These early games are scheduled as warm-ups with opponents that increase in skill and challenge over the first few weeks of the season. NC Central has visited Blacksburg several times. The Hokies dipped deep into their bench and started off the season on a winning foot.
We talked about this in the season preview, but until the first month of the season, who plays first, second, and who is in deep reserve is still an open question. Last night, Coach Duffy and staff started to answer the questions. The loss of Lauren Hurst for the season was a disappointment; and her teammate Alyssa Latham appearing in athletic street clothes was concerning. What opportunities those situations presented was largely going to be up to the remainder of the team. There was one more "step up" call pushed out as the roster had to be adjusted for the short term as well as the long term.
Coach Duffy reached into her remaining 2025-2026 squad for most of her starters, but in an interesting move, she placed new Center Jessica Dimaro into the starting post position. Dimaro is technically a Freshman but has played some serious international basketball in Japan for a few years. It wouldn't be surprising to see her earn a long-term start at the position for the season. She is often the tallest player on the court and certainly has the basketball skills to pull it off. Her stats for the evening were proof, positive.
Along with the surprise move to start Dimaro was the choice of a triple-guard configuration of Carleigh Wenzel, Samyha Suffren, and Leila Wells. Coach Duffy went to sophomore Hokie Anya Trent to fill out the starting roster at Forward. Trent showed real flashes of skill and tenacity last season, so it was understandable for Coach Duffy to get her going in the forecourt.
As the game progressed, there were times, though that the coaching staff swapped out enough players that it looked like a hockey line change on the fly. By the end, nearly everyone on the bench got a chance to take the floor. We'll talk about some of that in a bit.
It took the Lady Hokies a couple of minutes to get their rhythm and find the bucket consistently. Dimaro finally corralled a lead pass and got it to drop after NC Central had scored first. Tech had the opportunities it was just a bit frustrated by some frustrating early timing misses. All of that disappeared after the first points went up and the team began to find its pace.
Coach Duffy wasn't shy about starting the substitution conveyor early. We saw what looks like the "short bench" appear midway through the 1st period as Coach Duffy pulled players on the floor for Sophomore (really a redshirt Freshman – though that terminology has gone by the wayside) Kate Searsand Freshman Kaleo Anderson. As an aside, Anderson's name is pronounced Kah-lay-oh and Coach Duffy was talking her up on her radio show as a special player. Well, Anderson looks like she's exactly as Duffy relayed.
The Hokies just jumped out into a commanding lead by the end of the 1st quarter, and though NC Central did score some buckets, Tech controlled the game from early in the 1st until the final horn sounded. It wasn't an unexpected outcome, but what was really encouraging was the quality of the time each player spent on the floor.
By the halftime horn, the Hokies were completely in command, and it was pretty obvious we were going to see an increasing number of new faces on the floor for the 2nd half.
It was a good time to stretch a bit and get set up for the 2nd half. The crowd was happy and celebrating, the halftime show was a fun demonstration by the Hokie jump rope club, and everyone got a chance to work out the kinks of sitting for the first part of the game.
The second half really didn't start the way that Coach Duffy had envisioned. Play got a little sloppy and it looked like the players were a little off timing. It's a difficult pace to restart after a long break on a new season. Coach Duffy spent some "instructional" time with the team circle at the first media break of the 3rd quarter. It was an effort to refocus and get things back on track.
One person who didn't have a timing issue to start the quarter was Leila Wells. She hit a big 3-pointer early in the quarter, and kept the pressure up for every minute that she stayed on the floor.
The quiet sub from the first half, kept up the defensive work, and kept shooting. Francesca Baldassarrescored her first points as a Hokie from downtown. She kept shooting the entire game and will eventually start connecting regularly. It's just a matter of time and practice because the talent is there.
One returning player to highlight a bit is Amani Jenkins. Last season she got the chance to play a few minutes here and there, but as a Freshman we didn't get to see much of her on the court during the season. Well, Amani's making her move. She was 5-5 from the floor, played super defense with two blocks in her pocket and tallied up an all-time scoring high for herself at 13 points. She also played just over 16 and a half minutes which also was a most for her.
The Lady Hokies had six players score in double figures.
Jessica Dimaroalso hit on a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. She also pushed out an assist, nabbed 2 steals and blocked 3 shots.
Carleigh Wenzelled the team in points with 17. She had 2 assists on offense. Carleigh grabbed 2 boards, and stole the ball twice on defense.
Leila Wellsshowed that she could play excellent offense along with her defensive chops. Wells scored 12 that included 2 from downtown. She also pulled down 7 rebounds 3 of which were ORBs. Wells's fast hands and quick feet produced 2 assists and 4 steals on defense.
Samyha Suffrenscored 11 points with 6 rebounds, an assist, and 2 steals for her time on the court.
Kaleo Andersonnot only scored her first points as a Hokie (and of her collegiate career) she notched 11 points for the game. She had 2 assists on offense, a steal and a block for defense. Anderson also stayed on the floor for nearly half a game as she was subbed in and out.
Amani Jenkinswas a career highlight reel for the Hokies. She played her longest stretch of minutes on the court, she hit 5-5 from the floor, and scored a career high 13 points. She also had 5 rebounds and blocked two shots.
We talked about Francesca (the nickname is "Fra" we are told) Baldasarre, but need to mention Kate Searswith a team high 5 assists. Kate still is working on the range, but we will start seeing her hit regularly soon. Sears played over 20 minutes and significantly spent a good deal of that as the point. Arianna Harris-Mottand Natalee Goffboth got time on the court and scored something Harris-Mott hit one of two from the charity stripe, and even though it was waved off by the refs, Goff scored the final points of the game on a breakaway layup at the buzzer. It doesn't count officially, but it does for Hokie Nation.
The photo gallery is available on Facebook.
We said that "crossover" coverage time is exhausting, didn't we? Well, Delaware shows up to Cassell for a 6:00 Tip-off, and then Sunday at 6:00pm the team tips off against James Madison.
It's still a great way to start the season. An empty unplayed bench roster, a convincing win, and lots to work on.
