Women roll past Winston-Salem State

By Brian Wright The Collegiate Times

November 15, 2007

Blacksburg, VA (CSTV U-WIRE) -- The scoreboard rarely lies. As the final buzzer sounded, it showed a 67-43 blowout. But it was truly a tale of two halves.The beginning of Wednesday night's game between the Virginia Tech women's basketball team and the Winston-Salem State Lady Rams was similar to last year's meeting.

In 2006, the Hokies trailed at halftime before a second half run helped them escape with a ten-point win. Tech was hoping for a reduction in drama this time around.

"We definitely didn't want that to happen again," said guard Laura Haskins.

On Wednesday night in Cassell Coliseum, the end result was the same. However, unlike last year, the outcome was decided well before the final buzzer.

In the opening half, the Hokies (2-0) found difficulty putting significant distance between them and their opponent from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Tech never led by more than nine points in the first twenty minutes of play, and took a 30-23 lead into the halftime break.

"We saw a team tonight that had a little bit of a lapse in defense during the first half and we let that affect our offense," head coach Beth Dunkenberger said.

However, the Hokies pulled away with an impressive second half performance on both offense and defense.

Tech put together a string of 18 unanswered points, turning a 14-point game into a rout. The Hokies forced the Rams, who have eight freshmen on their roster, into 30 turnovers. Tech managed to limit its mistakes. The Hokies committed only five turnovers in the second half and cruised to a 24-point victory.

"We came out with lots of fire and intensity on defense in the second half and that fueled our run," Dunkenberger said.

The stat sheet was filled career highs. Guard Laura Haskins finished with seven steals and tied a single-game best with seven assists. Center Eleanor Brentnall totaled ten points in just 16 minutes.

"I think Eleanor can be a force in the paint," Dunkenberger said. "She did a nice job of getting good position and getting good high percentage shots."

Freshman guard Andrea Barbour followed her impressive collegiate debut versus High Point with a 17-point effort against the Lady Rams. In the opener, Barbour had 18 points, four rebounds, and two assists.

The leader on offense was Brittany Cook. After shooting 3-of-9 in the first half, Cook was a perfect 4-for-4 in the second half. She finished with a game-high 18 points and seven boards.

Winston-Salem State only had one returning starter, senior guard Keoshia Worthy, who played in last year's 43-33 Tech win. However, her contributions were severely limited by the stingy Tech defense, and Worthy only managed two points.

The win over the Lady Rams extends the Hokies' remarkable success in non-conference contests. In the last 11 seasons, Tech has compiled a 115-35 overall record in these games, with a 64-9 mark in Cassell.

Tech's next opponent is Liberty, out of the Big South Conference. The Hokies will host the Flames on Sunday at 7 p.m.