Blacksburg, VA -- Charles Dickens would have liked this one, because it was a tale of two halves. A Virginia Tech team that struggled through the first half blew Boston College out of the gym in the second stanza, scoring 49 second-half points on their way to an 80-64 win over 19th-ranked BC.  The Hokies had five players score 13 points or more, led by Ieva Kublina, who scored 15 of her 17 points after half time.

Trailing 33-31 at the half, the Hokies (15-3, 4-3 Big East) spotted Boston College (13-4, 3-3) the first bucket of the second half, then went on an 18-2 run that put VT up 49-38 with 12:31 to go in the game. The Hokies made that lead stand up, never letting BC get closer than six points the rest of the way. Holding a 61-54 lead with 5:00 to go, the Hokies ended the game with a 19-10 run for the final margin.

Kublina, who had first-half foul trouble and scored just two points in ten first-half minutes, came out guns blazing in the second half. During Tech's 18-2 run, Kublina scored 9 points, including a three-pointer, a jumper in the paint against a double-team, and another jumper in the paint against a triple-team. She finished with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-11 in the second half.

Kublina was joined in the double figure scoring column by Carrie Mason (16 points), Erin Gibson (14 points), Dawn Chriss (14 points), and Kerri Gardin (13 points). The Hokies shot 17-of-30 (56.7%) in the second half and posted 10 offensive rebounds, meaning that they rebounded 10 of the 13 shots they missed. The 49 second-half points represent Tech's largest output this season in one half and were more than they scored in the entire game against Rutgers (43 points) and Notre Dame (40 points).

In the first half, though the Hokies had trouble on the offensive and defensive ends. While BC ran their offense almost to perfection and torched the nets for 15-of-25 (60%) shooting, the Hokies struggled to a 10-of-27 (37%) output. The only thing that kept the Hokies in the game in the first half was their advantage at the free throw line, where they shot 11-of-13 to BC's 2-of-2.

The Hokies adjusted at half time and made life more difficult for BC on the offensive end. The Eagles still shot well, hitting 10-of-20 (50%), but they got off ten fewer shots than Tech in the second half, because they turned the ball over 13 times to just seven for the Hokies. For the game, Tech had 29 points off of turnovers, to just 11 for BC. The Hokies burned it up from the charity stripe, hitting 23-of-27 free throws to just 11-of-13 for BC. Those two stats were the key to the game.

The win was a big one for the Hokies, who have struggled on the road and must maintain the home court advantage (Tech is 9-0 at home this year) in their quest for a good seed in the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament. The Hokies have now beaten three teams in the (current) RPI top 25, and three more teams in the RPI top 50, which are key measurements for NCAA seeding. The win also vaults the Hokies into the upper echelon of the Big East standings.

The Hokies now face their toughest game of the year, as they entertain #4 Connecticut (13-2, 4-1) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The game will not be televised.

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