Women’s Hoops Secure Dominant Rout over Radford 

Virginia Tech women’s basketball handled business in their final non-conference game with a victory over Radford 79-47 on Sunday afternoon in Cassell Coliseum, improving to 11-3.

“Just really impressed with the way our team handled these last few days,” said Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy after their win over Radford. “Staying focused on basketball, getting in the gym, understanding the game plan. I thought we got off to a bit of a slow start, but again, just kept getting stronger and stronger with our defense and moving and sharing the ball. Overall, thrilled to get this win and keep it moving.” 

Radford (8-7, 0-0) kept pace with the Hokies (11-3, 1-1 ACC) in the early going; however, Virginia Tech pulled away in the second half, tallying 48 points to the Highlanders’ 28.

Radford notched a small three-point lead with around five minutes left in the first half but the Hokies turned up the heat to end the first half. Forward Carys Baker was the conductor of the Hokie Express with 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists with an efficient 8-for-14 mark from the field and a 4-for-7 tally from beyond the arc. 

“Carys is just really falling in love with that process,” Duffy said. “I know she was a little bit disappointed in the beginning of the year with how she was playing, and oftentimes, we were just talking about resetting herself. I think that’s what she's done in the last couple of weeks, of just buying into her inside game. Obviously, she can stretch the floor, rebounding has gotten better, and so, I just think she’s settled into what she’s always wanted to be this season.”

Kilah Freelon threw coals to Radford’s proverbial steam engine with a near double-double with nine points, 17 rebounds and three blocks. Freelon’s rebounding performance was one short of her season-high at 18 and only four short of the single-game rebound program record, a four-way tie most recently set by Elizabeth Kitley in 2021. Freelon’s 18-board performance came against another Big South squad: Gardner-Webb.

Coach Duffy attributed the spark her team found in the second frame to create an unassailable run to sophomore Lalia Wells. Wells, who produced a breakout performance against another Big South school in Presbyterian, was a defensive weapon for the Hokies, with suffocating defense and two steals that made it levels harder for the Highlanders to find traction. 

“Leila is just growing in a role every day,” Coach Duffy said. “No-nonsense, unselfish, like she’ll still guard anybody we need her to guard. She’s playing point for us. She’s playing on the win. She’s just [doing] whatever duty is assigned to her, as I say, and just doing it with a positive attitude. I thought she was a huge spark for us in that second quarter.

Radford head coach Mike McGuire’s squad has also concluded non-conference play; McGuire stated that there’s plenty to take from Sunday’s contest, in addition to their other 14 games.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth in our team throughout these 15 games in non-conference,” Coach McGuire said. “We’ve learned a lot of lessons that will be valuable as we get into league play. This is a hard-working team. This team cares. I think this team can position themselves to compete for a Big South championship, but we have to make sure we’re getting better every day.”

It was a rough shooting performance for the Highlanders Sunday; they drew a 25% mark from the field, with the majority of their misses coming from inside the paint. The Highlanders outshot the Hokies from three, shooting 6-for-17 (35.3%) from deep, but they were outscored 44-22 in the paint.

The Hokies have wrapped up their 2025 portion of their season with their next game being a matchup against Miami on New Year’s Day in Blacksburg as they look to move to 2-1 in the conference. Virginia Tech takes on the Hurricanes at 6 p.m. ET; fans can tune in to the contest via ACC Network Extra.