49ers Top Virginia Tech In Overtime On The Road
BLACKSBURG, VA – Behind the scoring of Jai Forney and Epiphany Woodson, the Charlotte 49ers (3-0) defeated ACC foe Virginia Tech (1-1), 71-65, in overtime on the road.
“I am so proud of our team,” Charlotte coach Cara Consuegra said. “It was not a great first 30 minutes by our team. However, the last 10 minutes of regulation and the overtime, we played extremely well. We started sharing the ball. Epiphany played great down the stretch. Jai Forney was terrific tonight. What made her performance so special tonight, she not only scored 21 points but she had the toughest defensive assignment on Virginia Tech’s Monet Tellier.”
Forney recorded her first career 20-point scoring game with a career-high 21 points. She scored 13 points in the first half. Woodson tallied her seventh career 20 point scoring game with 21 points. She scored 16 of the 21 points in the second half and overtime. Jennifer Hailey came off the bench to score 12 points. Gabby Tyler tallied seven points all from the free throw line.
The 49ers finished the game with 42 rebounds. Amanda Dowe and Hailey led the 49ers with nine rebounds apiece.
The first half was a back and forth affair. Virginia Tech jumped out to a six point lead at the 9:50 mark by scoring 14 of the game’s first 22 points.
Then, Charlotte took their first lead of the game when Jennifer Hailey scored inside giving the 49ers a 15-14 lead at the 6:52 mark.
The Hokies regained the lead and then two free throws by Jai Forney and a shot jump shot by Ny Hammonds gave the 49ers a 19-16 lead at the 4:59 mark.
Virginia Tech scored four unanswered points regaining the lead by one point, 20-19, with 3:54 on the clock. Five straight points by Forney gave the 49ers a 24-22 lead with 2:57 on the clock. Virginia Tech would score four of the first half’s final five points taking a 26-25 halftime lead.
For the first 10 minutes of the second half, the lead exchanged hands several times with several ties. With, Virginia Tech leading 48-44 at the 5:57 mark, the 49ers went on a 10-0 run over the next two and half minutes. Woodson scored six straight points for the 49ers during their run.
Charlotte maintained the lead until with one second left in the game; Virginia Tech’s Alyssa Fenyn connected on a baseline jump shot tying the game at 59.
Charlotte’s Hailey and Woodson scored the first four points of the overtime period giving Charlotte a lead they would never relinquish. Charlotte closed out the victory with timely free throw shooting by Forney and Dowe.
Charlotte returns home to Halton Arena where they will play Elon on Saturday, November 19 at 7 pm.
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