Dec. 28, 2006

Final Stats

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech survived a serious scare from the Winston-Salem State University Lady Rams in the first round of the 2006 Lady Luck Classic, but a late second half run lifted the Hokies over the Lady Rams by the score of 43-33.  The win improves Virginia Tech's record to 8-5 and keeps its winning streak in the Lady Luck tournament alive at 17 games.  Winston-Salem State falls to 4-11 with the loss in front of 3,250 fans at Cassell Coliseum.

The Hokies found themselves facing their largest deficit of the game, 31-22, with 11:30 remaining to play in the contest as the Lady Rams looked as though they were going to knock off the ACC'c Hokies.  The tournament hosts found themselves in the predicament after failing to make a shot from the field in the first 9:30 of the second half, going 0-for-9 from the floor. 

Freshman Lindsay Biggs sank Tech's first shot of the second half, a 3-pointer from the corner, to jumpstart the Hokies.  After a defensive stop, fellow freshman Eleanor Brentnall followed that by taking the ball inside and grabbing her own offensive rebound three times before finally getting the ball to drop bringing the Hokies to within four points. 

With the momentum from Biggs' shot and Brentnall's effort play, Tech head coach Beth Dunkenberger went back to her upperclassmen at that point and they finished off the run.  All told, the Hokies closed the game with a 21-2 run to capture the 43-33 win.  The Lady Rams shot just 3-of-27 in the second half and scored only seven points, which gave Tech the opportunity to claw back into the game.  Tech didn't shoot much better, going just 7-of-26, but it was enough to move on to the championship game against Detroit.

The Hokies scored the first six points of the game on a 3-point play by Nare Diawara and a 3-pointer by Laura Haskins.  However, over the next 17 minutes, the rest of the first half, the Lady Rams doubled up the Hokies 26-13.  Winston-Salem State led at halftime 26-19 by making four more field goals than the Hokies and committing four fewer turnovers.

For the game, Diawara was the only Hokie in double figures with 17 points and 11 rebounds, the second double-double of her career.  The Lady Rams were led by Lavontay Johnson who tallied 10 points in the contest as she was the only WSSU player to score in double-figures.  Shalonda Carter chipped in with eight points and 15 rebounds in the narrow loss.

The two teams combined to set a new record for the lowest combined score in the Lady Luck Classic with their 76 total points.  Entering the day, the previous low for two teams was 109 points, set by the Hokies and the University of North Carolina in the 1994 championship game.  That dubious record was broken in the first game of the day when New Hampshire and Detroit combined for 104 points.  The Hokies and Lady Rams then shattered that short-lived record with their 76-combined-point performance.

The Hokies will play Detroit in the championship game on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.  New Hampshire and Winston-Salem State will tip-off in the consolation game on Dec. 29 at 4 p.m.

For additional information on WSSU women's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Sports Information at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com.

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