December 21, 2003

Tech 60, JMU 53

Box Score

 

Harrisonburg, Va. --The #16/17 Virginia Tech women's basketball team maintained its unbeaten streak by holding off James Madison University, 60-53, today at the JMU Convocation Center. Erin Gibson led the Hokies with 15 points and 12 rebounds to record her third double-double of the season.'

Tech assumed an early 5-0 lead on a Carrie Mason three-pointer followed by a Kirby Copeland fastbreak layup at the 14:44 mark. The Hokies could not extend their lead past five as the Dukes' zone held Tech to just 30 percent shooting in the half.

The Dukes would battle back to even the contest when Mary Beth Culberson converted on a three-point play with 10:14 remaining in the half. Tech regained the lead on two foul shots followed by an Erin Gibson layup at the 2:42 mark to put the Hokies up 25-20. However, the Dukes would close that margin to two, 25-23, at the half as Lesley Dickinson completed the three-point play with 37 seconds remaining in the half.

In the second half, the Dukes overcame the two point deficit to assume their first lead of the game, 30-29, on a Jody LeRose three-pointer at the 18:10 mark. JMU appeared poised to pull away as Krystal Brooks increased the lead to four with 12:27 remaining. However, the Hokies regained their composure, rattling off a 17-1 run between the 12:04 and 5:18 marks to amass a 13-point, 56-43 lead. Freshman Kirby Copeland had six of her career-high 11 points during that run.

The Dukes made a run of their own, using a full-court press to whittle Tech's lead to just four with 44 seconds left. Down the stretch Carrie Mason hit three-straight free throws with under a minute left to seal the victory for Tech.

Dawn Chriss scored 14 for the Hokies and recorded a career-high with nine rebounds on a day that saw Tech outrebound the Dukes 47-33, matching a season-high total for Tech.

The Hokies improve to 8-0 on the season while JMU falls to 2-6. Tech will return to action on Dec. 28 when they host Furman in the Lady Luck Classic. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m.