(13) @ClemsonWBB Takes Down (12) Hokies in ACC 1st Round

Final Score: (13) Clemson 69, (12) Virginia Tech 56 Records: CU: 13-18; VT: 14-16 Leading Scorer: Nikki Dixon: 22 points Updated Series Record (trend): Clemson 9-8 (W1) Next Game: Clemson vs. Syracuse; Thursday, 11 a.m.; Greensboro, NC Postgame Press Conference (Smith Starts at 7:15 mark) GREENSBORO, NC – The 13th-seeded Clemson women’s basketball team took down 12-seed Virginia Tech (14-16, 4-12 ACC), 69-56, in the First Round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, NC. The win is Clemson’s (13-18, 4-12 ACC) first win in the ACC Tournament since the 2009 First Round.  The Tigers got 22 points and a career-high 12 rebounds from Nikki Dixon, and Nyilah Jamison-Myers had a career-best 19 points as Clemson won for the fourth time in the last five meeting against Virginia Tech.  The Hokies had defeated Clemson, 74-48, in Blacksburg just six days earlier, on Feb. 28. On Wednesday, it was Clemson that came out as the aggressor, using an early 13-0 run to catapult into the lead and never looking back. The Tigers led by as many as 21 in the first half, and Virginia Tech got no closer than nine at any point the rest of the way.  It looked as if the Hokies might be able to dwindle the lead further, as a six-plus minute scoring drought gripped the Tigers. But Dixon drilled a 17 footer just right of the top of the key, and Jamison-Myers put away a pair of hook shots in the lane to serve as the nail in the coffin.  Clemson led, 37-20 at the half using a big advantage on the glass. After being out-rebounded by 20 in Blacksburg last Thursday, the Tigers held a 41-34 advantage today, and corralled 32 of 40 available defensive rebounds.  The Tigers advance to play fifth-seeded Syracuse on Thursday at 11 a.m. in a game televised on RSN.  Player of the Game: Nikki Dixon – The junior wing scored 22 points and had a career-high 12 rebounds, her second career double-double, and went 12-15 from the line Stat of the Game: +7 – Clemson was +7 on the glass after surrendering a -20 margin just six days ago in Blacksburg, a 27-rebound difference Team Notes: 

• Clemson snapped a five-game losing streak in the ACC Tournament. The last win came in the 2009 first round against Georgia Tech
• Clemson is the first ACC team to win a Wednesday Tournament Game
• Clemson is the first 13-seed to win an ACC Tournament Game
• The Tigers now have a 9-8 lead in the all-time series against Virginia Tech; This was the first neutral-site meeting between the programs

Individual Notes: 

• Nikki Dixon had 11 points and 10 rebound in the first half, her second career double-double (She had 29 points, 11 rebounds vs. Pitt on 1/12/14); 
• Dixon finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds in the contest. The 12 rebounds are a career-high, and it was her ninth game this season with 20 or more points, and 15th in her career. She has now scored in double-figures in 20 games this season, and 59 in her career. 
• Nyilah Jamison-Myers had 11 points in the first half and a career-high 19 in the game; Her previous career-high was 17 on 12/14/13 against SC State. Jamison-Myers has now scored in double figures six times this season, and eight times in her career. 
• Kelly Gramlich hit two threes in the game, giving her 65 on the season. This ties for the 5th-most in a single-season in school history with Kirstyn Wright (2010-11)
• Paige Mosley scored a career-high with six points and tied a career-best with four rebounds
• Audra Smith is the first Clemson head coach to win her ACC debut since Jim Davis in 1987-88

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