March 13, 2002

Virginia Tech head coach Bonnie Henrickson called on a little-used weapon in the team's first-round WNIT matchup against UNC Greensboro and it turned out to be just what the the Hokies needed as they went on to win 51-46 in front of 1,665 fans at Cassell Coliseum.

Sophomore sparkplug Davina Simmons, who played in just 14 games this season, came off the bench early in the first half to instill some life in a lethargic Tech team. With Tech trailing 4-0, she immediately scored Tech's first basket and blocked a shot and Tech never looked back.

"That was by design because she had a great week of practice," Henrickson said. "We felt like matchup-wise it wouldn't be a disadvantage defensively, and offensively, they were doubling so we thought she might get a couple of looks."

In just 13 minutes of action, Simmons scored seven points and was very active on the defensive end.

The Spartans hung close, though, never trailing by double figures in the contest. Defense was the theme of the night for both teams. UNC Greensboro shot 30.2 percent for the game while Tech hit just 30 percent. The game also marked the eighth time this season that Tech held an opponent under 50 points.

"I thought we could come in here and play with Tech and I'm proud of our effort, particularly on the defensive end," UNC Greensboro coach Lynne Agee said. "But Tech did a great job on the defensive end denying us the ball and we never had a clean look at a 3-pointer."

The Hokies used a 12-3 run at the end of the first half to take a 25-18 lead into the locker room. The teams swapped baskets early in the second half until the Spartans went on an 8-0 run to cut Tech's lead to 34-32. The Hokies came back with six unanswered and UNC Greensboro never got any closer.

Senior Sarah Hicks (Roanoke, Va.) paced the Hokies with 13 points and also pulled down seven rebounds. Senior Lisa Guarneri (Piscataway, NJ) posted a career-high with 11 points. Tech's leading scorer, Ieva Kublina (Riga, Latvia), was held to just seven points because of UNC Greensboro's double teaming, but she did collect 14 rebounds and six blocks against the smaller Spartan team.

Senior point guard Samika Foster led the Spartans with 11 points and nine rebounds. Brianne Dodgen also hit double figures with 10 points.

The win moves Tech into the second round of the WNIT where it will serve as the host for former Atlantic 10 rival George Washington, who defeated Delaware 78-71. The game will take place on Saturday, March 16 at 7 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum.