CLEMSON, S.C. – Kara Dunn scored 15 points in the final quarter, lifting Georgia Tech to a 64-63 victory at Clemson on Thursday evening in Littlejohn Coliseum. A trio of Yellow Jackets finished in double-figures to push Tech back to winning ways.
A 13-2 run from the Yellow Jackets (15-11, 6-8 ACC) in the second quarter pushed Tech out in the lead by double-digits. After a back-and-forth battle in the first quarter, the Jackets kept the Tigers (11-14, 4-9 ACC) off the scoreboard for nearly six minutes to extend its lead to 31-20. Rusne Augustinaite paced Tech with 12 points in the first half as Tech shot 50.0 percent from the field as a team. Clemson was limited to 27.6 percent shooting.
Clemson came out and won the third quarter, 27-12, to lead 49-43 entering the final period, but the Yellow Jackets rallied in the final 10 minutes to capture the road win. Dunn scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, going 4-for-6 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line to lift Tech to victory. After a pair of free throws from Dunn at 3:37, Tech led 58-56, but Ruby Whitehorn sank a three-pointer to return the advantage to Clemson in the next possession. Trailing by two, Augustinaite hit a jumper to knot the game at 60-60 with 2:14 to play before Dunn connected on a layup and hit two free throws to extend Tech’s lead to 64-60 with 2.5 ticks on the clock. Clemson closed the game with a triple from Dayshanette Harris for the final score.
After shooting just 19.0 percent in the third period, the Jackets rebounded shooting 58.3 percent in the fourth quarter. For the game, Tech shot 41.0 percent and went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. In the second half, the Jackets committed only three turnovers and hit all 11 of their free throws. Dunn logged a dominating 22 points in the final two quarters to lead all scorers in the final 20 minutes.
Inés Noguero recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Augustinaite finished with 14 points in the win. Noguero and Sydney Johnson both dished out five assists to lead the Jackets.
Harris led the way for Clemson with 24 points, followed by Amari Robinson with 20 points. The Tigers shot 50.0 percent to take the lead in the third quarter, but were limited to just four field goals in the final 10 minutes for a 26.7 percent shooting efficiency. Overall, Clemson shot 33.9 percent from the field. The teams tied in rebounding with 40-apiece.
Georgia Tech closes out this two-game road swing on Sunday, traveling to No. 6/7 NC State. Tip is slated for 12 p.m. on the CW inside Reynolds Coliseum.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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