Navy cut the lead down to four late in the final quarter, but the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team used a 9-2 run to close out the game, securing a 75-64 win over the Mids to advance in the 2017 WNIT.
Chanette Hicks had 18 points, seven assists and five steals to lead the Hokies (19-13). Samantha Hill chipped in 16 points and five boards while Sidney Cook had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Vanessa Panousis tallied 11 points and moved into eighth place on the Tech career-scoring list.
“It was a good win,” said head coach Kenny Brooks. “I’m glad we are able to continue the careers of our seniors and get more playing time for our younger players. This is good experience for our program and I thought our kids did a really good job. It was the second game in a row where I thought we came out and played well in the first quarter. We had a little bit of a lull in the third, but I felt we picked it back up in the fourth.”
Tech got out to the lead early in the opening quarter and was up 20-10 just past the midway point. The Hokies used a 7-0 run that stretched into the second frame to go on top 27-15. Navy answered, outscoring the Hokies 9-2 to cut it down to 30-24 with 6:10 on the clock. Tech closed out the half with a 12-4 advantage, taking a 42-28 lead into the break.
A layup from Hill coming out of the break gave the Hokies their largest lead of the afternoon, up 16, but Navy used inside shots to chip away at the Tech tally, cutting it to single-digits (49-41) with 4:26 to go in the frame. The Hokies used a 6-0 run to push it back to a 14-point lead, but the Mids closed out the quarter with a pair of long-range baskets to trail 59-52 heading into the fourth.
Navy again looked to make a big run and closed it to a four-point game three times in the fourth quarter, but the Hokies answered each time to maintain the advantage. The Mids trailed by four with 3:44 to go, but Tech used a 9-2 run over the final minutes to secure the win.
Sarita Condie had 26 points and eight rebounds for Navy (24-10). Ashanti Kennedy tallied nine points while Laurel Jaunich added eight.
Virginia Tech connected on 48.9 percent from the field, including a 54.5 percent (12-22) clip from outside the arc. Navy shot 40 percent from the field and was 8-of-23 from long-range. Tech held a slight 29-28 advantage on the boards, but the Mids had 26 paint points to Tech’s 20. Both teams had 23 points off turnovers despite Navy winning that battle 22-17.
The Hokies will be in action in the next round of the WNIT on Thursday against Penn State. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in University Park, Pennsylvania.
— Courtesy of VT Athletics