BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's basketball team is back on Carilion Clinic Court after competing at the Daytona Beach Invitational last week, where they went 1-1 defeating Belmont before falling to Georgia. Tech plays host to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Thursday night, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
Virginia Tech vs. Purdue
Thursday, December 5 – 7 p.m.
ACC Network Extra
The team was led in the tournament by Dara Mabrey who averaged 17 points per game. In the first contest against Belmont, she recorded 10 points on 50% shooting from the field and also added two boards and two assists. Saturday against Georgia she led the Hokies with a season high 24 points, connecting on six 3-pointers, which also tied her career high. For the weekend, she shot 62% and 55% from beyond the arc.
Trinity Baptiste was also a force, collecting the team's first double-double of the season with an 11-point 13 rebound effort vs the Bruins and then and 9-point and 10 rebound game vs the Bulldogs.
The Hokies will put two impressive streaks on the line against the Boilermakers; their 57-game home non-conference winning streak which dates back to the 2014 season as well as the four-game streak in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
THE BOILERMAKERS
Purdue enters the contest at 6-1, most recently falling to No. 22 Gonzaga at the Gulf Coast Showcase 63-50. The Boilermakers defeated Drake and Arizona State on its way to the title game.
Dominique Oden leads the squad in scoring at 13.4 points per game followed by Kayana Traylor's 12.0 and Ae'Rianna Harris' 11.0. As a squad, Purdue is shooting 43% from the field and are outrebounding opponents by 4.5.
THE MATCHUP WITH PURDUE
The Hokies and Boilermakers have met once before, in 2003 in an NCAA Tournament game played in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue won that contest 80-62.
THE CHALLENGE
Virginia Tech has won four straight games in the competition dating back to a 64-59 victory vs. Penn State in 2015. Since then, Tech and head coach Kenny Brooks have defeated Nebraska, Illinois and Rutgers by an average margin of 24 points per game.
All-time, the Hokies are 6-6 in The Challenge.
The ACC has won nine Challenge titles since its inception in 2007, with an overall record of 89-61.
NEXT TIME ON THE HARDWOOD
The Hokies are back on Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum on Sunday, December 8 to take on the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs. It will the programs' fourth time matching up with the Hokies winning each of the last three meetings.
In the most recent meeting in 2016, five Hokies were in double figures as Tech won 76-42.
