Virginia Tech 75, Syracuse 60
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 1/31/04
Syracuse, NY -- Ieva Kublina led all players with 23 points and 10 rebounds, as the Virginia Tech women broke open a close game late in the first half and controlled the action throughout the second half, defeating Syracuse 75-60.
After a three pointer by Rochelle Coleman of Syracuse (6-12, 3-5 Big East) put the Orangewomen up 21-19 with 8:21 to go in the first half, the Hokies (16-4, 5-4) took charge and closed out the half on a 12-3 run to go up 31-24 at the break.
VT stayed ahead throughout the second half. Syracuse cut it to 37-34 early in the half, then the Hokies put together a 13-5 run to take a 50-39 lead with 10:54 remaining. From that point on, the Hokies held Syracuse at bay. Syracuse, who plays just six players, battled hard but didn't have enough to match 23rd-ranked Tech.
VT shot 50% for the game, hitting 30 of 60 field goal attempts, just the third time they have shot 50% or better on the season (50% against ODU on December 3rd, and 51.1% against Villanova on January 14th). Kerri Gardin, who shot a miserable 1-of-13 against UConn Tuesday, scored 14 points on 7-of-16 shooting, and Dawn Chriss added 14 on 7-of-10 shooting.
With the win, VT moves into sixth place in the Big East. The Tech women have a key game against 7th-place Seton Hall (12-7, 4-4) in Blacksburg Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
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Virginia Tech 75, Syracuse 60
1/31/04, Syracuse, NY
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Virginia Tech................. 31 44 75
Syracuse...................... 24 36 60
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VIRGINIA TECH (16-4, 5-4)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
I Kublina 38 9-16 5-7 6-10 4 1 23
B Anderson 16 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 2
E Gibson 35 2-4 3-4 3-9 2 1 7
D Chriss 22 7-10 0-0 1-3 4 3 14
C Mason 37 2-3 4-4 0-6 1 3 8
K Copeland 5 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
F Recchia 6 1-4 2-2 0-2 0 0 5
K Gardin 34 7-16 0-0 2-8 6 2 14
D Simmons 3 1-1 0-0 1-1 0 1 2
M Finnerty 4 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 2 0
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TOTALS 200 30-60 14-17 14-41 18 15 75
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Percentages: FG-.500, FT-.824. 3-Point Goals:
1-8, .125 (I Kublina 0-2, C Mason 0-1, F
Recchia 1-4, K Gardin 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2.
Blocked Shots: 7 (I Kublina 5, E Gibson, B
Anderson). Turnovers: 15 (E Gibson 4, I
Kublina 3, C Mason 3, K Gardin 2, K Copeland
2, M Finnerty). Steals: 9 (C Mason 4, K
Gardin 2, D Chriss, B Anderson, M Finnerty).
SYRACUSE (6-12, 3-5)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
S Wegrzynowicz 40 4-8 1-2 0-1 0 2 12
R Coleman 40 7-20 0-0 3-5 3 4 18
C Nwagbo 40 3-8 2-3 1-2 0 3 8
L Kohn 40 2-6 0-0 0-2 1 1 5
J McBride 35 6-20 3-3 1-5 7 3 17
K Ellerbe 5 0-0 0-0 1-1 2 1 0
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TOTALS 200 22-62 6-8 6-16 13 14 60
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Percentages: FG-.355, FT-.750. 3-Point Goals:
10-30, .333 (S Wegrzynowicz 3-7, R Coleman
4-11, L Kohn 1-5, J McBride 2-7). Team
Rebounds: 13. Blocked Shots: 1 (R Coleman).
Turnovers: 18 (R Coleman 7, J McBride 5, L
Kohn 3, C Nwagbo 2, S Wegrzynowicz). Steals:
5 (R Coleman, J McBride, C Nwagbo, S
Wegrzynowicz, L Kohn).
Technical fouls: None. A: 639. Officials: Bob
Trammell, Janice Aliberti, Yvette McKinney