January 3, 2002

Virginia Tech's women's basketball team extended its winning streak to seven games and halted Clemson's own six game winning streak with a 68-58 victory over the Lady Tigers on Jan. 3 in Cassell Coliseum. The win improves Tech's record to 10-2, while Clemson falls to 9-4.

Sophomore center Ieva Kublina (Riga, Latvia) paced the Hokies with 17 points and 10 rebounds for her sixth career double-double. She also blocked a career-high six shots and added three assists. All of those numbers were game-highs.

Following Kublina were Chrystal Starling (Syracuse, NY) with 16 points and Sarah Hicks (Roanoke, Va.) with 15 points for the Hokies. Senior center Nicole Jones (Vienna, Va.) chipped in eight points and nine rebounds. Point guard Krystal Scott led Clemson with 16 points.

The two teams traded baskets at a blistering pace early in the game, and with 8:00 remaining in the first half, the Tigers led 20-19. But the Hokies then proceeded to go on a 17-2 run to close out the half and took a 36-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Turnovers have plagued the Hokies all season and threatened to do the same against Clemson. Tech committed 11 in the first half, but all came before the big run. Once the Hokies began protecting the ball they began distancing themselves from the Lady Tigers.

In the second half, Clemson cut the lead to five points with under a minute to go in the game, but Hicks and Starling kept converting free throws for Tech and outlasted Clemson in the end.

The win marks the final non-conference game for the Hokies this season. They finished the non-conference slate 9-2 and now move on to BIG EAST competition for the remainder of the regular season. The Hokies are back in action on Jan. 5 with they play host to Syracuse at 7 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum.