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| 1 | 2 | F | |
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 (23) Syracuse (18-8, 8-5) | 19 | 40 | 59 |
 Virginia Tech (10-16, 1-12) | 24 | 27 | 51 |
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BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team led by seven with 4:09 to go, but No. 23/22 Syracuse used a 16-1 run in the final minutes to rally past the Hokies for a 59-51 win on Sunday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum.
“A bitter loss,” said head coach Dennis Wolff. “I think our team played really, really hard, but we just seem to make terrible mistakes at the worse possible time. So it’s not because they aren’t trying, we just need to eliminate the errors. The players are trying hard, I think that the effort is still there we just need to play better on offense.”
Vanessa Panousis led the Hokies (10-16, 1-12 ACC) with 18 points. Hannah Young added nine points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Taijah Campbell chipped in eight points.
Both teams got out to a slow start tied at 9-9 just shy of the midway point of the opening half. The Hokies took a three-point lead, going on top 12-9, but the Orange responded with an 8-0 run, taking the 17-12 lead with 3:55 on the clock. Tech used an and1 from Rachel Camp to spark a 9-0 run, to take a 21-17 advantage with 49 seconds to go. A pair of ‘Cuse free throws pulled the Orange within two, but Panousis drained a three-pointer as time ran out to send Tech into the break on top 24-19.
Coming out of the break, Syracuse opened by outscoring Tech 9-3 to take a one-point advantage. The teams kept it close over the next several minutes and were tied at 37 with 8:27 to go, but the Hokies broke it open with a 7-1 run, going on top by six as Young dropped in five straight points. Tech maintained the advantage and took its largest lead, up seven (50-43) as Sidney Cook connected on a pair of free throws with just over four minutes to play.
Syracuse countered in the final minutes of the game, closing out with a 16-1 run to rally past the Hokies and claim the win.
Briana Butler led the Orange (18-8, 8-5 ACC) with 19 points, including eight in the rally. Alexis Peterson added 17 points while Brianna Day tallied a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
The Hokies will wrap up the home slate on Thursday, Feb. 19 when they host No. 9/8 Louisville at 7 p.m. Tech will recognize senior Kelsey Conyers as well as senior managers Tamara Brown and Maggie Childress prior to the game.
For updates on Virginia Tech women's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_WBBall
