hokiesportsinfo.com recap

The Virginia Tech women's basketball team won the opener of the Tallahassee Democrat Seminole Classic Saturday afternoon, beating the Spartans of Michigan State 50-36.

After relying on Tere Williams in the season opener against Liberty and Amy Wetzel against James Madison, a third hero emerged today as Chrystal Starling came off the bench to lead all scorers with 15 points.

After Michigan State took an early 5-2 lead, the Hokies took control, outscoring the Spartans 25-9 the rest of the period for a 27-14 halftime lead. Starling led the Hokies in the first half with nine points on 4-6 shooting, while Tere Williams added six more in a perfect 3-3 performance. Defense was the key, though, as the Spartans were held to 15% shooting (with only four field goals) over the first 20 minutes.

The second half was a defensive struggle for both teams, as no one could get anything to fall except from the foul line. Still, Michigan State was slowly able to cut into the Hokie lead, outscoring the Hokie women 17-9 over the first sixteen minutes of the half to cut the lead to five at 36-31. That was as close as the Spartans would get, though, as Tere Williams made two critical field goals and the team went 10-10 in free throws in the closing minutes to establish the final margin.

Game Notes:

• The Hokies made 73% of their free throws for the game and definitely made them when they needed them. In the closing minutes, Starling was 6-6, Wetzel was 2-2, and Jones was 2-2. Jones was 6-6 for the game.
• After dominating the last game against James Madison, Amy Wetzel went 0-4 from the field today and only scored 2 points on free throws. She did dish out 2 assists.
• Sarah Hicks' long-range shooting is finally beginning to come together as she hit two big 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 12 points for the game.

The Hokies will play Sunday afternoon at 4 in the final of the tournament against the winner of the Chicago State - Florida State matchup which followed the Hokies' game. Their next home game is Thursday night at 7 against the University of Virginia.

TSL Women's Hoops Page