Blacksburg, VA -- For 23 minutes, the 8th-seeded Hokie women stood toe-to-toe with #1 seed Penn State, and a program-defining upset seemed to be within Tech's grasp. But in the end, the Hokies succumbed to the type of run that plagues them against top teams, as PSU used a 25-5 second half burst to pull ahead for a 61-48 victory.

With 17:01 remaining in the second half and the Hokies holding a 30-27 lead, Penn State's Kelly Mazzante, the career scoring leader in men's and women's Big Ten basketball history, drove the baseline and was stifled by the Hokies, much as she had been stifled for the entire game. Mazzante had suffered through a 1-7 first half in which she scored just two points, and she had missed her first shot of the second half, as well.

After the missed layup, the frustrated Mazzante tried to rip the ball from the hands of Tech's Ieva Kublina and was called for the foul. The Penn State bench erupted and was whistled for a technical foul, and after Tech's Carrie Mason drilled both free throws, the Hokies had a 32-27 lead and momentum clearly on their side. The announced crowd of 7,218 was rocking, and it seemed like finally, the Hokies would ring up a big win over a heavily favored foe.

Then things fell apart. It started with an awkward offensive possession in which Kublina threw it away and Tech's Kerri Gardin committed a silly foul in the open court, and from there, things snowballed. Over the next ten minutes, the Hokies scored just five points, while the Lady Lions, who had misfired their way through a 34.5% shooting performance in the first half, erupted for 25 points and took a 52-37 lead with 7:12 to go.

During that stretch, the Hokies turned the ball over seven times, including four by usually-reliable point guard Carrie Mason, and made just two field goals, a layup and a jumper by Kublina. Penn State recorded four steals and turned the game into a layup drill, reviving a somnambulant offense to knock down 11 of 20 shots during the run.

As Penn State pulled ahead, the Hokies continued to try to push the ball inside, taking just three three-pointers in a second half in which they trailed for fourteen minutes. Kublina hit a three-pointer to close the lead to 56-43 with 4:55 to go, but Tech got no closer, and Penn State escaped with the 13-point win and advanced to the Sweet 16.

The second-half meltdown ruined a first half in which the Hokies outplayed Penn State in nearly every statistical category and took a 28-25 lead into the break. Tech outshot PSU 40% to 34.5%, outrebounded them 21-16, and shot 50% from three-point range (2-4) to just 12.5% for PSU (1-8).

Mazzante got open looks in that first half but couldn't knock them down. As a matter of fact, only one player on Penn State's team showed up for the first half: Tanisha Wright. While Wright's teammates were clanking their way to 3-20 shooting and scoring just 8 points, Wright ripped the Hokie defense for 7-9 shooting and 17 first-half points. Wright didn't cool down much in the second half, finishing the game 12-18 for a game-high 28 points.

Meanwhile, Kublina, in the last game of her college career, put forth the effort but didn't get the results. Kublina scored 15 points but went just 5-15 from the field. She had 7 rebounds and two of Tech's five three-pointers, displaying toughness and desire, but the execution just wasn't there.

Likewise for Mason, who led VT with 16 points but wore down in the second half. Mason had 11 points and no turnovers in the first half, but scored just 5 points and had 4 TO's in the second. Mason played the full 40 minutes, and though she outplayed Penn State point guard Jess Strom for most of the game, Strom caught fire in the second half and scored 12 points after the break, totaling 17 for the game.

Kerri Gardin and Erin Gibson both shot 4-9 for the Hokies, scoring 8 and 9 points respectively, and Gibson led the Hokies with 8 rebounds. Gibson gave up four inches in height to Penn State's starting center, 6-6 Reicina Russell, but Gibson dominated the thin Russell with her physical play. The lanky Russell couldn't stop the powerful Gibson inside, causing PSU coach Rene Portland to substitute other post players as Russell accumulated fouls. Russell played just 24 minutes and went scoreless, racking up four fouls trying to defend Gibson and Kublina.

The small victories are no solace for the Hokies, who end the season at 23-8. The loss ends the career of the mercurial Kublina, one of Tech's finest players ever, whose four-year stint at Tech coincided with Tech's four-year Big East membership. Reserves Davina Simmons and Brandy Fowler have also finished out their VT careers.

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