Virginia women’s basketball traveled to Blacksburg, Va. where it faced all-too-familiar Virginia Tech in an important ACC matchup Thursday. In what was also the first of two Commonwealth Clash matchups this regular season, the Cavaliers (11-7, 3-3 ACC) defeated the Hokies (12-5, 3-3 ACC) 73-65. While Virginia also left last season’s final Commonwealth Clash victorious, this marks its first win in Blacksburg since 2020.
The Cavaliers’ victory over its rival team is certainly important for Virginia following its heartbreaking loss Sunday against No. 16 Duke, and should boost the team’s confidence going into the rest of ACC play. Key contributors are continuing to step up, as senior forward Latasha Lattimore recorded yet another double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds and sophomore guard Kymora Johnson scored 16 points. Freshman forward Breona Hurd also notched 11 points.
But the Cavaliers still have a lot to work on as a team — as much of this game showed.
Virginia’s shooting struggles, a common theme this season, intensified in the second quarter as they went 0-6 beyond the arc and made just 35.3 percent of its field goal attempts. Thursday’s game did, however, feature offensive struggles across the board — Virginia Tech made 30 percent of their three-point shots, also going scoreless from beyond the arc in the second quarter — which allowed both teams to leave the first half tied.
An even halftime score reflected an even game — both teams entered the third quarter with the same number of turnovers and field goals made, and similar statistics with three-point shot and free throws made. Virginia Tech seemed prepared to distort the Cavaliers’ zone defense and find open looks, while Virginia’s fast-paced offensive style kept the teams neck and neck.
But the opening of the third quarter showed a Cavalier team that has been missing for much of the season. Virginia’s field goal percentage jumped to 66.7 percent as it outscored the Hokies 27-12 in these ten minutes. Turnovers on the Virginia Tech side also set up some open shots for Virginia as the Hokies struggled offensively, making 30.8 percent of field goals and no three-point shots.
Much of this surge was due to Lattimore, who posted 10 points and six assists that quarter. But as the Cavaliers switched to a man defense, all five players on the court contributed to stopping the Hokies. After a strong defensive showing against the Blue Devils Sunday, Thursday’s performance is promising for Virginia’s defensive play.
Offensively, however, the Cavaliers petered out in the fourth quarter, rounding out the game with a field goal success rate of 26.7 percent. They still managed to rely on their third-quarter performance to hold the Hokies off, but against even more competitive teams, only one quarter of success will not be enough.
Virginia will have the opportunity to display a stronger full-game performance soon, and it will need just that. The Cavaliers return to action Sunday in Raleigh, N.C. where they will face No. 21 North Carolina State in a crucial conference showdown.
Tip-off is at 2 p.m. and the game can be streamed on the CW or broadcast on News Radio WINA 1070 AM.
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