BLACKSBURG, Va. ? Presbyterian College women's basketball went on a 7-0 scoring run in the final 1:16 of the game but were unable to make up the deficit as the team fell 64-31 to Virginia Tech on Monday evening at Cassell Coliseum.
Junior forward Lea Smith (Marion, N.C./McDowell) scored a team-high 11 points to lead the Blue Hose for the second time this season while sophomore guard Amanda Mills (Oregon City, Ore./San Diego Mesa CC) added 10 points for the second straight game.
The Hokies (8-5) notched three points before Smith's layup put the Blue Hose on the board at 19:07 in the first half. Virginia Tech then went on a 21-point tear over the next 15 minutes to establish a comfortable 24-2 advantage with 4:34 remaining in the half. Freshman guard Kristen Stevens (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) ended PC's drought with a short-range jumper at 4:07. Mills and Smith followed up with layups and the Blue Hose entered the locker room down 31-8 at the half.
The bright spot in the first half came when PC drew Tech's Utahya Drye to commit two quick fouls less than three minutes apart. The Hokies' second-leading scorer who averages 13.9 points per game was forced to sit for the remainder of the half, giving PC a break with the 6-1 forward on the bench.
Freshman forward Brittany Brown (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin) bounced a shot in off the glass at the beginning of the second half but the Blue Hose continued to struggle as the Hokies scored nine unanswered points to build a 34-point lead. Smith caught a bounce pass from sophomore point guard Katlin Moore (Fort Mill, S.C./Charlotte Catholic (N.C.)) and was fouled to stretch a layup into a three-point play with the extra basket with 12:56 left in the game.
Drye's layup gave Virginia Tech a 43-point lead, the largest of the game, with just under six minutes to play. Mills jumpstarted PC's offense with a three-point basket off a pass by Smith and Smith added two free throw shots to make it 60-22 with four minutes to go.
Mills made two free throws and sank her second three-pointer of the evening with less than two minutes remaining. Brown finished the game with four points off a layup and two free throw shots with six seconds remaining.
PC (2-10, 0-1 Big South) was a perfect 7-for-7 from the line, making it the third time this season the Blue Hose haven't missed a shot from the stripe. Virginia Tech only shot 52.3 percent (10-of-16) from the line.
Both teams scored the majority of points in the paint with 16 of PC's points coming from the inside. The Blue Hose held the Hokies to 18.2 percent from the perimeter (2-of-11) while 44 of their points were scored in the paint.
PC returns Big South play when they travel to UNC Asheville for a Jan. 12 date with the Bulldogs.
