 

Wenzel, to the relief of the crowd, got the scoring going a minute into the fourth, earning her way to the free-throw line, and cashing in both.

The Hokies ended the affair on a 14-2 run, starting with a Wenzel layup netting her 21 points - the first player to do so this season in the maroon and orange. She would end her night with 23.

“I think Carleigh was really happy with her 10 assists.” Duffy said. “I said ‘Congrats on 23 points.’ And she kind of looked at me. Then, I said ‘10 assists’ and she was very happy.”

Even with the outlying third quarter, three other Hokies finished in the double digit mark for points: Freelon (18), Baker (15), and Nelson (12).

After the quick turnaround for Tech, just having a one-day break after the Gardner-Webb affair, the Hokies will not be back in action until Thursday, November 20, when they take on the Niagara Purple Eagles at 6 p.m. EST.