Jan. 8, 2014
CLEMSON, S.C. – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team captured its first ACC victory of the season, defeating Clemson, 89-68, at Littlejohn Coliseum on Wednesday evening.
This was the Yellow Jackets’ (11-4, 1-1 ACC) ninth straight victory against Clemson (8-8, 0-2 ACC) and the 16th in the last 17 against the Tigers.
“Kaela Davis and Tyaunna Marshall were huge for us,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “Dawnn Maye led the way for us. To have that veteran point guard that can come off of the bench and give you quality minutes was a huge difference maker. Any road win in the ACC is a big win. I’m really proud of our team. We need to get back, regroup and get ready for Syracuse.”
Davis led the Jackets’ scoring effort, recording 26 points against the Tigers and grabbing four rebounds. Marshall also had a 20-point performance, scoring 25 points. This was the second time this season that both Davis and Marshall have each scored more than 20 points in one game. It was both Davis’ and Marshall’s sixth time this season hitting the 20-plus mark.
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Sophomore Roddreka Rogers had an impressive game for the Jackets, scoring a career-high 17 points and leading the rebounding effort with 14. She shot 6-for-6 from the floor and registered three assists and three steals. This was her third double-double of the season.
“I was really proud of Roddreka Rogers,” Joseph said. “I thought she came out and dominated the boards with 14 rebounds. She had 17 points and went perfect from the field. I thought she was really focused and came to play today.”
Tech also utilized solid play from its bench. Maye scored nine points for the Jackets, while freshman Katarina Vuckovic scored five points and recorded three steals and two blocks. Georgia Tech outscored Clemson, 19-4, in bench points.
“I thought our bench players did great,” Joseph said. “I thought Katarina Vuckovic had some big plays defensively and offensively.”
The two teams traded baskets in the opening minutes but the Jackets had to fight from being down from the start. The Tigers jumped ahead 15-9 but the Jackets fought to put together an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the night at 11:58, 17-15. Davis came out hot for the Jackets, scoring eight of Tech’s first 10 points.
The Jackets held the Tigers scoreless for 3:56 minutes during its run until Nyliah Jamison-Myers scored at 10:41 to tie it up 17-17.
Tech put together another 8-0 run to regain the lead, 28-20, with 7:39 left in the first half. The Jackets also forced four turnovers during their game-changing run.
Georgia Tech outscored the Tigers 15-7 to close out the half, heading into the locker room up, 43-29. The Jackets held the Tigers without a field goal for the final 7:14 of the first half until Charmaine Tay hit a 3-pointer with one second left in the half.
Three Jackets scored in double figures in the first half with Rogers leading the way with 11 points, six rebounds and three steals in the first 20 minutes. Both Davis and Marshall scored 10 apiece in the first half.
In the second half, the Tigers cut their deficit to 10 points, 51-41, after Nikki Dixon scored four-straight points at 14:48. Georgia Tech’s lead would stay at 10 points as the two teams traded baskets until an 11-2 run by the Jackets pulled them ahead by 21, 72-51. Marshall contributed five-straight points at the end of the run.
The Jackets would take its largest lead of the game with 5:41 remaining. Maye completed a 3-point play to put Tech ahead by 22, 77-55. Georgia Tech maintained its lead for the remainder of the game on its way to its first conference win of the season.
The Tigers were led by Dixon who scored 26 points. Tay contributed 20 points and led the Tigers on the boards with eight rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets are back on the road this Sunday, traveling to Syracuse for the first time. The Orange and Jackets face off at 1 p.m. at the Carrier Dome on January 12.
–RamblinWreck.com–
