Virginia Tech 67, Pittsburgh 57
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 1/21/04
Pittsburgh, PA -- Down by eight points to a mediocre Pittsburgh team with 13 minutes to go, the Virginia Tech women dug deep and blew the Panthers off the floor with an 18-2 run, on their way to a 67-57 Big East win. The Hokies were led by Carrie Mason, who played in front of a crowd of about a hundred friends and family members and scored 15 points.
Virginia Tech (14-3, 3-3 Big East) won their first Big East road game of the season. After going 1-3 in their last four outings, the Hokies weren't faring any better in this one, down 42-34 with 13 minutes to go. VT coach Bonnie Henrickson called a 30-second timeout, and the Hokies, led by Mason, went on an 18-2 tear that gave them a 52-44 lead with 6:33 to go.
The 18 points in less than 7 minutes represented an offensive explosion for a Hokie team that had averaged just 49 points a game in the last four games. Mason led the charge, scoring 8 of the 18 points and assisting on two other baskets. Mason hit three three-pointers in the last ten minutes of the game, including two in the critical run that put the Hokies up for good.
Mason was playing in front of two busloads of friends and family members, who had traveled from her hometown of Seneca, PA to watch her tip it off against the Panthers. She shot 5-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from three-point range, and had 7 assists and a team-high 8 rebounds.
The game was a seesaw battle until Tech's big run. Erin Gibson scored 8 of the Hokies' first 10 points in leading Tech to a 13-8 lead, but the Hokies gave up a 16-6 run to go down 24-19. Tech closed the gap a little before the half but still trailed 27-25 at the break.
Pittsburgh (6-10, 2-4) threatened to pull away, laying a 10-3 run on the Hokies that put Pitt up 42-34. Tech responded with their run to ice the win, a big one no matter what the competition. Had Tech folded and dropped this game, it would have been disastrous.
Mason was aided by three other VT players in double figures: Gibson (14 points, 7 rebounds), Kirby Copeland (13 points on 6-of-11 shooting), and Ieva Kublina (10 points and 8 rebounds). The Panthers were led by Katie Histed with 19 points in just 24 minutes.
The Hokies return home for a tough two-game stretch, playing #19 Boston College (13-3, 3-2) on Saturday at 2 p.m. and #4 Connecticut (13-2, 4-1) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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Virginia Tech 67, Pittsburgh 57
1/21/04, Pittsburgh, PA
1st 2nd Tot
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VIRGINIA TECH 25 42 67
PITTSBURGH 27 30 57
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VIRGINIA TECH (14-3, 3-3)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
I Kublina 35 5-10 0-0 5-8 1 1 10
K Gardin 21 1-4 2-2 1-3 3 0 4
E Gibson 35 5-8 4-6 3-7 1 2 14
D Chriss 21 1-6 2-2 0-1 1 2 4
C Mason 38 5-7 2-2 0-8 7 1 15
K Copeland 22 6-11 1-1 1-1 1 2 13
F Recchia 7 1-4 0-0 0-0 1 0 3
B Anderson 11 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 3 2
D Simmons 6 1-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 2
M Finnerty 4 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
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TOTALS 200 26-53 11-13 10-32 16 12 67
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Percentages: FG-.491, FT-.846. 3-Point Goals:
4-9, .444 (I Kublina 0-2, C Mason 3-4, F
Recchia 1-3). Team Rebounds: 6. Blocked
Shots: 9 (I Kublina 6, E Gibson, D Chriss, K
Copeland). Turnovers: 24 (I Kublina 5, C
Mason 5, E Gibson 3, K Copeland 3, D Chriss
2, B Anderson 2, K Gardin 2, F Recchia, M
Finnerty). Steals: 12 (C Mason 3, E Gibson 2,
K Gardin 2, K Copeland 2, B Anderson 2, I
Kublina).
PITTSBURGH (6-10, 2-4)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
C Taylor 37 0-5 4-4 2-6 1 3 4
S Stufflet 39 4-8 2-2 2-3 1 2 10
L Kincaid 33 3-14 4-4 3-8 4 1 10
B Hughes 27 1-5 0-0 0-0 3 0 2
J Allen 8 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
A Kunich 22 4-8 0-0 0-1 5 3 10
K Histed 24 7-13 2-2 2-3 1 3 19
A Morris 10 1-4 0-2 2-2 0 1 2
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TOTALS 200 20-59 12-14 11-24 15 13 57
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Percentages: FG-.339, FT-.857. 3-Point Goals:
5-12, .417 (L Kincaid 0-1, B Hughes 0-1, J
Allen 0-1, A Kunich 2-4, K Histed 3-5). Team
Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots: 4 (C Taylor 2, A
Morris, L Kincaid). Turnovers: 20 (A Kunich
6, L Kincaid 4, S Stufflet 3, B Hughes 3, K
Histed 2, J Allen, A Morris). Steals: 12 (C
Taylor 6, S Stufflet 2, K Histed 2, A Kunich,
L Kincaid).
Technical fouls: None. A: 498. Officials: Denise
Brooks, June Courteau