Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team invited Lenoir-Rhyne to Cassell Coliseum on Monday night for an exhibition game in preparation for the 2009-10 season, and came away winners by a score of 71-59.
Lenoir-Rhyne, a Division-II member of the NCAA and the South Atlantic Conference which returns five starters from its 27-5 NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, put up a good fight and actually out-rebounded the Hokies, but Tech forced the Bears into 26 turnovers and 34.5 percent shooting to record the victory.
The Hokies used a 7-0 run to start the game and a 12-3 run to end the first half to build a 12-point intermission lead, which proved to be the same margin as the final score.
The Bears only led the game at one juncture, a 10-9 advantage just over five minutes into the contest. Tech, meanwhile, led by as many as 20 midway through the second half.
Tech head coach Beth Dunkenberger doled out playing time rather evenly on the night, with nine Hokies playing at least 15 minutes each. Ten of the 11 Hokies who played scored, with seniors Lindsay Biggs (15 points) and Utahya Drye (14) leading the way. Drye tied for the team lead with junior Brittany Gordon with six rebounds, and she also led the squad with five assists. Redshirt junior point guard Nikki Davis tallied a game-high four steals.
For the game, Tech shot 42.6 percent from the field (26-for-61), 44.4 percent from 3-point land (4-for-9), and 75 percent from the free-throw line (15-for-20).
Lenoir-Rhyne placed three scorers in double figures, with Jami Safrit leading the way with 15 points. Amber Holt and Brittany Mitch each tallied 10 points, and Denise Moore grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
With the win, Tech improved to 17-7 all-time in exhibition games, including 8-1 since Dunkenberger took over the helm.
Tech is scheduled to open its 2009-10 regular season on Nov. 13 with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against Longwood at Cassell Coliseum.