BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's basketball team takes its two-game winning streak on the road Sunday afternoon as they travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Hokies won an overtime battle against Georgia Tech Thursday night 64-61 as Aisha Sheppard scored 17 points – all after halftime to lead the squad back from an 8-point deficit in the third quarter.
Sheppard hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds on the clock off a play drawn up during a timeout assisted by Elizabeth Kitley.
"It's a designed play that we have," head coach Kenny Brooks commented postgame. "Liz is a decoy. We threw the ball inside because we knew they were going to suck in on her and we had Sheppard coming off a screen, and they executed it perfectly. She hit her right in stride. They executed it perfectly, and Sheppard came up in rhythm and knocked it down. That gave us momentum."
In the extra session, it was all Hokies as Dara Mabrey scored the opening basket and then Sheppard scored five straight points as the Hokies locked up an eighth ACC victory.
"This team is progressing very nicely every day," Brooks said of the team's ability to 'put it all together'. "Their understanding of each other, they're figuring it out. They know what they're supposed to do. They're clicking. Chemistry will show, and this group has chemistry. They really care about each other. Everyone in that locker room was happy and excited, whether they played great, whether they didn't play at all, whether they played bad. They understand the big picture and where we can go with this group, and that's very exciting."
Tech's eight ACC wins this season are a program record
GAME INFORMATION
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest
Sunday, February 16 – 1 PM
ACC Network Extra
THE DEMON DEACONS
Wake Forest (13-12, 6-8) snapped a four-game slide on Thursday night with a 66-52 victory at Clemson fueled by 23 points from forward Ivana Raca.
Raca, a junior from Serbia leads the squad in scoring at 16.3 points per game and also leads the Deacons in minutes at 34.8.
Alex Sharp is the squad's leading rebounder at 8.9 per contest.
The Hokies lead the all-time series 15-13 and have won five of the last six. The two clubs met twice last season, in back-to-back games as the Deacons traveled to Cassell Coliseum for the final game of the regular season, a 69-57 triumph for Tech. The next week, the two were matched up in the first round of the ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum, a game that Tech won handedly 85-63. Taylor Emery scored 26 points and forwards Regan Magarity (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Trinity Baptiste (12 points, 15 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles.
NEXT TIME ON THE HARDWOOD
•The Hokies will travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Thursday, February 20. Tipoff on ACC Network is set for 8 p.m.
•The Irish lead the all-time series 11-1 and have won each of the last seven meetings against the Hokies.
NEXT TIME ON CARILION CLINIC COURT
•The Hokies are back at Cassell Coliseum on Sunday, February 23 to play host to the Virginia Cavaliers. Tipoff on ACC Network Extra is set for 7 p.m.
•In the season's first meeting, Tech earned a 69-61 victory at John Paul Jones Arena behind a balanced offensive attack that saw all five starters record double figures. Dara Mabrey led the squad with 15 points, including a memorable 3-pointer from the logo as the shot clock wound down from an out of bounds play under the basket. The Hokies outrebounded the Cavaliers 41-30 and went 18-22 from the free throw line.
•That game will be Senior Day for the program as they recognize those graduates who have made contributions to the program.
