As the clock struck midnight on Virginia Tech’s 2025-26 season, Hokies guard Mackenzie Nelson offered a blunt assessment — “I just don’t think we came ready to play.”
The Hokies fell to Oregon, 70-60, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Austin, Texas.
“Just so proud of our team,” said Hokies head coach Megan Duffy. “Today 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. … Just really excited about what they’ve done this season.”
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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’ 10-of-14.
“I think we got a little razzled in the beginning,” Nelson said. “We calmed down a little bit.”
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.
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.
“They were great,” Duffy said of Tech’s bench. “To see them step up in a huge moment in the NCAA Tournament was phenomenal. … That group of women who really stepped up for little things for us in that second quarter was awesome.”
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.
Oregon went on an 18-0 run early that period, fueled by Tech’s 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.
“I think they just capitalized on a lot of our mistakes,” said Hokies forward Carys Baker. “We just didn’t really close that gap, so I think it just started on our defense. … We just made a couple of mistakes, and we weren’t able to communicate fast enough what was going on.”
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’ 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.
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.
The Hokies shot 31.8% from the field in the loss — their lowest mark since a 62-51 home win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 22.
“(Oregon) is a good defensive team,” Nelson said. “They’re 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.”
The loss ended the second year of Duffy’s tenure in Blacksburg; a year in which the Hokies’ win total improved by four games, and they returned to the Big Dance for the first time since 2024.
“I think this has been such a fun group to coach,” Duffy said. “I don’t 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’re really good young women that are trying to figure out how to build a program, and love each other every day.”
“On 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’s been fun, and their hearts are always in the right place.”
