#20 Duke Defeats #24 Virginia Tech in Front of Top 10 Crowd

BLACKSBURG, Va. (December 8) - Twentieth-ranked Duke used a 17-9 run over the last 4:33 of the game to pull away, defeating #24 Virginia Tech, 70-61, tonight, in front of 4,758 fans, the 10th largest crowd in Cassell Coliseum history.

After being down 40-26 at half, Virginia Tech used several runs at the beginning of the second half, cutting the lead to 10 points with 11:56 left in the game and then cut it down to one with 4:33 left in the game.

The Blue Devils shot 65.2 percent (15/23) in the first half to post the 14-point halftime lead, then shot 26.7 percent (8/30) in the second half, finishing with 43.4 percent for the game.

The Hokies shot 46.7 percent (21/45) for the game, 45.5 percent (10/22) in the first half and 47.8 percent (11/23) in the second half. Virginia Tech finished the game with 25 turnovers and Duke had 20 turnovers.

Duke won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Virginia Tech, 30-26. Tech's Tere Williams finished with a game-high 13 rebounds. The Blue Devils were led by Lauren Rice with 10 boards.

Georgia Schweitzer led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point land and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Also having double figures for Duke was Peppi Browne, finishing with 15 points.

Amy Wetzel led Virginia Tech with 22 points and Sarah Hicks finished with 14 points. Tere Williams had 13 rebounds to lead both teams on the boards.