February 26, 2002

It may have been Senior Night for the Hokies, but on this night, an underclassman stole the show.

Ieva Kublina, Tech's 6-foot-4 sophomore center, continued her recent tear through BIG EAST competition, throwing in 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds as the Hokies polished off the regular season by knocking off Rutgers 70-63 in front of 2,944 fans at Cassell Coliseum.

With the win, the Hokies improved to 18-9 overall and 9-7 in the BIG EAST. The win solidified the No. 6 seed in the BIG EAST tournament this upcoming weekend for the Hokies. They'll play Rutgers in a rematch, with this one being held Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

"I think the advantage will be in preparation time," Tech head coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "We saw every defense tonight they've played this season except for maybe the triangle-and-2. Everything is going to be fresh in our minds. Now, are they better at home? Sure, but we've just got to be ready to handle that."

Tech - which finished the season 12-1 at home - trailed by as many as 11 in the first half and by nine with under six minutes left in the half. But the Hokies went on an 18-4 run right before halftime to take a 34-29 lead into the locker room.

In the second half, the Hokies led the entire way. Rutgers cut Tech's lead to two on two separate occasions, the final time coming with 2:58 left in the game after Dawn McCullough hit a 3-pointer to make the score 60-58. But Chrystal Starling scored eight consecutive points, including six on free throws to put the game away. Starling finished with 15 points.

Kublina, however, proved to be the biggest problem for Rutgers on this evening. Taking advantage of her size, she made 9-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-2 from beyond the 3-point arc. Her 11 rebounds marked a game-high, thus enabling her to record her ninth double-double of the season and the 11th of her career.

"For the defense we were playing, she created some problems for us," Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "We made some adjustments, but it still wasn't enough. I wish I could find a Kublina for my team. She's a beautiful player. She sends the message that for big female players, there are no limitations."

Kublina is averaging 25.8 points per game in her past four games. She's shooting 71.7 percent from the floor and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line in that span.

"It's exciting to see her confidence grow," Tech's Nicole Jones said. "She's one of the best post players I've played with, if not the best. She's great. In two years, she could move on to bigger things."

Tech will need her to continue her stellar play as it heads to the BIG EAST tournament. The Hokies need another win or two to assure themselves of a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

"I think you could see five, maybe six teams go from the BIG EAST," Henrickson said. "Our RPI [ratings percentage index] is good and our strength of schedule is good. But are we on the bubble? Sure, we are."