WBB falls at Virginia Tech, 79-71

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs come up short against Virginia Tech

DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's basketball program fell on the road, 79-71, to Virginia Tech on Sunday inside Cassell Coliseum.

SMU fought hard to overcome a 12-point first-quarter deficit but was unable to take control of the game. Every time SMU grabbed momentum, VT took it right back. The Mustangs fought until the very end, and SMU cut the lead to 10 after hitting its fourth three-pointer in the fourth.

SMU went on a 7-0 run late and was only down five with 13 seconds left in the game. The Hokies pushed the lead back to eight after multiple trips to the foul line to reach the final score.

Virginia Tech shot 55% from the field compared to SMU's 40% even though the Mustangs won the turnover battle 16-to-10. SMU outscored the Hokies 34-22 in the paint, but it was not enough to overcome Va Tech going 22-of-29 from the line. Both TK Pitts and Zanai Jones fouled out.

Nya Robertson led the Mustangs in scoring once again as she ended her night with 22 points. It was her 22nd game scoring in double figures and her 12th game this season reaching 20 points. She scored 16 of her 22 points in the second half.

Jessica Peterson recorded her 10th double-double of the season as she finished the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds. She is now the 10th different Mustang in program history to have a double-digit double-double in the same season.

TK Pitts tied her season-high with 14 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting and added four steals. Kayisa Woods went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and totaled a season-high 14 points as well.

The Mustangs are now 10-13 (2-9 ACC) overall, while Virginia Tech improved to 15-7 (6-5 ACC).

Both teams were scoring at an efficient rate in the early portion of the game as four Mustangs recorded a basket in the first five minutes. Virginia Tech went on a 13-2 run late in the quarter and led by 12 at the end of the period. Robertson led SMU with four points.

Pitts put on a show in the second quarter, making a couple of hustle plays that resulted in points for the Mustangs. SMU cut the VA Tech led to five with four minutes left in the quarter. Pitts kept the Mustangs close in the period, scoring seven points as SMU outscored Virginia Tech 19-15.

Pitts led SMU with 10 points in the first half, going 4-of-5 from the floor and had three steals. Woods hit a pair of threes and had eight, while Robertson scored six. The Hokies shot 66% in the half and hit five three-pointers as SMU trialed 40-32 at the break.

Scoring for both teams slowed down in the third quarter until Virginia Tech went on a 10-0 run late in the period. Back-to-back three from Robertson flipped momentum back to SMU, but the Hokies still led by 12 at the end of the third. Robertson had 10 points in the third, keeping the game within reach.

// NEXT GAME
AT (20/21) Georgia Tech | Thursday, Feb. 6 | | 6 p.m. CT | TV: ACCNX

// NOTES
Starters: #1 Zanai Jones (G, Gs.), #3 Nya Robertson (G, Jr.) #2 TK Pitts (G, Jr.), #4 Kaysia Woods (F, Sr.), #35 Jessica Peterson (C, Sr.)-7th game this season with this lineup.
SMU ended the game with 16 offensive rebounds and has had over 12 offensive rebounds in 18 of the 23 games played this season. The Mustangs entered the game second in the ACC in offensive rebounds a game.
SMU is now 1-2 vs Virginia Tech all-time

[EastStang]

We knew the ACC was a big leap for our programs. Hopefully next year the WBB team will be more competitive.

[ALEX LIFESON]

We knew the ACC was a big leap for our programs. Hopefully next year the WBB team will be more competitive.

All of our other programs are doing very well. If you don't expect much, that's exactly what you'll get.