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BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech women’s basketball used a suffocating defense in the first half to build an insurmountable double-figure lead and cruised to a 63-41 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Sunday afternoon in the Hokies’ home opener at Cassel Coliseum.
Tech (1-1) had a balanced scoring attack as every starter scored at least three points with the bench contributing 17. Taijah Campbell led the way with a team-high 15 points, while adding 10 rebounds to register her third career double-double, first of the year. UMES (0-2) had a pair of players in double figures and were led by Alexis Udoji’s double-double – 15 points, 12 rebounds.
“Coming off a tough loss Friday night and with a short turnaround, I was really proud of the energy,” Tech head women’s basketball coach Dennis Wolff said. “The girls listened to the coaches and did a very good job defensively more than anything else. I think that we were trying a little bit too hard to make shots offensively. It’s good to get the first one (the win).”
The Hokies started the game with a Kelsey Conyers’ 3-pointer and Rachel Camp scored on a pair of lay-ups – four of her 12 points and she added 10 boards for her first career double-double. Regan Magarity followed with a pair of baskets and Brielle Blaire finished off a 14-0 Tech run that started the game with a jumper.
The Hawks missed their first 12 shots and their first two free throws, while turning the ball over eight times through the game’s first 11 minutes. Moengarao Subritzky ended the UMES drought by knocking down a pair of free throws at the 8:33 mark of the first.
TeAmber Burke followed a Hokie turnover with the Hawks’ first basket from the field – a 3-pointer – to make it 14-5, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.
Tech quickly pushed its lead back into double-digits as Campbell scored back-to-back baskets and the Hokies closed out the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 19-point lead into the locker room.
“I think we just came with a better energy and everyone stuck to the game plan for a lot longer than we did Friday night,” Campbell said. “Sometimes it just takes us a bit longer to buy into it and this game I think everyone was into it.
“It is definitely a goal of mine (to score more), but it’s not something I think about. I try to think about how can I help my team and be a leader this year. So, that’s how I want to contribute this year. I just have a lot of confidence (to score) and my teammates are making plays to help me get the ball so that I can.”
Magarity opened the second half with back-to-back baskets increasing the Tech lead to 23 at 35-12 and the Hokies never allowed the Hawks closer than 15 points the rest of the game.
She ended the game with nine points and 10 rebounds, Vanessa Panousis had seven points and a game-high five assists, and Samantha Hill led the bench with seven points.
The Hokies will be back on the court on Tuesday night when they welcome Norfolk State to Cassell Coliseum for a non-conference contest that tips at 7 p.m.
For updates on Virginia Tech women's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_WBBall
