{"id":131489,"date":"2026-03-22T19:05:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T22:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/901133360"},"modified":"2026-03-22T19:05:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T22:05:21","slug":"virginia-tech-falls-to-oregon-in-first-round-of-ncaa-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/22\/virginia-tech-falls-to-oregon-in-first-round-of-ncaa-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Tech falls to Oregon in first round of NCAA Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As the clock struck midnight on Virginia Tech\u2019s 2025-26 season, Hokies guard Mackenzie Nelson offered a blunt assessment \u2014 \u201cI just don\u2019t think we came ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hokies fell to Oregon, 70-60, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust so proud of our team,\u201d said Hokies head coach Megan Duffy. \u201cToday was not the best over the course of 40 minutes, but the way each one of (the players) has grown and really shaped and molded this year, from the summertime to now, has been a joy. Today is disappointing. \u2026 Just really excited about what they\u2019ve done this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Hokies were outscored 22-11 in the first quarter, a frame in which they shot 4-of-18 from the field compared to the Ducks\u2019 10-of-14.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we got a little razzled in the beginning,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cWe calmed down a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oregon extended that lead to 13 points early in quarter two, but with help from its bench, Tech whittled the deficit to as little as two midway through the frame.<\/p>\n

Forward Mel Daley tallied eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, and sophomore forward Kayl Petersen connected from beyond the arc to cut into the gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were great,\u201d Duffy said of Tech\u2019s bench. \u201cTo see them step up in a huge moment in the NCAA Tournament was phenomenal. \u2026 That group of women who really stepped up for little things for us in that second quarter was awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two points were the closest the Hokies would get, though. The Ducks took a six-point lead into the locker room at halftime and dominated the third quarter.<\/p>\n

Oregon went on an 18-0 run early that period, fueled by Tech\u2019s missed shots and fouls. By the end of the surge, the Hokies found themselves in a 22-point hole with just over 13 minutes left in the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they just capitalized on a lot of our mistakes,\u201d said Hokies forward Carys Baker. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t really close that gap, so I think it just started on our defense. \u2026 We just made a couple of mistakes, and we weren\u2019t able to communicate fast enough what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tech inched closer in the fourth with a couple of brief scoring runs, but it was too late to put a dent into the Ducks\u2019 lead. Baker hit from deep with two seconds left to cut the deficit to 10, but as the clock hit zero at the Moody Center, it was Oregon moving on to face Texas.<\/p>\n

Baker paced the Hokies with 21 points and shot 8-of-15 from the field. She was 5-of-8 from three and grabbed 14 rebounds, leading all players. No other Tech player scored in double figures.<\/p>\n

The Hokies shot 31.8% from the field in the loss \u2014 their lowest mark since a 62-51 home win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 22.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Oregon) is a good defensive team,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cThey\u2019re physical, and they were connected all game. I think that made (scoring) difficult, but I think a lot of it was us. We missed easy shots, easy putback layups, easy pull-ups that we always make.\u201d<\/p>\n

The loss ended the second year of Duffy\u2019s tenure in Blacksburg; a year in which the Hokies\u2019 win total improved by four games, and they returned to the Big Dance for the first time since 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this has been such a fun group to coach,\u201d Duffy said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if every head coach can say that about their team. They make me laugh every day, they drive me crazy some other days. They\u2019re really good young women that are trying to figure out how to build a program, and love each other every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the basketball side, we still had players in new roles this year, trying to figure out how to, like Mackenzie, be a bit better point guard than you were last year, and she exceeded that. Carleigh and Carys, with the weight of the world on their shoulders some days, just help them navigate through that. It\u2019s been fun, and their hearts are always in the right place.\u201d<\/p>\n

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… clock struck midnight on Virginia Tech<\/span>\u00e2\u0080\u0099s 2025-26 season, Hokies … with help from its bench, Tech<\/span> whittled the deficit to as … enough what was going on.\u00e2\u0080\u009d Tech<\/span> inched closer in the fourth with … leading all players. No other Tech<\/span> player scored in double figures …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}