BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's basketball team ran away from Purdue 67-54 Thursday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge against Purdue on Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
The win brings the program's record to 7-6 in the competition all-time and advanced Kenny Brooks' squad to 7-1 on the season.
Purdue fell to 6-2.
Tech would never trail Thursday, as the Hokies got off to a quick start, scoring a basket on the first possession of the game through Elizabeth Kitley's jumper in the post and would go on to score nine of the game's first 13 points.
Sophomore Dara Mabrey connected on two first quarter 3's as she continues to climb the charts in that category.
At the half, the teams were seperated by just two points, after the Hokies were held to their lowest total after 20 minutes. In the third, the Hokies scored the first nine points behind buckets from Taja Cole, Mabrey, Lydia Rivers and Kitley. The Boilermakers would counter with a run of their own to keep the game close.
The game tilted firmly in the favor of the Hokies in the third quarter when Aisha Sheppard sparked a 10-2 run with seven points of her own. The junior, who leads the team in scoring finished with 17, with 15 coming after the break.
Tech sealed the victory with a 10-0 run in the fourth to take a 15-point lead, the largest of the night and Cole and Sheppard both scored late to salt it away.
Tamara Farquhar led all scorers in the game with 18 points and also added six rebounds. As a team, the Boilermakers shot 40% and committed 16 turnovers.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Tech did not allow a 3-point field goal for the first time this season. Purdue went 0 for 3 from beyond the arc. The Hokies knocked down seven triples in the game.
- The Boilermakers outscored Tech 34-36 in the paint.
- The Hokies won the battle on the boards 39-31.
GAME NOTES
- Lydia Rivers, a grad transfer from nearby Radford earned her first start as a Hokie in the contest. She had five points and six rebounds.
- Freshman G/F Taylor Geiman made her Cassell Coliseum debut and registered an assist in nine minutes of game time.
- With her 17 points, guard Dara Mabrey has now scored in double figures in all eight games this season. Mabrey climbed the charts to number nine all-time at Virginia Tech with 103 made 3-pointers in her career. She ascended to that position in just 42 games.
- Trinity Baptiste recorded the second double-double of the season and her 10th overall with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds off of the bench.
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.
Gallery: (12/5/2019) 2019 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs. PURDUE