BLACKSBURG, Va. - Presbyterian College carried a 34-32 lead into the halftime break but turned the ball over late to fall 59-52 to Virginia Tech on Friday night at Cassell Coliseum.  The Blue Hose made the baskets when needed in the first half but only shot 7-for-28 in the second half.  There were 16 lead changes in the game which PC led for large portions.

"We had a shot tonight," said head coach Ronny Fisher.  "We played very well tonight but we started getting tired late.  I think this game will help our confidence as a team going forward."

The Blue Hose led by as much as five points at the 7:41 mark in the second half on a balanced scoring night for the visitors.  Junior Kristen Stevens (Pickerington, Ohio) and freshman Karlee Taylor (Asheville, N.C.) each dumped in nine points to share the team lead in scoring.  Stevens points all came from beyond the three-point line while Taylor scored two from downtown.

PC's final lead was surrendered at the 6:01 mark when the Hokies scored a fast break layup to take a 50-49 lead.  Nine of PC's 26 turnovers in the game came after the eight-minute mark in the second half.  The Hokies scored 17 points off turnovers.  The Blue Hose, however, won the rebounding battle 40-31 with 12 offensive boards.

In the first half, PC shot the lights out with a .538 percentage from the field and an amazing .545 from downtown in the opening period to take a 34-32 lead into the break.  Defending Big South Freshman of the Year Mariah Pietrowski (Elizabethton, Tenn.) scored six of her seven points in the first half as PC logged just 12 turnovers in the half. 

The hot shooting in the first half from downtown came in spurts as Chelsea Parker (Asheville, N.C.) nailed two-in-a-row followed by back-to-back treys from Stevens and Taylor later in the period.

In the early moments of the second half, both teams cooled from the field with just one basket in the first four minutes of the half.  The Hokies took the lead and ran it out to two points at the 15:58 mark before senior Amanda Mills (Oregon City, Ore.) drained her first three-pointer of the night at 15:43 to take a one-point lead at 37-36. 

The lead would change hands four times before the 12-minute mark as the teams traded two-pointers.  Parker extended the lead to three points at 11:37.  The sophomore would finish with eight points for the game.

Freshman Chelsea Apke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) gave PC its largest lead of the night at 8:23 with her fourth point of the night on a layup.  The basket, however, would be the end of PC's hot shooting as the Blue Hose went scoreless for the next 8:03.  Meanwhile, Virginia Tech rattled off 15 unanswered points to take the lead which would not be touched by PC.

PC had nine of the 11 players score points in the game in which PC scored above the 2009-2010 season average of 45 points.  The 34 first half points was the most against Division I opposition in the last two years.  The 52 points was also the most scored by PC against a team from the ACC since 1985.

The Blue Hose return home to face Erskine on Tuesday afternoon at 11:30 inside the Templeton Center.  Admission is free for the 2010-11 home opener.

Fans can keep up with Blue Hose women's basketball and the rest of PC's 16 intercollegiate sports teams at www.Twitter.com/BlueHoseSports.  There, fans will find exclusive updates you can't find anywhere else.  If video is your quest, check out the BlueTube on www.GoBlueHose.com or www.youtube.com/BlueHoseAthletics.