January 16, 2002

The No. 20 Virginia Tech women's basketball team survived a scare from a very tough and much-improved West Virginia team on Jan. 16 in Cassell Coliseum, 67-62. The narrow victory improves the Hokies record to 14-2 overall and 5-0 in BIG EAST play, while WVU fell to 9-6, 2-3 with the loss. The Tech victory also extends the team's current win streak to 11 games.

Last season, Tech easily defeated WVU 92-53 in Morgantown. But the Lady Mountaineers, under new coach Mike Carey, entered this year's game fired up, and led 14-13 early on despite starting a small lineup consisting of three guards and two forwards. But Tech proceeded to go on a 13-2 run over the next 7:49, and carried a 38-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The teams traded runs in the second half, Virginia Tech seeming to put the game away one minute and WVU storming back in the next. The Lady Mountaineers went on an 8-2 run to start the half and a 7-0 run to cut the Tech advantage to 51-49. The Hokies answered back with an 8-0 run of their own, extending the lead to 10 points with 5:09 remaining in the game. The Lady Mountaineers quickly erased that deficit by running off 11 straight unanswered points, giving WVU a 60-59 lead with 1:54 to play.

After a pair of Chrystal Starling free throws, WVU fell apart with an offensive foul and a shot clock violation on its next two possessions. Tech ended the game on an 8-2 run, converting its free throws and playing tough defense to escape with the win.

Starling (Syracuse, NY) led the Hokies with 19 points. Sophomore center Ieva Kublina (Riga, Latvia) fought through some physical inside play to register 16 points while power forward Nicole Jones (Vienna, Va.) contributed 12 points. Sarah Hicks (Roanoke, Va.) reached double figures with 10 points despite shooting just 2-of-10 from the floor.

Sherell Sowho paced WVU with 18 points. Point guard Yolanda Paige barely missed a triple-double with her nine-rebound, nine-assist and eight-point performance.

Defensively, Tech held a block party against the smaller Lady Mountaineers, rejecting 13 shots. Kublina sent back seven herself in setting a new career high. The Hokies also contained the BIG EAST's leading scorer, Kate Bulger. Bulger entered the game averaging 17.7 points per game, but mustered just 12 against the Hokies.

Tech is back in action on Jan. 19 when they play host to St. John's. The game is slated for a 2 p.m. tip at Cassell Coliseum.