Syracuse University
#16/#17 Virginia Tech
Orangewomen Defeat #16/17 Virginia Tech, 75-59
1/23/2002 10:30:38 PM | Women's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Sophomore Shannon Perry (Providence, R.I./La Salle) had her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and senior Jaime James (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) scored 17 points as the Syracuse women’s basketball team upset No. 16/17 Virginia Tech, 75-59, Wednesday night at Manley Field House.
Virginia Tech had won 12 straight and had not allowed an opponent to score more than 66 points before the loss. It was the first BIG EAST loss for the Hokies, who had defeated Syracuse 62-56 on Jan. 5 in Blacksburg.
SU (11-6, 4-2 BIG EAST) started the game with a 13-6 run in the first 5:45, getting seven points from James on 3-of-3 shooting from the field. The Hokies (15-3, 6-1 BIG EAST) answered with a 17-6 run to take its largest lead of the game, 23-18, with 6:54 remaining in the first half. Syracuse led, 31-30, at intermission despite committing 12 turnovers.
The Orangewomen fell behind, 32-31, in the opening minute of the second half on a layup by Emily Lipton, but SU senior forward Leaf Newman (Perris, Calif./Perris) answered, giving the Orangewomen a lead they would not relinquish. Virginia Tech went scoreless for a stretch of nearly five minutes, and scored only seven points in the opening eight minutes of the second stanza.
Syracuse consistently outrebounded the Hokies in the second-half and held a 47-25 advantage in the game. Perry grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 14 points in the second half, including 7-of-8 from the free-throw line the last 1:47 to help the Orangewomen pull away.
James led the Orangewomen with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Julie McBride (Mechanicville, N.Y./Catholic Central) netted 16 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. Newman finished with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Virginia Tech forward Sarah Hicks led all scorers with 18 points. Center Ieva Kublina scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
SU shot 26-of-49 from the field (53.1 percent) including 14-of-24 in the second half (58.3 percent). The Hokies were 23-of-63 (36.5 percent) from the field and shot 6-of-24 from three-point range (25.0 percent).
The victory was the Orangewomen's first home win versus a ranked opponent since Jan. 13, 1999 when the knocked off No. 21/22 Boston College, 73-70. It is the highest ranked opponent the Orangewomen have beaten since defeating second-ranked Connecticut, 62-59, on Jan. 2, 1996.
Syracuse takes to the road for a two-game BIG EAST swing, starting on Saturday, Jan. 26 versus Pittsburgh. The Orangewomen then travel to Notre Dame on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
