by Tim Winksy and Adam Abramson
Sports Staff
Virginia Tech women?s basketball team returned to the win column Saturday afternoon with an 80-56 crushing of the Providence Friars.
In front of a supportive home crowd, the Hokies reduced their turnover margin by 14 ? after committing 31 in their loss to Miami last week ? and used stingy defense to control the tempo of the game for all 40 minutes.
?We tried to play good defense and pressure them, pushing them at half court so it would be harder for them to execute their offense,? said Ieva Kublina. ?It seemed to slow their offense down a lot.?
The Hokies had four players in double figures, led by Kublina?s 25 points and seven rebounds.
Coming off a recent string of turnover-prone games, the Hokies focused on taking care of the ball in practice. The emphasis on ball control paid off as the Hokies outscored the Friars 33-13 in points off turnovers.
?We definitely controlled the ball better,? said Tech head coach Bonnie Henrickson, ?but we had points where we had consecutive turnovers and I was halfway back (to Miami). We have to use discipline when moving the ball and keep turnover amounts to a minimum.?
The Hokies used a 20-2 run in the last two minutes of the first half and the opening two minutes of the second to pull away from the Friars.
?We had a good run going in and a good run going out, with a solid offensive execution,? Henrickson said.
The blowout allowed Henrickson to give some of the Hokies? younger players valuable game experience. Tech ended the game with four freshmen on the floor over the last five minutes of the contest.
Kublina and Erin Gibson used their size to dominate inside and get 18 of their 35 first-half points in the paint.
?We definitely had a height advantage over the girls on Providence, which gave us a huge break in the post,? Gibson said. ?We are physical down there and Ieva took over with her moves, which helped out a whole lot.?
To compliment the win, Kublina?s 1,000th career point highlighted the game. She is Tech?s 15th overall woman to accomplish this, being the fifth fastest player to reach the milestone.
The women?s basketball team have tough Big East conference games in their near future. Their upcoming challenges include an away game against Seton Hall tonight and Notre Dame on Sunday, Feb. 9 in Cassell Coliseum.
?A big win like this gives us a lot of confidence,? said Carrie Mason
