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Tech women pull off major upset

The Hokies outshot, outrebounded and outscored 19th-ranked Florida State at home.


Dave Knachel | Virginia Tech


Virginia Tech's Monet Tellier (right) scored 24 points and handed out six assists in the Hokies' drubbing of Florida State.

Dave Knachel | Virginia Tech


Virginia Tech's Monet Tellier (left), Alyssa Fenyn (center) and Alexis Lloyd lead the celebration after Sunday's upset win over No. 19 Florida State.

Dave Knachel | Virginia Tech


Virginia Tech's Monet Tellier (center) tries to work her way out of trap against Florida State. Tellier scored her 1,000th point.

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by
Mark Berman | 981-3125

Monday, February 25, 2013


BLACKSBURG — One team was in the Top 25. The other was in last place.

The outcome of their meeting was anything but predictable.

The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team squashed No. 19 Florida State 71-52 on Sunday at Cassell Coliseum, recording one of the most lopsided wins over a ranked foe in its history.

The jubilant Hokies (9-18, 3-13 ACC) jumped up and down on the court at game’s end, with a handful of students coming down from the stands to join them.

The win “means the world to us,” said Monet Tellier, who had 24 points and six assists. “It feels tremendous.”

The Hokies had lost 13 of their previous 14 games, including the past four.

“It’s nice to finally have it go our way one time,” said guard Alyssa Fenyn, who scored nine points. “It definitely feels good once you’ve been in this little rut.”

Uju Ugoka had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Hokies, who won at home for the first time since December.

Florida State (20-7, 10-6), ranked fourth nationally in scoring offense and field-goal percentage, shot just 32.8 percent from the field.

“Virginia Tech … played harder than us,” said FSU coach Sue Semrau, whose team beat Tech 70-56 last month. “Anytime you relax against an ACC opponent, you’re going to get beat.

“Mentally, we were out of it.”

It was the second-most lopsided win over a ranked team in Tech history, trailing only a 21-point win over No. 24 Boston College in January 2002.

“We didn’t play with a lot of heart,” said FSU guard Morgan Toles, who had 13 points. “They clearly wanted it more.”

It was the second straight year the Hokies upset a ranked team; they won at No. 8 Maryland in January 2012. The Hokies had lost nine straight games to ranked foes since that upset, including an 0-7 mark this season.

FSU, which had beaten Tech eight straight times, entered the game averaging 78.5 points. But the Seminoles had no fast-break points Sunday.

FSU guard Leonor Rodriguez, who was averaging 16.4 points, was 0 of 5 from the field and had one point. Guard Alexa Deluzio, who was averaging 13.9 points, was 3 of 9 from the field and had nine points.

“There [were] very few times they were able to run out on us,” Tech coach Dennis Wolff said. “We made them have to work on every possession.”

Tech used triangle-and-two and box-and-one defenses against FSU’s post players. Natasha Howard, a 6-foot-3 forward who was averaging 13.7 points, was 4 of 12 from the field. She had nine points. Chelsea Davis, a 6-2 forward averaging 13.4 points, had six points.

“Playing the junk defense that we played, … we were able to kind of keep the lane compressed and it didn’t give them a lot of space,” Wolff said.

Tech outrebounded FSU 44-37 and had 28 points in the paint to FSU’s 20.

The Hokies scored their most points since before Christmas. They entered the game shooting 35.4 percent from the field but shot 46.7 percent Sunday.

“We let our lack of offense dictate how we played defensively,” Semrau said.

Down 13-9, Tech went on an 18-2 run to build a 27-15 lead with 4:25 left in the first half and never trailed again.

Tellier had seven of her 16 first-half points in that run, with Ugoka adding six points.

Leading 37-30 with 16:46 to go, the Hokies went on a 15-5 run to build a 52-35 cushion with 9:06 left. Ugoka had eight points in that run.

Tech had lost 11 straight home games to ranked teams since beating No. 10 North Carolina at Cassell in January 2010.

Tellier scored her 1,000th career point.

FLORIDA ST. (20-7)

Howard 4-12 1-4 9, Davis 3-6 0-0 6, Toles 6-13 1-2 13, Deluzio 3-9 2-2 9, Rodriguez 0-5 1-2 1, Clayton 0-1 0-0 0, Delgado 2-8 0-0 5, King-Gilchrist 2-3 0-2 5, Wells 0-1 2-2 2, Coleman 1-6 0-1 2. Totals 21-64 7-15 52.

VIRGINIA TECH (9-18)

Hadley 1-3 2-2 4, Wilson 1-5 0-0 2, L. Evans 0-1 0-0 0, Fenyn 3-7 1-2 9, Tellier 9-14 4-4 24, Sarver 0-1 0-0 0, Young 0-1 0-0 0, Nichols 0-1 0-0 0, Ugoka 9-17 3-5 21, N. Evans 1-1 0-1 2, Kiss-Rusk 1-1 0-0 2, Hall 1-1 0-0 2, Lloyd 2-7 1-1 5, Conyers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 11-15 71.

Halftime—Virginia Tech 33-22. 3-Point Goals—Florida St. 3-13 (Delgado 1-2, King-Gilchrist 1-2, Deluzio 1-4, Howard 0-2, Rodriguez 0-3), Virginia Tech 4-11 (Tellier 2-3, Fenyn 2-3, Sarver 0-1, Young 0-1, Wilson 0-1, Lloyd 0-2). Fouled Out—Young. Rebounds—Florida St. 37 (Howard 8), Virginia Tech 44 (Ugoka 12). Assists—Florida St. 6 (Rodriguez 3), Virginia Tech 19 (Tellier 6). Total Fouls—Florida St. 15, Virginia Tech 14. A—1,483.

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