Wake Forest 77, No. 18 Virginia Tech 71, OT

1/19/2006 10:10 PM

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Wake Forest overcame a slow start in the first half and beat No. 18 Virginia Tech 77-71 in overtime Thursday, its first win over a ranked opponent in more than a year.

Cotelia Bond-Young scored 22 points for the Demon Deacons (10-6, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), including a short jumper with 2 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 67.

The senior guard then scored on a backdoor layup 15 seconds into the extra period to put Wake Forest in the lead for good.

Corinne Groves had her first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds for Wake Forest, whose last win over a Top 25 opponent came when it beat then-No. 15 Houston 65-57 on Dec. 17, 2004.

Virginia Tech led 30-24 at the half, thanks to a man-to-man defense that forced Wake Forest into hitting just 11-of-35 from the field and 1-of-9 from 3-point range.

However, the Demon Deacons hit 3-pointers in bunches in the second half, making 7-of-13. Along with a decided advantage on the boards - outrebounding the Hokies 50-44 for the game - Wake Forest overcame an 11-point deficit to swap the lead four times and tie the game six times in the second half.

Liz Strunk added 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Deirdre Naughton had 12 points for Wake Forest.

Carrie Mason led Virginia Tech (14-3, 1-3) with 18 points. Dawn Chriss added 16 points, Kirby Copeland 15 points and Karri Gardin 11 points and 10 rebounds.