November 22, 2002

Box Score

VT 54, UNC Greensboro 46

 

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Redshirt freshman Fran Recchia (Flower Mound, Texas) scored a game-high 18 points as the Virginia Tech women's basketball team defeated UNC Greensboro, 54-46, in the season opener Friday in Cassell Coliseum.

The Spartans jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, before junior Ieva Kublina (Riga, Latvia) nailed a three-pointer to cut the margin to two. UNC Greensboro rattled off nine of the next 13 points as they increased the lead to seven, as the Hokies sank only two of their first 12 field goals. A layup by Megan Finnerty (Atlanta, Ga.) at the 10:57 mark broke Tech's field goal drought and set up a 17-4 run over the next 7:46. The Spartans scored the last five points of the half to set up a 25-24 Tech lead at the break.

UNC Greensboro scored the first five points of the second half to go up 29-25. A quick spurt by the Hokies tied the score at 33 with 15:24 remaining in the game. After going on an 11-7 run, the Spartans went cold in the last ten minutes, connecting on only one of their last ten shots. Meanwhile, Tech scored 14 points to seal the victory.

Both teams shot poorly in the game, with Virginia Tech hitting 38.6 percent from the field and UNC Greensboro connecting on only 38 percent of their shots. Ball handling errors also plagued both squads as they combined for 35 turnovers.

Kublina joined Recchia in double figures with 15 points. She also notched six rebounds and two blocked shots. Jacinda Lambert scored 13 points for the Spartans, while Kellan Law added 10 points.

The Hokies return to action in the Florida International Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 29-30. Tech will face host Florida International at 5 p.m. in the first game of the tournament