It was a busy summer for Megan Duffy and Virginia Tech women’s basketball.

The Hokies’ ‘Phase I’ was centered on getting to know each other away from the basketball court while laying the program’s foundation and discovering everyone’s strengths. That included hiking the Cascades on the Fourth of July, reading to groups at the local Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library, a Claytor Lake outing and spending time at Duffy’s house.

“These first few weeks of the summer, it’s really formative that you’re understanding what they do well,” Duffy said during Tuesday’s press conference. “It’s a young team, you’re laying your culture down. I thought we got off to a great start putting that foundation in place.”

Six players are back from last season’s NCAA Tournament squad. Matilda Ekh, Rose Micheaux, Carleigh Wenzel and Carys Baker each had impactful roles in 2023 while Samyha Suffren had some bright moments in January. Mackenzie Nelson is ready to go after redshirting in 2023-24, too.

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