THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team picked up its seventh win of the season on Wednesday night, rolling past Alabama State, 69-42. All 13 Yellow Jackets took the floor and four scored in double-figures as Tech held the Hornets to a 29.8 percent shooting efficiency on the night.
“I felt like we had a very sloppy game for us offensively,” commented head coach MaChelle Joseph. “We didn’t shoot the ball well, particularly in the fourth quarter. I tried to play a lot of people and give everybody a chance to play. We had some good play out of Elizabeth Balogun. I thought she did a good job of trying to get the post players the ball and she played a good, all-around game. But outside of that, we didn’t shoot the ball well.”
How It Happened
Georgia Tech wasted no time opening a comfortable lead over the Hornets, breaking open a double-digit lead off an Elizabeth Dixon bucket that jumpstarted an 8-0 run to start the second quarter. Capped by four points from Elizabeth Balogun, Tech led Alabama State, 25-9, at the 7:27 mark of the second period. Balogun finished with 11 points in the second quarter and gave Tech its first 20-point advantage with a jumper at the 4:28 mark for a 35-14 lead. Tech would carry a 39-19 edge into the locker room at halftime.
Tech continued to hold a 20-plus point lead in the third quarter and opened a 30-point advantage following a Dixon free throw for a 55-25 lead with 3:19 on the clock. Alabama State narrowly outscored Tech in the final 10 minutes, 10-8, but the Jackets sealed the win to improve to 7-2 on the season.
Tech Tidbits
* The Jackets swiped 11 steals in the first half paced by three each from Balogun and Lotta-Maj Lahtinen and finished with 15 on the night
* Tech forced 17 ASU turnovers in the opening half, converting the miscues into 19 points – Alabama State finished with 26 turnovers on the evening
* Balogun paced Tech offensively with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals
* Chanin Scott added 14 points, while Pan posted 11 points and Lorela Cubaj contributed 10 points
* Tech won the rebounding battle, 53-38, led by Dixon and Anne Francoise Diouf each with seven
* For the game, Tech shot 35.1 percent (27-77) from the field and 47.6 percent (10-21) from the free throw line
* ASU shot 29.8 percent (14-47) from the floor and 52.2 percent (12-23) from the charity stripe
* The Jackets dished out 17 assists on the evening and outscored the Hornets, 40-24, in the paint
Next Up
Georgia Tech breaks for exams and returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 16 hosting Kennesaw State. Tip is slated for 4 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTWBB), Instagram (GTWBB), Facebook (Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
