Syracuse University
Virginia Tech
Orangewomen Lose to Virginia Tech, 62-56
1/5/2002 10:36:13 PM | Women's Basketball
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Despite a furious comeback and a strong second half by seniors Jaime James (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) and Jazmine Wright (South Orange, N.J./ Columbia), the Syracuse University women's basketball team lost to Virginia Tech, 62-56, on Saturday, Jan. 5, at Cassell Coliseum. It was the second straight loss for SU (7-5 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST) and the eighth straight win for the Hokies (11-2 overall, 2-0 BIG EAST).
The Orangewomen jumped to an 8-2 lead at the 17:36 mark and led 22-21 with 7:37 remaining in the half. Virginia Tech's Chrystal Starling hit on her only three-point attempt of the game with 5:13 left in the half, giving the Hokies a 24-22 lead that they would not relinquish.
Virginia Tech closed the half on a 9-0 run and held SU scoreless the last 4:48 to take a 33-24 lead at intermission. SU was outshot by the Hokies from the field in the half, 11-of-32 (34.4 percent) to 14-of-28 (50 percent).
Syracuse trailed by as much as 14 in the second half and was at a 53-41 disadvantage at the 6:04 mark. SU sophomore center Chineze Nwagbo (Lanham-Seabrook, Md./Duval Senior) hit consecutive jumpers to spark a 15-6 run over the next 4:24. Sophomore guard Julie McBride (Mechanicville, N.Y./ Catholic Central) hit a three-pointer and classmate Shannon Perry (Providence, R.I./La Salle) converted on a three-point play to highlight the run.
The Orangewomen would pull within 59-56 at the 1:40 mark with James' fourth three-pointer of the half. After a missed three-point attempt by McBride that would have tied the game, Hokie center Ieva Kublina blocked Wright?s put-back attempt with 30 seconds remaining. Virginia Tech regained possession and converted three free throws in the last 19 seconds for the 62-56 win.
SU shot 6-of-22 from three-point range (27.3 percent) and 24-of-64 from the field (37.5 percent) for the game. James and Wright led the Orangewomen with 12 points apiece, with James scoring all of her points in the second half on three-pointers. Perry scored 10 points and dished out five assists coming off the bench. McBride had seven assists but was held to five points, snapping a 14-game double-digit scoring streak. Nwagbo led the team with seven rebounds.
Kublina led all scorers with 24 points, had six blocks and shared a game-high 10 rebounds with teammate Nicole Jones. Jones and forward Sarah Hicks chipped in 13 and 14 points, respectively.
Syracuse will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats on Tuesday, Jan. 8. Tipoff is at 5 p.m.
