BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's basketball program has had its fair share of contests with nearby Tennessee over the years, with the first game being played all the way back in 1982.
Since then, the Hokies (7-1), who are coming off a Big Ten/ACC Challenge win over Wisconsin (2-6) Wednesday, and Lady Vols (7-0) have met a little over a handful of times, and UT leads the series 7-2.
However, Tech has had the last couple of laughs between the two schools, which are roughly 230 miles from each other, winning comfortably in 2015, 57-43, in Knoxville and the last outing in a close one, 67-63 in Blacksburg during the 2016 season.
To take part in this year's edition of the series, click here for ticket information on the 2 p.m. ET game at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
2016 Game (Nov. 27) Virginia Tech 67, Tennessee 63
As the saying goes, things can be a tale of two halves. But, in this one, it was a tale of four quarters. A topsy-turvy game, each team ran away with it every other quarter, with Tech winning the first 18-10, UT claiming the second 21-10, Tech running away with it in the third, 27-13, and the Lady Vols making a comeback with it 19-12 in the fourth. Regan Magarity was solid, scoring 16 points and owning five rebounds and Sidney Cook tallied a double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds) at Cassell.
2015 Game (Dec. 6) Virginia Tech 57, Tennessee 43
Trailing at halftime 25-22 on the road, the Hokies rode a big second half from downtown, connecting on six 3-pointers to earn them the 14-point victory. The difference in the game, though, was the fourth quarter, when Tech put down the clamps on Tennessee's offense, as the Lady Vols were held to just six (!) points. Vanessa Panousis was terrific, posting a game-high 21 points and Regan Magarity was the other Hokie to reach double figures, scoring 13 points and pulling down seven boards.
