Virginia Tech women's basketball routs North Carolina Central 85-39 in opener

Virginia Tech women's basketball opened its season with an 85-39 win over North Carolina Central on Monday at Cassell Coliseum, in front of 4,757 fans.

The Hokies (1-0) led by as many as 49 points and were ahead for 94 percent of the game. The Eagles (0-1) never led by more than 2.

Fast start

Virginia Tech scored 32 points in the first quarter against 10 for North Carolina Central, then added 15 in the second. The Hokies followed with 25 in the third and 13 in the fourth. The Eagles scored 4 in the second quarter, 14 in the third and 11 in the fourth.

Carleigh Wenzel led the Hokies with 17 points, going 6-of-8 at the free throw line. Amani Jenkins scored 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting in 17 minutes off the bench. Jessica Dimaro also had 13 points and led all players with 13 rebounds, nine of them on the offensive glass. Leila Wells scored 12, Samyha Suffren and Kaleo Anderson each had 11, and Aniya Trent and Kate Sears each handed out five assists.

Defense creates the gap

Virginia Tech forced 29 turnovers while committing 13, and turned them into 28 points. The Hokies had 12 steals and 10 blocks. Wells led the team with four steals, and Jenkins, Dimaro, Arianna Harris-Mott each had multiple blocks, with Jenkins, Dimaro and Harris-Mott recording two apiece.

The Hokies scored 30 fast break points to the Eagles' 4 and outscored them 52-20 in the paint. They shot 34-of-78 (44 percent) from the field, though they made only 5 of 24 three-pointers. They outrebounded North Carolina Central 50-41 and had 21 assists to the Eagles' 3.

Eagles struggle to shoot

North Carolina Central shot 14-of-60 (23 percent) and missed all 11 of its three-point attempts. Victoria Morris led the Eagles with 11 points, six rebounds and four steals. Shrouq Amer had 10 of the team's turnovers. The Eagles made 11 of 20 free throws.

Up next

Virginia Tech returns home to face Delaware on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. ET.