Jan. 31, 2016
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (13-9, 3-6) held off Boston College (13-8, 1-7) for a 62-56 victory on Sunday afternoon at McCamish Pavilion.
“I’m really proud of this team because I thought that was a hard fought win,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “We really gutted it out. Boston College does a phenomenal job on the defensive end. They force you to make jump shots. I thought we struggled all night to do that but I thought Katarina Vuckovic was huge with her 18 points and 10 rebounds. I thought that was the difference in the game.”
How it Happened
Both teams struggled to score in the opening minutes as the score stayed at 2-1 in favor of Boston College until the two teams began trading baskets with 4:15 left in the first period. Katarina Vuckovic scored seven of Tech’s 12 points in the first 10 minutes. It was close in the second quarter as well with no team taking more than a three point lead until the Eagles used a 7-0 run to pull ahead, 29-23. The Yellow Jackets answered with a 3-pointer from Vuckovic and a jump shot from Aaliyah Whiteside and went into halftime down by just one point, 29-28.
The two teams played tug of war with the lead throughout the third period, but the Yellow Jackets went into the final period with a 47-44 advantage thanks to a 7-2 run to end out the period. The run was capped off by Vuckovic sinking two free throws with 0.5 seconds on the clock.
The Yellow Jackets took its largest lead of the game at 8:11 in the fourth period after sophomore Antonia Peresson made two free throw shots to put Tech ahead by six, 52-46.
Boston College threatened the Jackets lead, coming within two points, 58-56, with 1:15 on the clock but the Jackets finished out the game shooting 4-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 49 seconds to record its third-straight win against Boston College. Whiteside went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe in that span and she is 28-for-33 (.848) from the free throw line in the final five minutes of the game this season.
Whiteside Breaks School Record
Senior Aaliyah Whiteside made her 431st free throw of her career against Boston College, breaking Georgia Tech’s school record of career made free throws. Joyce Pierce (1991-93) previously held the record with 430 made free throws. Whiteside began this season ranked 10th on the career list with 286 but quickly catapulted up the list and currently has made 433 shots from the foul line. Heading into tonight’s game, Whiteside ranked second in the nation in made free throws this season and third in attempted free throws.
“We are really proud of Aaliyah Whiteside and her efforts,” Joseph said. “They made it tough for her all night long and she kept battling back. Tonight she became the all-time leader in free throws made at Georgia Tech. That just shows that she is someone who does the dirty work. She goes in and posts up and gets loose balls, offensive rebounds and put backs. You don’t get fouled that much just on offense. You have to make those things happen with hustle points.”
Vuckovic Steps Up Big
Junior Katarina Vuckovic had a huge night for the Yellow Jackets, leading Tech in both scoring and rebounding with 18 points and 10 rebounds. It was her second career double-double of her career and first for Vuckovic this season. This was the first time this season she led the Jackets in scoring and the third time she has been the top rebounder for the Jackets.
Vuckovic scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and tallied 10 of those points in the first half. Her 18 points are the most points she scored this season since she tallied a career-high 20 at Georgia earlier this season on Nov. 22
Moving Through The Record Book
- With her 17 points against Boston College, Whiteside inched closer to entering the top 10 of Georgia Tech’s all-time scoring list. She has 1,400 career points which puts her in 11th. Whiteside is 23 points from surpassing Kate Brandt’s 1,422 career points for 10th.
- Whiteside became the all-time leader in career free throws made after shooting 5-for-6 from the line against Boston College. She entered into today’s game needing just three made free throws to break Joyce Pierce’s record of 430.
- Senior Roddreka Rogers now has sole ownership of fourth on Tech’s all-time rebounding list with 856 career rebounds. She needs 15 more rebounds to tie Kisha Ford for third.
Tech Tidbits
- This was the 14th all-time meeting between Georgia Tech and Boston College. Georgia Tech leads the all-time series 9-5 and now holds a 6-1 lead in games played on the Flats. The Yellow Jackets have won three-straight meetings and six of the past seven.
- The Yellow Jackets held a +10 rebounding margin against the Eagles, outrebounding their opponent, 37-27. This was the 12th time this season Tech has won the rebounding battle and the Jackets are 9-3 when out-rebounding an opponent.
- Whiteside has now scored in double-figures in 28 out of the past 29 games, dating back to last season.
- Sophomore Imani Tilford led the Jackets with four assists and also recorded three steals.
Next Up
Georgia Tech hits to road for a pair of games, traveling to Virginia Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m. and to Syracuse on Sunday at 2 p.m.
–TogetherWeSwarm–
