Lady Cavs Strong First Half Not Enough to Take Golden Bears

November 23, 2007
BOXSCORE

Montgomery, WV – A strong first half which saw UVa-Wise lead 45-37 proved not to be enough as defending Mid-South women’s basketball champ West Virginia Tech used a big latter half for the 86-74 victory in the first day of the West Virginia Thanksgiving Classic Friday night.

The Lady Cavs (2-5) received a new career-best 22-point effort from guard Kim Norris. Norris (Eidson, Tenn.) made six of eight attempts while handing out two assists and stole two balls. Freshman Meghan Rutherford (Bristol, Va.) connected on eight of 13 shots for 20 points while clutching seven boards. Adrienne Womack (Floyd, Va.) added 11 tallies and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Golden Bears (3-4) had four double figures scorers with Kierra Watkins made 13 of 21 shots for 28 points.

UVa-Wise made 16 of 30 attempts from the floor in the first half and put together a 26-7 spurt to end the half over the final seven minutes to lead 45-37 at intermission. The Lady Cavs started the second half by increasing the margin to 52-39 but the Golden Bears rallied with 13 unanswered tallies over the next four minutes to tie the contest, 52-52. The game remained close until West Virginia Tech was able to pull away in the final six minutes for the 86-74 final score.

The Lady Cavs will face Penn State-Beaver starting at 2:00 p.m. in the second day of the Classic. The Lady Lions defeated Mary Grove (Mich.) by a 67-62 final in Friday night's first contest.