January 15, 2003

Box Score

Virginia Tech 61, Pittsburgh 53

 

The Virginia Tech Hokies used solid defense and tough rebounding to down the Pittsburgh Panthers 61-53 on Jan. 15 at Cassell Coliseum. An attendance of 2,138 watched the Hokies move to 11-4 overall and even their BIG EAST record at 2-2. Pitt fell to 8-6 and 0-3 with the loss.

The Hokies held Pittsburgh under 27 percent shooting in the first half and outrebounded the Panthers 46-30 for the game. Junior Ieva Kublina (Riga, Latvia) spearheaded the rebounding effort by pulling down a career-high 16. She also scored 16 points to register her 13th career double-double.

Freshman Carrie Mason (Seneca, Pa.) led all scorers with 17 points. Erin Gibson (Galax, Va.) chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds.

The teams traded blows early with Pittsburgh claiming a 7-4 advantage. From that point, the Hokies embarked on a 17-2 run that covered over 13 minutes and gave Tech a 21-9 lead. Pittsburgh went over nine minutes without scoring a point in the drought. But the Panthers closed out the half by outscoring Tech 11-5, making the halftime score a respectable 28-20 in favor of the Hokies.

The two teams combined for more turnovers in the first frame, 19, than field goals made, 18. Neither team had a player in double figures at intermission.

In the second half, both teams quickly found their range and by the first media timeout, the score stood at 39-30 in Tech's favor. The Panthers went to a big lineup and saw immediate results, using a 19-9 run to climb within three points at 48-45. However, that was as close as the Panthers would come.

When Allisha Moore, Pitt's 6-foot-3 sophomore center picked up her fourth foul, the Hokies countered with a big lineup of their own and ran off eight unanswered. Tech hit its free throws down the stretch and walked off with the victory.

"We thought we could defend the 3-pointer and deny them opportunities in transition, and I thought in the half-court defense we did a good job," head coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "But offensively, I was disappointed that we were out of sync as much as we were."

Pittsburgh's Laine Selwyn just missed a triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and nine steals. Mandy Wittenyer paced the Panthers with 16 points and Jessica Allen added 11.

Tech will next travel to West Virginia for a noon tip on Jan. 18.