Collegiate Times

The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team opened up the season with a 59-52 home win against the Presbyterian College Blue Hose. The young Hokies’ squad boasts only three seniors this year and is hungry to prove that it doesn't deserve to be ranked second to last in the ACC.

The Hokies failed to make a strong start early in the game but still managed to keep the game close heading into the second half. Point guard Nikki Davis struggled from the floor, going 1-4 in the first half, but she added 6 assists and three steals in the half alone. Nia Evans and Shanel Harrison were both stellar in the first half, accounting for nearly two thirds of the team’s offense with a combined 20 points, each with 10.

Of her offense, Davis said, “Our defense makes our offense, in that we get steals, we get down pass lanes, get quick shots and rebounds, and push the ball into the secondary. I think that’s pretty much our bread and butter this year.”

In the first half, the defense failed to make the turnovers that would have powered the Hokies’ offense from the backcourt.

The story for the Blue Hose early in the game was its superb three point shooting. The team hit 6-11 from beyond the arc, which made up over half the teams points. The Hokies struggled to defend the three, but kept the score within two heading into half time. Dunkenberger attributed the team’s failure to secure the perimeter to “a lot of lack of communication, and a lot of watching the ball move. They had way too many uncontested looks, and that was a source of discussion at the half.”

The second half was all about defense for the Hokies. While giving up 34 points in the first period of play, they held the Blue Hose to nearly half that amount during the second half, only allowing 18. The difference lay in the Hokies’ ability to shut down Presbyterian’s three point threat, giving up only two after the first half ­— one of which came with less than a minute left on the clock.

“With eight minutes left in the game, we decided that we’d better pick it up,” said Davis.

She also said the increase in fan support later on helped bring some charge to the team.

The lead changed hands seven times in the second half but favored Tech from 6:01 onward, when Monet Tellier made a layup, which came from a Davis steal and assist. Davis, who finished with only two points in the game, became the defensive spark the Hokies needed late into play. She had four steals in the second half and two assists, but her stout offensive numbers don’t do justice to the senior’s play on the offensive half of the court.

When asked about of the offense, Dunkenberger commented, “To say we’re disappointed is an understatement in how we played defensively in the first half.”

She praised her team’s late second half efforts saying, “You finally saw us turn up the heat, and you saw us play the way I think we’re capable of playing.”

Nia Evans and Shanel Harrison continued to play well through the second half, each finishing with 14 points to lead the Hokies. Harrison also contributed a team high five rebounds.

Perhaps the biggest factor for the Hokies was the support from the bench. Dunkenberger divided the playing time, and the 27 points posted by non-starters stands as proof to the team’s depth.

Davis commented on the play from the bench, saying “I think you’ll see that a lot this year.”

Perhaps more exciting is the play by the Hokie’s underclassman — 49 of the 59 points were contributed by freshman and sophomores, so expect big things for the next couple years and the rest of the season.

A version of this article appeared in the Nov 12 issue of the Collegiate Times.