February 27, 2003

Box Score

#20 Rutgers 67, Virginia Tech 43

 

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The combination of poor shooting, turnovers and trouble on the boards proved to be too much for Virginia Tech to overcome Wednesday night in 67-43 loss at 20th-ranked Rutgers. The game was Tech's third straight and third consecutive to a nationally-ranked opponent. The Hokies previous two defeats were at No. 23 Boston College and last Saturday at home against No. 20 Villanova.

Tech (17-8, 8-6) is still in the hunt for the fifth-seed in the BIG EAST Championship next week which will be hosted by Rutgers at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. The Hokies control their own destiny and can claim the fifth seed with wins in their final two regular season games at home against West Virginia and at St. John's. Tech owns the tiebreaker advantage over Notre Dame should the two teams end with 10-6 league marks by virtue of a 53-50 win earlier this season.

Wednesday's contest remained close in the first eight minutes as Tech took an 11-10 lead with 12:11 remaining in the half on a Carrie Mason (Fr., Seneca, Pa.) three-point shot. The lead would be the Hokies last of the evening.

Rutgers (19-5, 12-2) responded with a 14-4 run over the next seven minutes to build the lead to 24-15 before Tech put up its' best fight of the game. The Hokies reeled off five unanswered points on a Ieva Kublina (Jr., Riga, Latvia) three-point play and a jumper by Mason to draw within 24-20. Un fortunately, that would be as close as Tech would come for the remainder of the contest.

The Scarlet Knights' Dawn McCullough, who entered the game shooting only 17.6 percent from behind the arc, buried two consecutive three-point shots to increase the lead to ten and Rutgers carried a 34-24 lead into halftime.

The second half was much like the final ten minutes of the first as Rutgers used a 10-0 run midway through the second frame to build its' largest lead at 62-37 with just under five minutes left in the game.

Tech, which had dominated the boards in the previous meeting, a 66-64 overtime win in Blacksburg, lost the battle of the boards 44-32 and allowed the Scarlet Knights to collect 23 offensive rebounds. Rutgers forced the Hokies into 20 turnovers which the Knights converted into 29 points while limiting Tech to only 34.8 percent from the field. The 43 points was a season-low for the Hokies' offense and marked the second consecutive time Tech has been held to 43 points at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights won 44-43 last season in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship which was played at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

Kublina and Chrystal Starling (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.) led Tech with nine points. McCullouch led Rutgers with a game-high 23 points followed by Chelsea Newton with 11 and Cappie Pondexter and Shalicia Hurns with 10 points each.

Tech will return to action on Sat., Mar. 1 when the Hokies host West Virginia in a 4 p.m. contest. The game is part of a Cassell Coliseum double feature as the Tech men's team will host Villanova at noon. Seniors Emily Lipton (Crofton, Md.) and Starling will be honored following their final regular season home game.