November 29, 2005

Virginia Tech-Evansville box score

Virginia Tech 79, Evansville 59

 

BLACKSBURG -Virginia Tech used an 18-0 run in the first half to pull away from Evansville, and the Hokies cruised the rest of the way en route to a 79-59 non-conference victory over the Purple Aces on Tuesday night at Cassell Coliseum.

With the win, the Hokies improved to 5-0 on the season. Evansville fell to 1-4.

With the game tied at 4, Tech embarked on its 18-0 tear to take a 22-4 lead. The Hokies connected on eight consecutive shots, with reserve center Roshana Jackson hitting two shots and Kirby Copeland hitting two. Six different players scored in the run, which ended on Brittany Cook's 3-pointer with 11:34 left in the first half.

"I think our bench plays a lot in our ability to make runs," Tech head coach Beth Dunkenberger said. "You'll see a lot of times we'll make a run in the middle of a half when both teams go to their bench. We've got a lot of kids who could start for other teams, but they're unselfish. It doesn't matter if they're starting. They come in ready to play."

Evansville went on a 9-2 run right after that to cut the Tech lead to nine, but the Purple Aces got no closer as poor shooting plagued them. They shot just 30 percent in the first half and turned the ball over 10 times.

In the second half, it was much of the same. Evansville cut Tech's lead to 10 on two occasions only to see the Hokies go on runs both times to build up the lead. The first time, with the score 34-24, the Hokies went on an 8-0 run, with four different players scoring in the run. The second time, with the score 52-42, the Hokies went on a 12-0 run, with five different players scoring.

Only two players scored in double figures for Tech, led by Dawn Chriss, who scored 12 points and grabbed a career high-tying 12 rebounds for the second double-double for her career. Tech's top two leading scorers, Kerri Gardin and Carrie Mason, scored just eight and five points, respectively. But seven players scored at least seven points for the Hokies, and Tech's bench outscored Evansville's bench 39-16.

"I think that says we have a lot of offensive threats," Chriss said. "Anyone one of us can come out on any given day and score points."

Cook, the redshirt freshman from Narrows, Va., led Tech's bench parade, coming off the bench to score 11, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor, including a couple of 3-pointers. Britney Anderson added eight off the bench, while starters Gardin and Megan Finnerty also scored eight. Gardin added 10 rebounds for the Hokies, who outrebounded Evansville 47-37.

The Hokies shot 48.5 percent from the floor, while holding the Purple Aces to just 31.3 percent.

Tech continues its non-conference slate this Sunday when the Hokies travel to Richmond for an in-state battle with the Spiders. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.