Hilton Garden Hokie Classic
Virginia Tech 74, Vanderbilt 68: A tale of two halves? Yeah, I know, it's a cliche. But what better way to describe what happened at Cassell Coliseum Thursday night? One minute, the Hokies (9-4) are getting routined by the vaunted Commodores, trailing 34-19 at the half. Then for the next 20 minutes, well, how 'bout 56-percent shooting, a 31-8 run over the first 10 minutes and a "Hello, World" performance from freshman Monet Tellier. Tellier scored the first six points after the break and 19 of her game-high 23 post intermission en route to tournament MVP honors (Can you say ACC Rookie of the Week?). She had plenty of help, though. Fellow all-tournament team member Shanel Harrison went for 17 points, 9 rebounds. Nikki Davis dished out 11 assists. Alyssa Fenyn tossed in 14 points. Brittany Gordon hauled down 10 rebounds. In short, everyone got into the act for, at least from an outsider's perspective, the first significant win of Tech's 2010-11 season. Let's face it, you can beat all the Presbyterians, Woffords and Elons you want. But if you want respect as a potential player in a league like the ACC, you need to bag some much bigger game. A team like, oh, say, Vanderbilt. So Tech fans, hold off on all those "wait 'til next year" whines and Beth Dunkenberger obituaries. If these Hokies are capable of an effort like Thursday night's, who know what else they may have in store once conference play commences? For the record, the victory gave the Hokies their own tournament title for the 17th time in 21 tries. Tech is 26-2 in the event over the last 14 years. The Hokies also scored their first win over an SEC program since 2004.
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