Lubbock, TX -- The Hokies held a promising 25-18 half time lead but watched it melt under the second-half offensive and defensive heat applied by Texas Tech at United Spirit Arena. The 2nd-seeded Lady Raiders, led by high-scoring Plenette Pierson, roared past the 7th-seeded Hokies in the second half to advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

Virginia Tech used a dominating first half rebounding performance (27-12) and stifling defense to fashion leads of 9-2 and 18-9. Texas Tech closed it to 21-18 late in the half, but the Hokies scored the last four points of the half for the 25-18 lead at the break. The 18 points were Texas Tech's lowest first-half total for the entire season, but it was for naught.

Behind Pierson, who had 22 of her 28 points in the second half, Texas Tech came out smoking after intermission with an 11-2 run, quickly taking a 29-27 lead. Pierson, a sophomore and second team All-American, made a free throw and four straight baskets in the run. The Hokies ran off four points to go back up 31-29, but the Lady Raiders went on a 20-6 run to take a 49-37 lead.

After taking a breather and allowing Virginia Tech to close it back to 49-43, Texas Tech's Natalie Ritchie led the Lady Raiders on a 12-1 run with two straight three-pointers. When TT was done with the run, they were ahead 61-44 with 3:28, and the game was over.

The Hokies were plagued by turnovers that eventually proved to be their undoing. Even in the first half, when they controlled the game, Virginia Tech totaled 14 turnovers, including a run of six possessions during which they turned it over five times. They eventually had 26 turnovers for the game, compared to just 10 for Texas Tech.

During the first half, Virginia Tech's tenacious defense held Texas Tech to 8-of-29 shooting, but the Lady Raiders uncorked it for 17-of-27 (63%) shooting in the second half. Texas Tech was aided by foul trouble on Virginia Tech's Tere Williams and Ieva Kublina. With Williams and Kublina unable to play aggressive defense, Pierson went wild and led Texas Tech on their run. The Lady Raiders took advantage of their superior athleticism and quickness to control the tempo and put the defensive clamps on the Hokies.

In addition to Pierson's 28 points, Ritchie had 15 and Jia Perkins had 10 for Texas Tech. The Hokies were led by 17 points from Tere Williams on 6-15 shooting and 10 points from Chrystal Starling, who shot just 2-7. Tech's Ieva Kublina pulled down 8 rebounds to tie for game-high rebounding honors with Pierson.

For the game, the Hokies shot 18-47 (38.3%) from the field and 15-19 (78.9%) from the line. Virginia Tech outrebounded Texas Tech 39-29, the lone statistical bright spot of the game.

Texas Tech is now 25-6 and advances to the Sweet 16 for the seventh time. The Lady Raiders, who enjoy great fan support in United Spirit Arena, turned out 12,161 fans for the game. The loss, the final game for Tech seniors Tere Williams and Amy Wetzel, ends Virginia Tech's season at 22-9.

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