[Purple Haize]

OH yeah, getting upset at ref's is not a big deal. Ref's blow calls, just like players blow plays. It's that pesky human nature thing. OF course it is also that pesky human nature thing to blame someone else.

[krh44]

Very disappointing - Yes it is one game but we have a good team and a GREAT crowd tonight. After losing to Radford I thought for sure we would stop the streakl this year. One game but a loss to JMU already and w/ GW around the corner.. Second half we didn't look like the same team. These are games we have to win because we lose these and run through the Big South we are no better off in March than we have been th elast 10 years.



Tech's victory improved the Hokies to 13-0 in the series - I still can't believe this

[krh44]

Hokies continue streak against Flames
Anderson has career-high 19 points in win
December 5, 2006


Box Score
VT 55, Liberty 52

LYNCHBURG, Va. - In addition to usual suspects Britney Anderson, Kirby Copeland and Nare Diawara combining for 41 points - including a career-high 19 by Anderson - a second-half burst by Brittany Cook helped push the Virginia Tech women's basketball team to a thrilling 55-52 win over Liberty Tuesday night at the Vines Center.


Tech's victory improved the Hokies to 13-0 in the series and was the 25th consecutive victory in the month of December and 37 of its last 38. The last loss in the final month of the year was at Old Dominion on Dec. 21, 2002.


Anderson hit 7-of-11 field goals and a pair of key free throws with 16.9 seconds remaining, while Cook (Narrows, Va.) followed up her career-game against Charlotte with all of her 10 points in a second-half comeback as the Hokies improved to 6-4.


Anderson (Blacksburg, Va) supplemented her career-high with four rebounds, including two key boards late in the game, while Copeland (Morrow, Ga.) added 13 points. Diawara (Bamako, Mali) chipped in nine, and Laura Haskins (Alexandria, Va.) provided team-highs of six rebounds and four assists.


Megan, Molly and Moriah Frazee combined for 31 points and 26 rebounds for Liberty (5-2), while Roli-Ann Nikagbatse added eight points.


"This is great for our team," head coach Beth Dunkenberger said of the Hokies' back-to-back wins. "When we've struggled on offense (in the past), we've also tightened up on defense and tonight we hung tough. I thought Brittany Cook did a great job shadowing Megan Frazee all night long."


Down by six points at halftime, the Hokies cut the lead to one point on six occasions early in the second half, before finally pulling ahead, 42-41, on a Diawara jumper at the 11:29 mark. Jumpers by Haskins and Cook made it 47-43 at 6:11.


Liberty fought back, however, and the game at 47 with 4:14 remaining behind a pair of free throws by Molly Frazee. The score remained tied until the 2:36 mark when Diawara converted a lay-in to put Tech up, 49-47. Megan Frazee answered right back to lock it up at 49, but Copeland hit 1-of-2 free throws at 2:13 to put the Hokies up by one.


Liberty's Moriah Frazee committed an over-the-back foul with 50 seconds remaining going for a rebound and Cook calmly sank a pair of free throws to make it 52-49.


Copeland had a chance to ice the game with 25 seconds left, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Haskins, however, stole the Liberty outlet pass and dished the ball to Anderson, where a foul led to the clinching free throws that put the score at 54-49.


"If someone asked me how much I scored tonight, I couldn't even tell you," Anderson said of her point total. "It just came to me. I think the defense keyed on (Cook and Copeland) because of their recent performances, and that opened up shots for me."


Molly Frazee drained a three with seven seconds on the clock to cut it to 54-52, but Copeland added one more free throw to finalize the score.


Liberty led throughout much of the first half behind solid play from its post players - including the Frazee triplets, who combined for 16 points and 15 rebounds in the period. The Lady Flames out-rebounded the Hokies 24-13, including an 8-1 margin on offensive boards.


Both offenses got off to quick starts in what was essentially a lay-up drill, as 24 of the first 29 total points were scored in the paint, and Liberty led 16-13 midway through the first.


Liberty led built a lead of 10 points by the 1:50 mark of the half, as Tech endured a drought of nearly seven minutes that saw them score just one point on a Diawara free throw. However, Tech managed to head into the intermission down by just six points, 29-23, following a seven-point outburst in the last 1:12 on a pair of fast break layups by Copeland, and a three-pointer by Anderson.


Copeland, Anderson and Diawara combined for all 23 of the Hokies' first half points.


Tech has nearly two weeks off before its next action, when it will host East Tennessee on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum.

[ATrain]

New group on facebook: Big South Women's Basketball Officials Suck
and no, I did not start it nor did I suggest anyone start it, but others who were there started it:

http://liberty.facebook.com/group.php?g ... 655&ref=nf

[whmatthews]

It was a good game, and it didn't turn out the way we wanted, but oh well, it's happened like this every time we've played VT and it still didn't stop us from winning the Big South or anything. All I know is that I had a good time at the game and I was interviewed by the ESPN/CBS guy. (He said he was from CBS but the camer man had on an ESPN hoody... so, I don't know who they worked for.) Look for the bird when it airs in March.

[jimflamesfan]

I was there...the timeing of the calls were horrible. I think tech had 20 foul shots to LU's 6.

I do believe LU has the better team than Tech. I am dissapointed in the loss. But, it is not the end of the world, still a lot of BB to be played.

[jimflamesfan]

Atrain...we don't use Big South refs for non-conference games, do we...don't they have to be from a neutral conference...where were these people from? Not that it matters...I'm going to try and move on...but just making a point...I don't think these were big south refs.

[ATrain]

I honestly have no idea, but I think I have seen that pony-tailed ref in conference games. This will be something I'll check into later when I have the time though. I'll also send the message along to the group's creator to look into it.

[Sly Fox]

Here is the take from the LU SIDs:

Virginia Tech Edges Lady Flames, 55-52

December 5, 2006
Lynchburg, Va.


Molly Frazee had 11 points and a career-best nine boards

Virginia Tech, on the strength of a career-high 19 points by Britney Anderson, erased a 10-point deficit late in the opening half to claim a hard-fought, 55-52 victory at Liberty Tuesday evening.

The Hokies, who have now won each of the 13 all-time contests against Liberty, won for the second-consecutive outing and are 6-4 on the season.

Liberty, which opened the season with five-straight wins, has now suffered two defeats in a row and falls to 5-2 on the year.

Virginia Tech scored three-straight baskets from the paint to jump out to an early lead. Nare Diawara’s lay-up at the 17:39 mark made the count 6-2, Hokies.

Roli-Ann Nikagbatse gave Liberty its first lead of the game, 10-9, taking a feed from Allyson Fasnacht and converting a fast break lay-up at 15:27. The conversion was part of an 8-0 burst for the Lady Flames.

The home team led by as many as five points, 14-9, before the Hokies scored four points in succession to cut the lead to one on Anderson’s jumper with 11:35 left in the first half.

Virginia Tech was held scoreless for a span of 5:03 during the latter part of the first half. During that time, the Lady Flames tallied six-consecutive markers. The second of back-to-back field goals by Moriah Frazee posted Liberty to a 24-15 advantage at 3:54.

The Lady Flames took their largest first-half lead, 26-16, before Kirby Copeland turned back-to-back Liberty miscues into lay-ups, sparking a 7-3, half-ending surge for the Hokies. Anderson tallied the final three of her nine-first half markers 16 seconds before the intermission on a long-distance connection, making the halftime score, 29-23.

Anderson’s three-pointer was an anomaly for Virginia Tech in the first half, as the visitors made just one-of-seven shots from behind the arc. Copeland and Anderson evenly split 18 points to spearhead the Hokie attack.

Nikagbatse, Moriah Frazee and Molly Frazee tallied six points apiece to pace Liberty’s balanced scoring distribution in the opening 20 minutes. Megan Frazee, starting alongside both of her sisters for the first time at the Vines Center, pulled down seven rebounds and helped the Lady Flames achieve a 24-13 rebounding edge.

Both teams struggled from the foul line in the first half. The Hokies made just two of their six attempts from the charity stripe and Liberty misfired on both of its free throws.
Virginia Tech scored seven of the first nine points of the second half, trimming its deficit to 31-30 on Brittany Cook’s jumper with 17:41 remaining.

Megan Frazee and Anderson waged a mini scoring battle early in the second half. Frazee notched eight of Liberty’s first 12 points after the break and Anderson totaled seven of the Hokies’ first 15 second-half tallies.

Diawara sank a baseline jumper at the 11:29 mark, just before the shot clock expired, to lift Virginia Tech to its first lead since 9-8. The basket made the score, 42-41, in favor of the Hokies.

Brittany Cook’s basket at 6:11 bumped the Hokie advantage to four points, 47-43. Molly Frazee knotted the score at 47 on a pair of free throws with 4:14 left, increasing her personal consecutive free throw string to 18.

The two teams traded baskets before Copeland split a pair of free throws at 2:13, making the score 50-49, Hokies.

Cook made two free throws with exactly 50 seconds left, giving the visitors a 52-49 advantage.

Copeland missed a charity toss, leaving the door open for the home team, but Laura Haskins came up with a steal and Anderson made two foul shots, posting Virginia Tech to a five-point advantage, 54-49, with 16 seconds showing.

Molly Frazee drained a three-pointer from the top of the key, slicing the lead to 54-52 at the 7.1-second mark.

Copeland returned to the line with 6.4 seconds left and split the pair. The Lady Flames, now trailing by a 55-52 margin, got off a three-point attempt but were unable to even the score.

Megan Frazee ended up with her fourth double-double of the season, leading the home team in both points (14) and rebounds (12). She helped Liberty own the boards during the game, as the Lady Flames finished the evening with a 45-30 advantage in caroms, including 16 offensive boards.

Molly Frazee matched a personal best with 11 points and grabbed a career-high nine caroms.

Anderson was joined in double figures for the Hokies by Copeland, who tossed in 13 points and Cook, who ended up with 10. All but two of the visitors’ tallies came from the starting five.

Virginia Tech took advantage of 20 Liberty turnovers, owning a 19-6 edge in points off turnovers.

The attendance of 3,412 marked the eighth-largest single-game attendance in Vines Center history. Four of the top 10 figures on the list have come in Liberty-Virginia Tech encounters. The sizable gathering saw Liberty's 21-game home winning streak halted.

The Hokies do not return to the hardwood for 13 days. Virginia Tech’s next game will be a match-up with East Tennessee State at Cassell Coliseum on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.

Liberty will travel to George Washington for a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. The Colonials are currently ranked No. 19 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll and are listed No. 21 in the AP poll.

http://libertyflames.com/index.cfm?PID= ... 9&TeamID=7

[Sly Fox]

And from Chris:

Tech women end LU's home-court winning streak

By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
December 6, 2006

The question wasn't even directed at Virginia Tech forward Britney Anderson, but she reacted anyway.

"You had to bring that up, didn't you?" she said with a roll of the eyes Tuesday night at Vines Center. Moments after the Hokies rallied to beat Liberty 55-52, there was a natural curiosity in how a team that a week earlier had been embarrassed 64-41 at home by William & Mary could string together back-to-back quality wins.

It's all about maturity, Tech coach Beth Dunkenberger said, something that's growing in her Hokies with each game played.

"I think we've grown a lot as this season has gone along," Dunkenberger said. "Out in California (in Pepperdine's tournament), we played great basketball. We were fatigued coming back for that William & Mary (game), no doubt. But what upset me was that mentally, we weren't where we needed to be. Since then, we've had some very good practices.

"That's what you need. You practice bad, you play bad. We practice well, and we continue to get better."

The Hokies (6-4) beat Charlotte at home 80-68 before ending the Flames' 21-game home win streak. Still, Liberty had to feel like it wasn't going to get a much better shot for its first victory in 12 tries against the Hokies than it would Tuesday night. Along with W&M, Tech also lost at home to Radford.

In front of a rowdy crowd of 3,412, the eighth largest in Vines history for a women's basketball game, the Flames got off to a great start and led 26-16 with 1:50 left in the first half. After a Virginia Tech turnover, Liberty had a chance to put some real distance between the teams before halftime.

But Kirby Copeland picked off an errant Liberty pass and scored a fast-break layup. Brittany Cook stole the ball from Rachel Hammond on the next possession and tossed a long outlet to Copeland for another bucket to cut the lead to 26-20. Tech had new life.

"That just gave us a little run, a little momentum going into the half," Dunkenberger said.

Megan Frazee led Liberty with 14 points and 12 rebounds, but she again struggled to find a real rhythm. She hit 7 of 19 field goals and missed all three of her 3-pointers. She never got to the free-throw line, but she wasn't the only one. Virginia Tech committed only eight fouls and Liberty attempted six free throws. The Hokies got to the stripe 20 times.

"We settled for perimeter shots," Liberty coach Carey Green said. "We've got to be more geared inside."

Dunkenberger credited Cook with making Frazee uncomfortable. Frazee blamed herself more than laud her defender.

"They were really starting to do a lot of switching on screens and things," Frazee said. "Once again, I had open shots and I wasn't hitting them. They felt good, but they just weren't falling.

"There are going to be games like that."

Frazee said the Flames have been stagnant on offense, especially in the second halves of the last two games. That was no more evident than in the final minute. Tech took the lead for good when Copeland hit a free throw with 2:13 left to put the Hokies up 50-49. Liberty missed its next four shots - all of which were well defended - and turned it over once, and Tech hit four more free throws to go up 54-49.

Molly Frazee hit a 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left to cut the lead to 54-52. After a quick foul, Copeland hit her first free throw, but missed the second, leaving Liberty one last chance. Megan Frazee took a 3-pointer from the right corner that missed the rim, and Tech escaped with the victory.

"I thought there was less time on the clock than there really was," Megan said. "I probably rushed it a little bit. Ultimately, it didn't come down to the last play. That didn't cost us the game."

True, but Liberty's poor shooting in the second half (31.0 percent) and lack of defense (Tech shot 42.3 percent and got plenty of easy looks) probably did.

TIP-INS: Liberty's Karolina Piotrkiewicz left the game with a left knee injury. Her left knee was heavily wrapped and iced and she left the court on crutches. Green didn't comment on the injury. *** Anderson led the Hokies with a career-high 19 points. *** The Flames outrebounded Tech 45-30.

http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... th=!sports

[absturgill]

not to beat a dead horse, several times during the game on the internet feed, a commcercial came on from the NCAA. It is their commercial saying that while some may make it to the Pros, that most everyone will go pro in something other than sports. These girls are playing for the love of the game, for the love of their school. From in froont of the computer last night, I thought the girls did a great job last night and represented themselves and Liberty well.

In terms of RPI saving matcheups, we still have GW (#21 in the country) on Sunday, Marist and a possible hookup with Maryland in College Park. Provided we take care of Big South business, I think we are going to have a good year.

[bigsmooth]

for the people crying about the officials...get over it. you sound like a VT fan!! anyway,when teams key on megan, and im sure that is a trend that will continue, someone will have to step up, and we had no one to do that. in the grand scheme of things this loss in NBD. i really think that this game had too much hype and the focus on getting the hokie weight off our backs and getting that 1st win. it does not get any easier with GW next. i really hope this tough OOC schedule will help us down the road. congrats to the crowd for keeping things lively, and to GMTM and nick for calling a great game on the 90.9.

[Hold My Own]

In terms of RPI...

We're not allowed to talk about RPI this time of year...please reference the MBB Thread


but seriously I was told there were 2 officials that were locals...prob find out more today

[thesportscritic]

for the people crying about the officials...get over it. you sound like a VT fan!! anyway,when teams key on megan, and im sure that is a trend that will continue, someone will have to step up, and we had no one to do that. in the grand scheme of things this loss in NBD. i really think that this game had too much hype and the focus on getting the hokie weight off our backs and getting that 1st win. it does not get any easier with GW next. i really hope this tough OOC schedule will help us down the road. congrats to the crowd for keeping things lively, and to GMTM and nick for calling a great game on the 90.9.

i agree with you smooth. sure there were some bad calls but that is not what cost us the game. defensive breakdowns, standing around on offense, and throwing away possesions (turnovers). Most of these things happened in the second half. all i have to say is someone needs to hit shots besides megan. sometimes i see the team watch megan play instead of playing with her.

[jcmanson]

This was a very dissapointing outcome. We should have won, too many turnovers. Very dissapoint, not season ending. I would have loved to beat them as bad as any one else, but it's one game. It does seem to be that they have our number.

[Stevev]

No reason to bad mouth the officials at all. Not there fault, just doing there job. It was all on us. Still can't get this game out of mind. I was counting on this win just to say that we finally beat them. But if you look at our past we have always recovered from a loss like this and picked up some quality wins and walked all over the BSC teams. There is no reason right now to bash officiating or our weak conference situation. I think that we will recover but it is not going to be easy considering the teams we have yet to play OOC.

[hurricane fan]

I agree with both sides of the arguement about the outcome of the game. The girls played terrible in the second half and didn't make the plays to win the game. On the other hand, for those of you who say the refs played no role in the outcome of this game are plain ignorant. The entire VT coaching staff road the refs during every opportunity and it payed off. They got every questionable call and a few that were blatantly anti-LU.

[thesportscritic]

that one call when the refs called moriah over the back when she went straight up for the ball was the back breaker. Some of these refs don't belong in the business . that call infuriated me with a passion

[jimflamesfan]

Yes, turnovers cost us the game...if you want to look at it this way, I think getting calls plays a role.

The refs helped us win the UVA game (it seemed like most of the calls went our way), and they helped us lose the VT game (most of the close calls go to Tech).

That being said, sometimes you have to win anyway...LU could have still won if there weren't as many turnovers. But I still think it's fair for us to say that the refs played a role - 20 foul shots to 6.

It's just frustration on my part, I think I'd rather have beaten Tech than UVA this year....we've never beaten tech...but as long as Green is here and we keep playing them, I think it will happen eventually. Just frustrating, b/c I thought this was the year.

(I'm biased, though, because I wasn't screaming...the refs are helping us win during the UVA game )

[Stevev]

Just frustrating, b/c I thought this was the year.

Add to the fact that it was on our home floor and it is even more of a disappointment. We had them where we wanted them and we screwed it up in the end. Very frustrating!

[thesportscritic]

Just frustrating, b/c I thought this was the year.

Add to the fact that it was on our home floor and it is even more of a disappointment. We had them where we wanted them and we screwed it up in the end. Very frustrating!

and very infuriating

[BJWilliams]

I was practicing my announcing from the section right next to JFF Monday. The fans were the loudest Id seen all year

[givemethemic]

I have one thing to say about last nights game and it's not the refs fault!!!! I think the game has pretty much been described already but that game was not lost by the refs... Let's move on and look to Sunday's game against G.W, btw they play at UT tomorrow night. I think UT will be ready to play after there loss to UNC on Sunday night.

[thesportscritic]

GMTM is right lets move on.