@GTWBB Welcomes North Carolina Thursday

Jan. 13, 2016

STARTING FIVE

1. Georgia Tech returns home to host –/RV North Carolina on Thursday at 7 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion. The game will be on ESPN3 with Brandon Gaudin and Angel Gray on the call. The game can also be heard on WREK 91.1 with Richard Musterer.
2. This will be the 74th all-time meeting between Georgia Tech and North Carolina. North Carolina is Georgia Tech’s second-most frequently played opponent. The Jackets lost both meetings against the Tar Heels last year, on the road and in the ACC Tournament, but the Yellow Jackets upset UNC in 2014, 94-91, at home. The Yellow Jackets are 10-23 when playing the Tar Heels at home.
3. Senior Aaliyah Whiteside leads the ACC with her 20.6 points per game which also is 20th in the nation. She is also Tech’s leading rebounder with 7.6 boards per game, which is 7th in the ACC. She has scored at least 21 points in 12 of 17 games and had four-straight double-doubles this season. She scored her 1,000th career point against Southeastern Louisiana.
4. Freshman Ciani Cryor has stepped up during ACC play, averaging 10.5 points per game against conference opponents. Cryor led the Yellow Jackets at #3/3 Notre Dame with 19 points and scored a team-high 18 points at #19 Florida State.
5. Head coach MaChelle Joseph became the all-time winningest coach in Georgia Tech women’s basketball history last year and has a career record of 242-156 and the highest winning percentage in Yellow Jacket history at 61.0 percent. She is currently in her 13th season at the helm of the Jackets and is 87-97 in her career in ACC play.

a win would…
– Break a four game conference losing streak for the Yellow Jackets and give them their first ACC win of the season.
– Snap a two-game losing streak to the Tar Heels.
– Be the first home win against North Carolina since the Jackets upset #13 North Carolina, 94-91, on Feb. 6, 2014.
– Give the Yellow Jackets an overall ACC record of 189-340 and an 88-97 record in the ACC under Coach Joseph.
– Be the 243rd win of Coach Joseph’s career and her 399th game at the helm of the Jackets putting her just one game away from hitting the 400 mark.
– Give Georgia Tech its 618th program win and put Georgia Tech at 618-583 overall over 41 years of women’s basketball.

Miss do-it-all
Senior Aaliyah Whiteside has proved night in and night out that she is an all-around team player. Whiteside scored a career-high 31 points at NC State while leading the Jackets in rebounding with nine boards and in assists with three. She is only the third player in the ACC to score at least 30 points in a game this season. The last game a Yellow Jacket scored at least 30 points was against Virginia on Jan. 25, 2015. This season, she has hit the double digit mark before half time in 10 out of 17 games and has scored in double-figures in every game besides one.

Whiteside leads the Jackets in three stat categories – points (20.6), rebounds (7.5) and assists (3.2). She leads the ACC in scoring and has a league-high 12 20+ point games. Her 7.5 rebounds per game rank seventh in the ACC and her 2.0 steals per game are 11th. Whiteside is also leading the conference in scoring in just ACC games with 22.3 points per game. She is also grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game against ACC opponents which is 12th in the conference and her 2.5 steals per game ranks eighth.

the last meeting vs. NORTH CAROLINA
The Yellow Jackets and Tar Heels met in the second round of the 2015 ACC Tournament with UNC recording a 20-point victory against the Jackets, 84-64. Four Yellow Jackets scored in double figures in the loss, led by Zaire O’Neil’s 14 points. O’Neil and Roddreka Rogers both tallied double-doubles. O’Neil pulled down 10 rebounds and had two blocks. Rogers scored 10 points and led the Jackets on the boards with 11.

cryor carries the jackets
Freshman Ciani Cryor had a huge game for the Yellow Jackets at #19 Florida State, scoring a team-high 18 points for Tech and handing out a career-high three assists. It was the Philadelphia, Pa., native’s third time leading the Jackets in scoring and the second time this season leading them in scoring agaisnt a ranked ACC opponent. Cryor scored a season-best 19 points at Notre Dame, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor. Cryor led the Jackets in scoring, assists (3) and steals (4). She led the Jackets with 17 points in a win against Alabama.

Cryor is third on the Jackets in scoring (8.3ppg) and is second on the Jackets in steals, averaging 2.1 a game which is ninth in the ACC.

don’t count us out
While the Yellow Jackets have lost four conference games, Tech has been in every game. Down 17 against #19 Florida State with six minutes left in the second period, the Yellow Jackets put together a 19-3 run to come within one point of FSU, 37-36, at the half. Similarly at #3 Notre Dame, the Jackets were in a 22 point hole at the end of the third period.  22-5 run to cut its deficit to just eight points with 3:46 left in the game. 

going hard in the paint
The Yellow Jackets have outscored eight opponents in the point and are averaging 37.9 points per game in the paint. Tech has outrebounded nine opponents this season and are 7-2 when winning the rebounding the battle. Tech’s 42.3 offensive rebound percentage is third-best in the ACC.

leading by example
With Tech’s roster featuring nine freshmen and sophomores, seniors Aaliyah Whiteside and Roddreka Rogers’ leadership is key. The veteran duo has teamed up to score 43.6 percent of GT’s offensive output this season and have pulled down 37.2 percent of the Jackets’ rebounds this season. Whiteside has scored at least 21 points in 12 of 17 games while Rogers has tallied three double-doubles. Whitesides’ 12 20+ point games are a league high while Rogers’ 20 career double-doubles lead the ACC.

The senior duo led the Yellow Jackets to a 60-50 victory at IUPUI. Rogers and Whiteside combined to score 48 of Tech’s 60 points and the two went a combined 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of the game to secure the victory. Whiteside scored a career-best 28 points while Rogers recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.