But when the buzzer sounded at the end the first overtime, the Virginia Tech forward had her head in her hands. Gardin had missed a pair of free throws that might have sealed a win for the Hokies - one of a handful of missed opportunities as Virginia Tech dropped an 81-78 double-overtime game to Florida State in front of 3,824 fans at Cassell Coliseum. "We left it all out on the floor, but they made some great shots," Hokies guard Dawn Chriss said. "There's not too much you can do about that."

The Hokies also had a chance to win at the end of regulation and lost a four-point lead in the first overtime.

Roneeka Hodges and Alicia Gladden scored 24 points apiece as the No.21 Seminoles (18-2, 5-1 ACC) won their fifth straight ACC game and their third straight in overtime.

"That just shows where we are," Seminoles coach Sue Semrau said. "We're not quite there to getting it done in regulation."

Gardin, a junior forward, scored 22 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked four shots to lead the Hokies. Kirby Copeland had 15 points and six rebounds and Chriss had 14 points for Virginia Tech (12-5, 2-3), which fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll earlier in the day. The Hokies were ranked No.23.

For the second straight game, Tech center and leading scorer Erin Gibson was held under 10 points. She had seven points and five rebounds. Gardin served as center late in the second half and throughout the first overtime.

Tech coach Beth Dunkenberger said she decided to go with a smaller lineup, matching up better with Florida State.

"Erin is our leading scorer and she's going to continue to get key minutes for us," Dunkenberger said.

The score was tied 18 times, including 23-23 at halftime, and the lead changed hands 14 times. Tech was up by six with 10:20 to play in regulation, down by three four minutes later and up again by two with four minutes left.

The score was tied at 62 with 16 seconds left when Hodges drove inside, stumbled and fell to the floor, losing the ball. No foul was called and Hodges limped off the court.

The Hokies put the ball in point guard Carrie Mason's hands as time ran down. She drove into the lane, but Holly Johnson blocked her shot to send the game into overtime.

With Gardin, Chriss and Copeland leading the way, the Hokies outscored FSU 9-5 in the first four minutes of the first five-minute overtime.

The Hokies' zone pushed FSU away from the basket and stifled the Seminoles as the shot clock wound down to three seconds before Hodges tossed up a 3-pointer from well beyond the NBA 3-point distance. It went in.

"It hurt," Chriss said.

LaQuinta Neely fouled Copeland, who hit just one of her two free throws, putting the Hokies up 72-70.

The Hokies came up with a stop when Hodges drove the lane and dished to Gladden inside. Gladden missed and Gardin grabbed the rebound. Hodges immediately fouled Gardin with nine seconds left, but she missed both free throws.

As the clock ran down again, Neely drove the lane and made an off-balance jumper to bring on the second overtime.

Tech never led in the second overtime. Gladden had five points, a block and a couple of big defensive rebounds in the period.

Still, the Hokies had a chance to tie when Copeland was fouled with 1:07 to play. She hit the first free throw to cut the FSU lead to 79-78 but missed the second and Gladden grabbed the rebound.

Gibson got a steal on the other end, but the Hokies worked the shot clock all the way down before Copeland tried a jumper and Gladden again pulled down the rebound.

Johnson sank a pair of free throws to give the Seminoles a three-point edge with 19.8 seconds left. The Seminoles attacked the perimeter defensively on the Hokies' ensuing possession to keep Tech from making a tying 3-pointer and sending the game into a third overtime. Tech's Christie Marrone drew iron on a 3-point attempt with five seconds to go.

"I'm proud of our effort," Dunkenberger said. "We played hard for not just 40, not just 45, but 50 minutes. I keep telling them that when you play hard on defense and rebound, good things happen.

"This is going to pay off, and it will pay off soon."