March 9, 2003

The Virginia Tech women's basketball team used its free-throw shooting to get into overtime and then let its 3-point shooting take over as the Hokies advanced to the semifinals of the BIG EAST tournament over No. 23 Boston College 74-70. The win improves Tech's record to 21-8 and ensures that Tech will play the winner of the UConn/Seton Hall game.

The Hokies fell behind 9-0 almost before they could blink as BC converted four of its first five shots from the floor. After the initial run to start the game, neither BC nor Tech could claim the momentum. Tech never trailed by more than 12 or fewer than six in the first half. The Hokies found themselves behind 33-25 at halftime.

In the second half it was more of the same for the first three minutes, except that this time both teams came out hot. The two combined to hit seven of the first eight shots taken in the half and BC held a 41-31 advantage.

However, Tech was not ready to concede just yet. The Hokies used a 16-5 run to finally break through and take their first lead of the game, 47-46. Dawn Chriss (Hillcrest Heights, Md.) found herself the beneficiary of a long rebound that somehow squirted free and took it the length of the floor for a layup.

BC answered with a strong driving layup by Brianne Stepherson. Stepherson also drew a foul on Ieva Kublina (Riga, Latvia) and converted the 3-point play. Tech went 8-for-8 from the free throw line over the final 5:28 and got a layup from Chrystal Starling (Syracuse, NY) to claim a 57-54 lead with 35.8 seconds remaining.

BC came up and ran a beautifully designed play to get the ball in the hands of Amber Jacobs, who drained the trey with 25 seconds remaining. Chriss missed a baseline jumper at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, Tech won the jump and Starling immediately drained a 3-pointer. After a BC miss, Mason came off a screen and nailed one of her own, giving Tech a six-point cushion. After a couple of Starling free throws, Kublina got in on the act with her second 3-pointer of the game.

"The first two were just being aggressive off of a busted play when we were trying to go inside to Ieva," Henrickson said. "Ieva's actually was a designed play to get her a look, though."

With the score 70-61 in Tech's favor, BC went on a 9-2 run to get within two points, but two Starling free throws with 4.2 seconds left sealed the victory.

Kublina paced the Hokies with 20 points and 11 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the season. She swatted five shots, the 31st time in her career she's blocked three or more shots in a game. Starling, still battling the flu but seemingly much improved from Saturday's win over West Virginia, scored 18 points and went 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Fourteen of Starling's points came in the final 2:16 of regulation and overtime. Chriss, the freshman who came into the tournament having scored just 43 points on the season, scored a career-high for the second day in a row with 14.

The win all but guarantees Tech a spot in the NCAA tournament later this month.

"We got so sick of hearing last year that if we'd just won one in the (BIG EAST) tournament we'd have gotten in (to the NCAA tournament), so I told the kids coming in that if they want a guarantee, beat West Virginia and BC," Henrickson said. If we don't get in now, there needs to be an investigation."

Tech's next game will be Monday, March 10 at 5:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on BIG EAST TV so check local listings for availability.