Junior forward Sidney Cook tallied a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the rival Hokies over the Virginia women’s basketball team, 66-46. Losing five straight in ACC play, the Cavaliers have fallen on tough times without senior guard Faith Randolph. Their shooting and rebounding woes continued Sunday.
Virginia shot 28.6 percent from the floor – that’s a lot of X’s on the shot chart – and finished minus-13 on the glass.
“I think it’s a balance,” Coach Joanne Boyle said. “Yes, the rebounding is hurting us, and just we all missed two-foot shots tonight. And again, two-foot shots become run outs for other teams. It’s a combination of both.”
A 20-point margin at the finish confuses how tight this Commonwealth Clash was at the break. With three seconds remaining before the half, sophomore point guard Mikayla Venson split Hokie defenders with a nifty crossover and finished high off the glass to bring Virginia within two, 26-28.
Venson went scoreless for the next 19 minutes before hitting the final bucket of the game, a step-back jumper from the top of the key. She shook her head in frustration then. The swish had only served to remind her of all the ugly misses, nine in total.
“Putting [Mikayla] in quick hitter situations all night long is fine, but it really disrupts the flow of your offense from just being able to run continuity stuff,” Boyle said. “And she’s got to find her shots... She wasn’t getting a whole lot of daylight out of that.”
Cavalier missed layups and fouls flipped the momentum back in Virginia Tech’s favor during the third quarter. The Hokies soon appeared to take control, up 45-32, but Virginia went on another brief run to cut the gap to seven by the start of the fourth.
“We just had spurts,” Boyle said. “We had a little spurt in the second quarter and third quarter but not enough to sustain it. It goes back to trying to find that balance of running continuity offenses and putting ourselves back into position to get an easy touch.”
Cook, who’d showcased her versatility from the tip with turn-arounds, post moves and assertive drives, added six more points on four free throws and a layup in the final quarter. She averaged only 8.8 points entering Sunday’s contest, and Virginia Tech primarily used her as a sixth man.
“Even though she came off the bench, we felt as a coaching staff that she was their best player,” Boyle said. “She is a very guard-like post player. She is strong. She attacks of the bounce quite a bit. She can shoot it really well. She’s very solid, strong, just a tough match up.”
Cook and her Hokie teammates — motivated all week by Assistant Coach Britney Anderson, who was a part of three NCAA Tournament appearances for Virginia Tech from 2003-2007 — ended an 18-game losing streak against Virginia dating back to 2007. The Hokies did it empathetically Sunday, blowing out the Cavaliers in Charlottesville and jumping one spot ahead in the ACC standings. Now, shorthanded and reeling, Virginia is at a crossroads.
“We have a choice,” Boyle said. “We have a choice to lie down and die, or we have a choice to stand up and try and fight to get better.”
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