Wenzel and Nelson lead Virginia Tech over Georgia Tech 62-54 in ACC Tournament

Audio By Carbonatix

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — Carleigh Wenzel scored 15 points, and Mackenzie Nelson added 14 as Virginia Tech rallied to beat Georgia Tech 62-54 on Thursday in the ACC Tournament.

Virginia Tech (22-8) overcame a slow start that saw the Hokies miss 15 of their first 16 shots. Georgia Tech capitalized early, building a 17-7 lead after the first quarter.

The Hokies flipped the game in the second quarter, closing the half on a 17-4 run to take a 29-23 lead into the break.

Georgia Tech (14-17) stayed within striking distance in the second half and pulled within 50-48 early in the fourth quarter on a layup by Talayah Walker.

Wenzel knocked down a 3-pointer for Virginia Tech with just over two minutes remaining to extend the lead back to double digits, and Samyha Suffren added a jumper with 1:04 left to help seal the win.

Nelson and Leila Wells each grabbed career-highs in rebounds for the Hokies with nine and six, respectively. Nelson also had six assists.

Walker finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for Georgia Tech. La’Nya Foster added 12 points.

Virginia Tech will face No. 3 seed North Carolina in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Georgia Tech awaits an invitation to play in a postseason tournament.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball