December 31, 2002

Box Score

Hokies 78, Radford 56

 

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Sophomore Erin Gibson scored a career-high 24 points as the Virginia Tech women's basketball team defeated Radford, 78-56, Tuesday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum. With the win, the Hokies improve to 9-2 on the season, while the loss drops Radford to 4-6.

The Hokies opened the second half with a 23-5 run to give Tech its largest lead of the game up to that point. However, the Highlanders would not go quietly. A 12-1 run midway through the second stanza brought Radford to within 12 with 8:21 remaining in the game. Tech went back to its strong inside game, pulling away late for the decisive win.

The Highlanders opened the game hot, taking an early lead before a 12-0 run gave the Hokies the lead. The score remained close during much of the first half, but the Hokies were too much to handle inside, outscoring Radford 14-4 in the paint.

Gibson led the charge for the Hokies with 24 points and eight rebounds. Ieva Kublina scored 17 and pulled down nine boards. Also scoring in double figures were Carrie Mason with 13 and Fran Recchia with 11. Emily Lipton dished out a career-high nine assists.

The Highlanders were paced by Jesse Brunjak with 14 points and four rebounds. Amanda Neby added 13 points in the loss.

The Hokies will be back in action to open BIG EAST play as they take on Syracuse on Saturday, Jan. 4. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum, following the men's non-conference match-up against Florida State at 4:30 p.m.