Hokies travel to Penn State for WNIT third round

Game time is 7 p.m. Thursday at the Bryce Jordan Center

March 22, 2017

BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech women's basketball team advances into the third round of the 2017 WNIT and will travel to Penn State on Thursday, March 23 for a 7 p.m. game at the Bryce Jordan Center.

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: March 23, 2017 / 7 p.m.
Opponent: Penn State
Site: University Park, Pa. (Bryce Jordan Center)
Radio: 100.7 FM WNMX / HokiesXtra
Talent: Andrew Allegretta, play-by-play
TV: N/A
Live Stats: GoPSUSports.com
Live Video: BTN Plus - $
Game Notes: Virginia Tech | Penn State

THE HOKIES (19-13, 4-12 ACC)
Virginia Tech defeated Navy 75-64 in the second round of the 2017 WNIT. Chanette Hicks tallied 18 points, seven assists and five steals. Sidney Cook recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 boards. Samantha Hill added 16 points, five boards and four assists while Vanessa Panousis tallied 11 points.

Tech got out to the lead early in the opening quarter and was up 20-10 just past the midway point. The Hokies used a 7-0 run that stretched into the second frame to go on top 27-15. Navy answered, outscoring the Hokies 9-2 to cut it down to 30-24. Tech took a 42-28 lead into the break. A layup coming out of the break gave the Hokies their largest lead of the afternoon, up 16, but Navy chipped away at the Tech tally, cutting it to single-digits (49-41). The Hokies used a 6-0 run to push it back to a 14-point lead, but the Mids closed out the quarter with a pair of long-range baskets to trail 59-52 heading into the fourth. Navy again looked to make a big run and closed it to a four-point game three times in the fourth quarter, but the Hokies answered each time to maintain the advantage. The Mids trailed by four with 3:44 to go, but Tech used a 9-2 run over the final minutes to secure the win.

Hicks leads the Hokies, averaging 16.3 points, 5.2 assists and 3.6 steals per game. Regan Magarity is averaging 13.8 ppg and 9.7 rebounds per game. Cook is posting 13.1 ppg and 8.3 rpg while Hill is adding 10.5 ppg.

THE LADY LIONS (21-10, 9-7 BigTen)
Penn State knocked off Fordham 70-51 in the second round of the WNIT. Teniya Page knocked in 24 points to lead the Lady Lions. Amari Carter tallied 15 points, five assists and four steals. Sierra Moore recorded 10 points and five rebounds. Peyton Whitted led on the boards with seven.

Penn State jumped out to the early lead after big opening half in which the Lady Lions held the Rams to just 12 points. Penn State took a 33-12 advantage into the break. Fordham got it going on the offensive side after halftime and kept the margin close, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the first half deficit as the Lady Lions rolled to the win.

Page leads the Lady Lions with 19.8 points per game. Lindsey Spann is averaging 10.5 ppg while Moore is chipping in 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Amari Carter has dished out 132 assists on the season and knocking in 7.8 points per game. Kaliyah Mitchell leads on the boards with 5.8 rebounds per game.

THE SERIES
This is the fifth meeting between the Hokies and Lady Lions and the fourth in six seasons. Penn State leads the series 3-1.

The two teams met last season on Dec. 3, 2015 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Tech claimed the 64-59 win in University Park. Vanessa Panousis dropped in 16 points for the Hokies while former Tech player Hannah Young added 13. Hicks tallied 10 points, six assists and two steals while Magarity chipped in nine points, eight boards.

Spann led the Lady Lions with 20 points and Page had 16 points, seven rebounds. Whitted had nine points and Mitchell grabbed six rebounds.

Up Next: With a win, the Hokies would advance to face the winner of Michigan/St. John’s in the Elite Eight. Date, time and location are TBD.

For updates on Virginia Tech women's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_WBBall