August 10, 2004

HOMEBUSH, NEW SOUTH WALES - Virginia Tech opened its' five-game tour in Australia Tuesday evening edging HSE Blues 71-67. The game was played at the National Sports Centre in Homebush Olympic Park, site of the 2000 Olympic Games.

The contest was held under modified international rules as the teams played with the same size ball as the men, the wider international free throw lane and the contest contained four, 10-minute quarters, instead of halves. Erin Gibson (Sr., Galax, Va.) led the Hokies with 16 points and eight rebounds followed by Kerri Gardin (Jr., Morgonton, N.C.) and Carrie Mason (Jr., Seneca, Pa.) with 14 and 12 points respectively.

Tech led 19-14 after the first quarter as Gardin scored eight of the Hokies first ten points. The Hokies opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run to build a 28-16 lead before HSE responded with a 14-4 spurt to close to within 32-30 at intermission.

The contest remained tight until the fourth quarter when another Tech run built the advantage to 66-55 with 2:39 remaining in the game. The Aussies, behind Michelle Musswewe, outscored Tech 12-5 to make the game close at the end. Musswewe, the last cut from the Australian Olympic team, finished with a game-high 31 points.

Tech had some first game jitters shooting only 32.1 percent (27-84) from the field and 52 percent (17-33) from the free throw line. The Hokies return to action on Thursday, Aug. 12 for a 3:30 p.m. contest against AIS International, the Australian national junior team.