Career-best marks in minutes played, points, field goals and free throws by junior guard Samyha Suffren helped lift the Virginia Tech Hokies women’s basketball team to their 20th victory of the season, as they downed Cal 68-58 inside Haas Pavilion on February 15.
The game got off to a frenetic start, with someTech benefiting from some lucky bounces. Coming off the bench, Suffren poured in the Hokies’ final four points of the first quarter, her last basket a drive to the hoop with 42 seconds on the clock, as Tech trailed 13-12.
The Golden Bears went up 21-16 in the second period, but Tech battled back, reclaiming the lead after a 10-0 run fueled by Suffren’s eight straight points. The Hokies entered the locker room ahead, 33-29.
The home team won the third quarter, but the visiting Hokies maintained a slight 44-43 edge going into the final frame. Suffren was one of the first two scorers in the fourth, as she played 29:31, and got 19 points, including 7-12 from the field, and 5-7 from the line.
Suffren was also brilliant defensively. The team leader in steals with 44 for the season, she credited head coach Megan Duffy with getting her to focus more on that end of the floor, noting that “offence will come naturally”.
The Hokies are the third ACC team this season to sweep the California trip, joining Duke and Louisville. They improved to 20-7 on the season and 10-5 in ACC action. Carleigh Wenzel posted her 11th straight double-digit scoring performance with 15 points and knocked down Tech’s lone three-pointer of the contest.
(TF)
