Dec. 17, 2007

Mitchell's 23 Leads Georgia Tech Over Mississippi State, 70-58

STARKVILLE, Miss. - A 44-point second half sparked the Georgia Tech women's basketball team (8-1) to a 70-58 come-from-behind win over Mississippi State (8-3) at Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

Janie Mitchell, a senior from Jackson, Miss., scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in her first trip to her home-state as a member of the Yellow Jackets. Tech earned its first-ever win over the Lady Bulldogs and only the sixth victory in the program's history over a Southeastern Conference opponent.

"This is a great win for our program," head coach MaChelle Joseph said. "It is the first time Tech has defeated Mississippi State in five tries. Janie Mitchell was huge. She came up very big and helped guide the team to one of the biggest wins of her career."

Eagles Capture 66-60 Win in Comeback

• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Boston College sophomore Mickel Picco hit five three-pointers, four in the second half to lead the Eagles past La Salle, 66-60, in a non-conference battle at Conte Forum Sunday afternoon. The Eagles are now 8-3, while La Salle dropped to 3-6.

Picco was 5-for-8 from beyond the arc in the game. Her five three's set a new career high as she hit four against Virginia last season. Picco finished with 17 points, 14 in the second half.

The Eagles were down until just under six minutes to play when Picco heated up. She would hit two three's in one minute to spark the comeback. At 5:27, Picco hit her fourth three of the game to cut the Explorers lead to three points, 53-50. She tied the game at 4:51 on another deep ball from behind the arc, 53-53. Sophomore Ayla Brown gave the Eagles their first lead of the day on a jumper from the baseline at 3:27.

Clemson Downs Charleston Southern, 75-62

• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

CLEMSON, S.C. - Five players scored in double figures as the Clemson women's basketball team downed Charleston Southern, 75-62, on Sunday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum after a nine-day layoff.

Rookie Kirstyn Wright posted a career high 12 points coming off the bench for Head Coach Cristy McKinney's squad, while fellow freshman Whitney Hood added 12 points and seven boards in a reserve role as well.

Lele Hardy was just one rebound shy of a double-double with a team-best nine rebounds and 10 points. The sophomore from Spartanburg, SC was just 2-for-11 from the field but converted all six of her free throw attempts and collected six steals against the Buccaneers.

"Any win is a good win for us," McKinney said. "I think we played a little flat and would have liked to have been more intense. However, we had good balance and good play off the bench today and got the job done."

Florida State Gets Back Into Win Column With 94-42 Victory Over Alabama State

• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - After losing its last two games during a four-game road trip that spanned 26 days, a return home was exactly what the Florida State women's basketball team needed. Five different players reached double figures as the Seminoles recorded their biggest victory of the year, beating Alabama State 94-42 on Sunday (December 16) at the Tucker Center.

With the victory, Florida State improved to 7-3 on the year. The win was the sixth-biggest in school history and the largest margin of victory since FSU beat Savannah State 107-28 on November 23, 2003. FSU has won all three games at home this year and its last four at the Tucker Center. Alabama State dropped to 2-4.

"It was a fun game to come back to after finals and a long layoff," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I'm really proud of the way our team stepped it off defensively. That's something we really worked on when we got back from Texas A&M and I thought that showed today."

Wolfpack Uses Hot Start to Defeat Aggies, 75-61

• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State women's basketball team used a quick start to beat North Carolina A&T 75-61 Sunday afternoon in Reynolds Coliseum. The Pack held the Aggies scoreless for nearly six minutes to start the game as they jumped out to a 12-0 lead. Khadijah Whittington led State with 21 points and 14 rebounds for her 10th double-double in 12 games on the year.

"I thought we got a lot of good things out of this game." head coach Kay Yow said, "Of course whenever you play an in-state team they are real fired up and ready to play."

Nikitta Gartrell helped lead the Pack with 14 points and dished out a career-best seven assists with no turnovers. Shayla Fields added 12 points and Lucy Ellison hauled in a career-high 14 rebounds. Megan Zullo scored 15 points behind 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Zullo canned a pair of 3's in a span of 13 seconds late that turned the game into a rout.

Virginia Tech Falls at Charlotte, 76-55

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers used a 37-9 run to defeat Virginia Tech, 76-55, at Halton Arena on the Charlotte Campus. Charlotte improved to 5-6 with the victory while Tech fell to 8-2.

Tech jumped out to an 18-10 lead seven minutes into the contest connecting on 9-of-17 shots. However, Charlotte put together an impressive 30-9 run for the remainder of the half by forcing the Hokies into turnovers and limiting Tech to only 2-of-14 from the field. The 49ers continued the scoring outburst in the second half with an early 7-0 run to build the lead to 47-27.

Tech was able to cut the lead to 60-48 on a Utahye Drye (So., Durham, N.C.) jumper, but Charlotte used a 9-1 run to end all doubt and coasted to victory. Tech was limited to only 37.3 percent (22-59) from the field and the 49ers bench outscored the Hokies' bench, 33-2. Charlotte held a 38-32 rebound advantage and led Tech 21-4 in fast break points.

Wake Forest's Seven-Game Winning Streak Snapped by Radford

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Despite a late run, Wake Forest could not overcome its early shooting woes in a 52-44 loss to Radford Sunday evening at Joel Coliseum.

The setback drops the Demon Deacons to 9-2 on the year and snaps their seven-game winning streak that dated back to Nov. 22. The Highlanders improve to 6-4 on the season.

Wake Forest shot just 28.6 percent (18-of-63) for the game, including a 2-for-13 mark from three-point range. The Deacons were below 20 percent from the field for most of the night until a late run boosted their percentage.

The Deacs trailed by 10, 32-22, with 11:38 to play but used a 14-6 run to pull within 38-36. A Yolanda Lavender layup and an ensuing three-pointer from Alex Tchangoue capped the run at the 5:56 mark.