Virginia Tech 63, Maryland 43
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 12/13/03
Blacksburg, VA -- Virginia Tech's 18th-ranked women's basketball team used second-half runs of 13-4 and 16-2 to crush Maryland 63-43 and run their record to 7-0. The Hokies were led in scoring by sophomore Carrie Mason with 16 points, including a 12-point second half.
Virginia Tech entered the game with a #6 RPI rating, and the Terrapins came in at #18 in the RPI, with a 6-1 record, their only loss coming to 8th-ranked Penn State (#1 in the RPI), 82-65.
The first half was an ugly affair, at one point going nearly five minutes without a point from either team, and ending in a 21-15 Tech lead. The Hokies shot 26% in the first half (7-of-27), and Maryland shot 27% (7-of-26), while the two teams combined for 20 turnovers (10 each).
The second half was a different story. Showing more active defense and transition offense, the Hokies started the half on a 13-4 run and took a 34-19 lead. After Maryland scored 7 points in 46 seconds to close it to 34-26, the Hokies went on a 16-2 rampage that lasted almost 7 minutes and put the game out of reach. The run ended with a layup by Mason that made it 50-28 Tech, with 7:41 to go.
VT shot 16-of-31 (51.6%) in the second half, led by Mason, who went 5-of-7 after the break and repeatedly found seams in the Maryland defense for driving layups. For the game, Ieva Kublina added 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Kerri Gardin scored 13 points in just 19 minutes, including two straight baseline jumpers that killed Maryland's second-half rally and took the score from 34-26 to 38-26.
The Hokies dominated the glass, outrebounding Maryland 46-27 and giving up just 7 offensive rebounds. Tech outscored Maryland 13-4 from the free throw line, as the Terps took just 7 foul shots for the game to 17 by the Hokies.
The Hokies have now completed the difficult portion of their early non-conference schedule and will play one game in the next 15 days, at JMU on Dec. 21st. That will be followed by the Lady Luck Classic in Blacksburg on Dec. 28th and 29th, and a home game against Liberty on Jan. 2nd. After that, the Big East slate begins with a home game against Providence on Jan. 4th.
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Virginia Tech 63, Maryland 43
12/13/03, Blacksburg, VA
MARYLAND 15 28 - 43
VIRGINIA TECH 21 42 - 63
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MARYLAND (43)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
C Washington 13 1-3 0-1 0-3 1 2 2
C Fisher 17 0-7 0-0 0-1 0 3 0
S Doron 26 4-10 2-3 1-4 0 2 10
K France 30 5-8 2-3 1-4 1 3 12
A Smith 35 5-13 0-0 0-2 2 1 10
V Brick 12 1-4 0-0 0-1 0 0 2
C Carr 19 0-2 0-0 2-4 0 2 0
C Henson 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
A Ross 9 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 2 0
D Oliver 34 3-8 0-0 2-5 0 1 7
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 19-56 4-7 7-25 4 18 43
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Percentages: FG-.339, FT-.571. 3-Point Goals:
1-5, .200 (C Fisher 0-3, V Brick 0-1, D
Oliver 1-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots:
4 (C Washington, C Fisher, A Ross, D Oliver).
Turnovers: 19 (S Doron 6, D Oliver 3, K
France 2, C Henson 2, V Brick, A Smith, C
Washington, C Carr, C Fisher, A Ross).
Steals: 9 (A Smith 2, D Oliver 2, K France 2,
C Washington, S Doron, C Fisher).
VIRGINIA TECH (63)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
K Gardin 19 5-10 2-3 1-3 2 0 13
E Gibson 27 3-4 0-0 2-5 0 4 6
I Kublina 37 5-12 3-4 3-10 1 1 14
D Chriss 20 2-6 0-0 1-4 1 4 4
C Mason 34 6-13 2-2 1-3 3 2 16
K Copeland 21 1-7 0-0 4-7 3 2 2
F Recchia 19 0-3 2-2 0-1 0 0 2
B Fowler 2 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0
B Anderson 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
M Finnerty 14 1-3 4-6 3-5 0 1 6
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TOTALS 200 23-58 13-17 16-40 11 15 63
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Percentages: FG-.397, FT-.765. 3-Point Goals:
4-10, .400 (K Gardin 1-1, I Kublina 1-3, C
Mason 2-4, F Recchia 0-2). Team Rebounds: 6.
Blocked Shots: 4 (D Chriss 2, I Kublina, M
Finnerty). Turnovers: 19 (I Kublina 5, C
Mason 4, K Gardin 3, K Copeland 3, D Chriss
2, F Recchia, B Fowler). Steals: 7 (K
Copeland 3, I Kublina, D Chriss, M Finnerty,
K Gardin).
Technical fouls: None. A: 3,006. Officials: Bill
Titus, John Almarode, John Morningstar