February 20, 2002

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Virginia Tech sophomore center Ieva Kublina had one of the best perfomances in school history but it wasn't enough as the Hokies fell 55-53 at Miami Wednesday night. The loss was the sixth in the last eight games for Tech which saw its hopes of a top four seed in the BIG EAST Conference tournament severely damaged with the loss.

Virginia Tech (17-8, 8-6), ranked No. 24 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN coaches polls, committed 24 turnovers and shot only 37.2 percent in the loss. The Hokies trailed 53-49 with 1:21 remaining in the contest when Sarah Hicks (Sr., Roanoke, Va.) was fouled. Hicks calmly sank both free throws but the Hurricanes answered back with a Chanivia Broussard basket.

On its next possession, Tech missed a three-point attempt and Chrystal Starling (Jr., Syracuse, N.Y.) fouled Broussard with only :21 left in the game. Broussard missed the free throw and the Hokies quickly raced down the floor when Starling was fouled on an apparent three-point attempt. However, the officials ruled that instead of forcing up a shot from her hip, that Starling was attempting to pass and awarded her two free throws.

Starling sank both attempts and Tech fouled Sheila James with eleven ticks on the clock. James missed the front end of the bonus and Starling grabbed the rebound, raced up the floor and missed a short jumper with three seconds left and Kublina's follow-up tip rolled off the rim as the horn sounded.

Kublina (So., Riga, Latvia) led Tech with career-highs of 29 points and 16 rebounds. The 29 points tied for the seventh best scoring performance in school history. She was 10-of-13 from the field, 1-of-1 on treys and 8-of-8 from the free throw line to go along with five blocks and three steals. In the last two games, Kublina is 21-of-27 from the field and 20-of-23 on attempts inside the three-point line.

While Kublina was having a career night, the rest of the Tech lineup was only 6-of-30 from the field. Starling was the only other Hokie in double figures with 10 points while Nicole Jones pulled down 10 rebounds.

Miami (16-9, 9-5) was led by Broussard with 22 points, 17 in the second half, and Kathryn Fowler with 12 points.

The Hokies will try to get back on the winning track with a crucial BIG EAST game at Villanova on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.