Miami 65, Virginia Tech 56
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 2/14/04
Blacksburg, VA -- Coming on the heels of a bad road loss at West Virginia, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team laid an egg, turning in their second-worst shooting performance of the season and dropping a key home game, 65-56. For the second game in a row, the Hokies wilted down the stretch, as Miami scored the last eight points of the game to break open a close one.
But the end of the game wasn't the problem for VT -- the problem was poor shooting. The Hokies took a season-high 72 shots, but unfortunately made just 22 of them (30.6%), their second-worst percentage of the year, beating only a woeful 15-of-51 (29.4%) performance against Liberty on January 2nd.
And the problem wasn't necessarily good defense by Miami, though the Canes did play physical defense down in the post. The Hokies missed a ton of layups and open shots, as Ieva Kublina (5-of-19), Kerri Gardin (4-of-16), Dawn Chriss (3-of-11) and Carrie Mason (2-of-12) combined to shoot a horrid 14-of-58 (24.1%). Only Erin Gibson, who hit 5 of 7 shots, shot well among VT's five starters.
Miami made the same number of shots as VT on 24 fewer attempts (22-of-48, 45.8%). The Canes also took 23 free throws, making 18, compared to just 9-of-11 for the Hokies.
So what kept Tech in the game? Mainly turnovers, where the Hokies had a +10 advantage (15 for VT, 25 for Miami, including a 16-4 VT advantage in the first half), and offensive rebounds (15 to 8, Hokies, including 7 by Gardin, who led all rebounders with 14).
VT got off to a bad start in this game, falling behind 8-1 and 18-12. Tech put together a 12-4 run to take a 24-22 lead, but the Canes went into half time up 30-28. The game was nip and tuck for the entire second half, with the Hokies taking a five-point lead twice and then going up 44-40 with 12:31 to go on a three-pointer by Carrie Mason.
But Miami hit two free throws and a three-pointer to go up 45-44, and the battle continued. With 3:11 to go, Gardin hit a jumper to make it 57-56, Miami, and then the wheels fell off for the Hokies. The Canes went up 59-56, and in a key possession that started with 1:30 to go, VT missed a layup (Gibson), a three-pointer (Mason), a layup (Gardin), and a jumper (Gardin). Miami took possession with 1:02 remaining, and from then on, it was a parade to the free throw line, with the Canes hitting six of eight free throws in the last minute to seal the win.
VT was led by Gardin, who had 13 points to go with her 14 rebounds, and Kublina, with 11 points. With the loss, the Hokies are flirting with being an NCAA Tournament bubble team. Tech is now 17-6 (6-6 Big East), in ninth place in the Big East, with losses in six of their last 11 games. The Hokies play at Seton Hall (14-8, 6-5 Big East) Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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Miami 65, Virginia Tech 56
2/14/04, Blacksburg, VA
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Miami......................... 30 35 65
Virginia Tech................. 28 28 56
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MIAMI FLA (18-4, 7-4)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
M Knight 30 4-7 2-2 3-6 1 2 11
S Wilkins 40 4-7 1-1 1-11 1 1 9
C Broussard 35 6-13 10-10 1-6 3 3 22
T James 37 5-11 3-6 2-5 1 3 14
Y Mccormick 38 1-7 1-2 1-6 6 3 4
T Marincic 6 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 0 2
F Phanord 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
H Wilson 11 1-1 1-2 0-2 0 1 3
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TOTALS 200 22-48 18-23 8-37 13 14 65
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Percentages: FG-.458, FT-.783. 3-Point Goals:
3-6, .500 (M Knight 1-2, T James 1-3, Y
Mccormick 1-1). Team Rebounds: 9. Blocked
Shots: 3 (S Wilkins 2, C Broussard).
Turnovers: 25 (Y Mccormick 9, S Wilkins 5, T
James 5, C Broussard 3, M Knight 3). Steals:
4 (C Broussard 2, T James, T Marincic).
VIRGINIA TECH (17-6, 6-6)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
I Kublina 39 5-19 0-0 2-4 0 3 11
K Gardin 28 4-16 5-6 7-14 0 2 13
E Gibson 29 5-7 0-0 3-4 1 5 10
D Chriss 34 3-11 2-2 1-6 1 2 8
C Mason 40 2-12 2-3 0-2 3 3 8
K Copeland 6 1-3 0-0 1-1 3 0 2
F Recchia 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
B Anderson 11 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 2
D Simmons 12 1-1 0-0 1-1 1 2 2
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TOTALS 200 22-72 9-11 15-32 10 18 56
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Percentages: FG-.306, FT-.818. 3-Point Goals:
3-12, .250 (I Kublina 1-4, K Gardin 0-1, C
Mason 2-7). Team Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots:
1 (D Chriss). Turnovers: 15 (K Gardin 6, C
Mason 3, D Chriss 2, B Anderson 2, E Gibson,
K Copeland). Steals: 9 (I Kublina 2, D Chriss
2, E Gibson, K Gardin, C Mason, B Anderson, K
Copeland).
Technical fouls: None. A: 3,795. Officials: Frank
Geiselman, June Courteau