December 30, 2000

BLACKSBURG, Va.- The Virginia Tech women's basketball team defeated the Maine

Lady Black Bears, 79-68, Friday night in the championship game of the Lady Luck Classic.

The Hokies' Nicole Jones hit 6-of-9 shots on the night and finished with 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, both team highs. Tere Williams and Chrystal Starling each had 13 points and Amy Wetzel followed close behind with 12 points of her own.

Maine's Kizzy Lopez tied Jones for the most points in the game with 17. Melissa Heon and Heather Ernest also played strong for the Lady Black Bears, with Heon scoring 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Ernest finishing the game with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Both teams were hot from the field in the opening half. Maine shot an impressive 57.1% while the Hokies posted a 45.2%. The game was deadlocked at 37 at the break. The hot shooting did not cool off much in the second half, with both teams posting a 50.0% mark from the field. Tech was able to distance itself in the second half thanks to impressive performances from Jones and Wetzel. Jones scored 10 of her 17 points in the second half and Wetzel put in seven of her 12 points.

Jones performance earned her the most valuable player for the tournament. Williams joined Jones on the all-tournament team for the Hokies. Jessica Guarneri of UNC Asheville, Yaschico Stevens of Marshall and Lopez of Maine close out the all-tournament team.

The Hokies improve their record to 9-3 with the win while Maine falls to 4-7. Tech is back in action Wednesday, when they host third-ranked Notre Dame in their BIG EAST home opener.