Dec. 6, 2009
Box Score | Notes | Box Score in PDF Format
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -Porsha Phillips scored 14 points, including two free throws with 5.6 seconds left, to lead No. 13 Georgia to a 56-50 victory over No. 23 Georgia Tech on Sunday.
Georgia (8-0) won despite shooting 38 percent from the free throw line. The Lady Dogs came in shooting 74 percent from the line, but made only 13 of 34 attempts.
Alex Montgomery led Georgia Tech (5-2) with 10 points but she missed two 3-point attempts in the last minute when Tech was trying to win in Athens for the first time ever.
Tech led by as many as 11 points in the first half and was up 48-43 when Deja Foster made a layup with 5:34 to go.
But freshman Jasmine James, handling the point guard duties after Ashley Houts fouled out with 9:31 to play, banked in a 3-pointer to ignite a game-closing 13-2 run.
James scored 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting.
Coaches Quotes
Georgia Tech Head Coach MaChelle Joseph
“I wanted us to get it done on the defensive end, which we did by holding them to 54 points. Usually that’s good enough for a win. One thing we didn’t do was execute on the offensive end. When Ashley Houts went out, I thought we were going to make a run, but weren’t able to. I give them credit with the way they persevered.”
“Obviously we can’t press like we want when we’re in foul trouble. It disrupts us because it’s hard for our players to get into the flow of the game. I thought free throws were a big factor, too. They had 34 free throws and we had five. That’s a big discrepency. I thought we were aggressive in attacking the basket, but was disappointed that we only went to the free throw line five times.”
“Twenty-nine turnovers isn’t good enough. Our point guards are sophomores and freshmen, so in a game like this, it’s important that they handle the ball well. I thought at times that Sharena Taylor did a good job moving the ball for us. I saw some good things out there, but it wasn’t enough to get it done. It’s important that we continue to work and get better. We’re a young team and a work-in-progress. We’re going to take this game and allow it to make us a better team.”
Georgia Head Coach Andy Landers
“We played excellent defense today. I thought that we really did a good job with the full court and the in the half court of defending Tech and trying to take them out of some of the things that they do well. We had a couple of break downs in the first half that let them to dribble-drive the ball into the paint and pull it up and shoot it. But we got that corrected at halftime. It was just a great defensive game for us.”
On being without Ashley Houts for over nine minutes.
“We’ve never had to do that before. I was really pleased and proud of the way the kids responded. They don’t blink. They just keep going in spite of whatever adversity we encounter. They just stay the course, believe and try to make plays. I thought J.J’s (Jasmine James) play on the baseline drive down there was really big.”
