Rutgers 56, Virginia Tech 43
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 1/7/04
Piscataway, NJ -- Looming offensive woes finally caught up to the Virginia Tech women's basketball team, as they struggled from the field and turned the ball over too much in losing their first game of the season, falling to Rutgers 56-43 at the Rutgers Athletic Center. Dawn Chriss led the way with 14 points and Erin Gibson added 11, but the Hokies were doomed by poor shooting and 23 turnovers.
Chriss (6-of-9), Gibson (5-of-10) and Kerri Gardin (6 points on 3-of-6 shooting) shot well, but the rest of the Hokies went 3-of-18, including an 0-of-7 performance from star forward Ieva Kublina and an 0-for-3 performance from guard Carrie Mason. The 17-of-43 performance (39.5%) marks the seventh time this season the Hokies, now 12-1 (1-1 Big East) have shot under 40 percent for a game.
But despite the shooting struggles, what really led to the loss for the Hokies were their 23 turnovers, to just 10 for Rutgers, sending the Scarlet Knights (8-4, 1-0 Big East) to a 27-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
The game was a seesaw battle in the first half, which ended with Rutgers leading 27-24. The Hokies led twice, 6-4 and 20-18, but Rutgers put on a 9-4 run to end the half with the lead. During that first half, Mason picked up her second foul with 8:13 to go and sat for the remainder of the half. Mason never got on track, finishing 0-for-3 from the field (including 0-2 from three-point range) and tallying just 2 assists and an uncharacteristic 7 turnovers in 31 minutes.
The Hokies kept it close early in the second half, when a layup by Chriss with 12:58 to go made it 34-31, Rutgers. But the wheels fell off for Tech, who scored just three points in a span of 7:47. Rutgers put on an 11-3 run, capped by a Chelsea Newton layup that put the Knights up 45-34 with 5:11 to go. During that long stretch of futility, Tech committed five fouls and four turnovers, scoring only when Gibson had an old-fashioned three-point play.
In the last five minutes of the game, the Hokies struggled to score, and the Knights gradually pulled away for the final margin of 13 points. The 43 points mark the first time Tech has scored under 50 on the season, and the third time in a row the Hokies have scored 43 points at Rutgers. Tech has never won a road game at Rutgers, falling to 0-4 all time in Piscataway.
Things don't get any easier for the Hokies, who will stay on the road in preparation for a noon contest at Notre Dame (7-6, 0-1 BE). The game will be televised by the BE Television Network (check local listings).
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Rutgers 56, Virginia Tech 43
1/7/04, Piscataway, NJ
1st 2nd Tot
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VIRGINIA TECH 24 19 - 43
RUTGERS 27 29 - 56
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VIRGINIA TECH (12-1, 1-1)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
I Kublina 35 0-7 6-6 0-6 0 2 6
K Gardin 20 3-6 0-0 0-1 1 5 6
E Gibson 38 5-10 1-3 2-9 2 2 11
D Chriss 35 6-9 2-3 3-6 1 5 14
C Mason 31 0-3 0-0 0-2 2 2 0
K Copeland 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
F Recchia 8 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 2
B Anderson 19 2-7 0-0 2-2 1 0 4
M Finnerty 7 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 0
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TOTALS 200 17-43 9-12 8-29 7 18 43
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Percentages: FG-.395, FT-.750. 3-Point Goals:
0-3, .000 (I Kublina 0-1, C Mason 0-2). Team
Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 2 (E Gibson, I
Kublina). Turnovers: 22 (C Mason 7, I Kublina
5, K Gardin 5, D Chriss 2, E Gibson, B
Anderson, K Copeland). Steals: 6 (D Chriss 3,
K Gardin, C Mason, B Anderson).
RUTGERS (8-4, 1-0)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
S Hurns 36 3-6 0-2 4-6 1 2 6
M Campbell 25 4-5 0-0 1-4 0 4 8
C Pondexter 37 5-12 8-12 1-4 5 0 18
C Newton 35 2-7 0-2 0-1 3 1 4
D McCullouch 33 5-13 0-0 0-1 1 0 13
C Locke 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
N Jett 12 1-1 1-1 0-0 1 1 3
A Cahoe 4 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 2
R Richman 15 1-2 0-1 0-2 0 2 2
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TOTALS 200 22-47 9-18 6-19 12 11 56
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Percentages: FG-.468, FT-.500. 3-Point Goals:
3-5, .600 (C Pondexter 0-1, D McCullouch
3-4). Team Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots: 2 (R
Richman, M Campbell). Turnovers: 10 (C
Pondexter 3, S Hurns 2, N Jett, D McCullouch,
C Locke, R Richman, C Newton). Steals: 10 (D
McCullouch 3, C Newton 2, C Pondexter 2, R
Richman, M Campbell, S Hurns).
Technical fouls: None. A: 1,842. Officials: Jack
Riordan, Kathy Lynch, Tina Napier