Dec. 29, 2011
Duluth, Ga. – Senior center Sasha Goodlett tied her career-high with 23 points and sophomore Tyaunna Marshall added 20 points to lead the Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (10-3) to its fifth straight win, a 74-57 victory over North Carolina A&T (6-7) Thursday afternoon at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in the Yellow Jackets’ non-conference finale.
Goodlett added 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the year and fifth of her career. It is the first time two Yellow Jackets have scored at least 20 points since Marshall and Alex Montgomery each tallied at least 20 against Jacksonville State in Tech’s final non-conference game last season.
“Sasha is our go-to player. We’ve asked her to be a presence on the floor,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “I feel like she’s really stepped up and taken on a huge load of scoring and rebounding. Since we played in San Juan, I feel like she’s taken her scoring to a new level. I think she’s stepped up and playing her best basketball right now heading into ACC play. I’m really excited for her. I also feel like Ty Marshall is getting ready to compete at a high level.”
The Yellow Jackets opened the game by holding the Aggies without a point until an A&T 3-pointer at the 14:50 mark. Tech then used a 15-2 run midway through the first half to turn a 6-5 lead into a 21-7 advantage with seven and a half minutes remaining in the opening half.
“I think we were a little rusty, but that happens to a lot of teams this time of year, going into Christmas, coming out of Christmas, it’s difficult to keep the kids focused,” Joseph said. “You lose a lot of conditioning when you’re off for four straight days. For the most part, I felt like some of the younger kids got a chance to play and we got good things out of Sasha and Ty.”
The Yellow Jackets limited the Aggies to only 5-of-26 shooting in the first 20 minutes and forced 13 North Carolina A&T turnovers before the break with the Jackets converting the Aggie miscues into 12 points.
The Jackets again led wire-to-wire and extended their lead to as many as 24, 61-37, on Sydney Wallace’s jumper at the 7:39 mark of the second half.
All 13 available Jackets played, which helped Tech to 24 points from its bench. Georgia Tech was able to use its size advantage as well, tallying 42 points in the paint.
The Yellow Jackets will open 2012 and Atlantic Coast Conference play on Monday, Jan. 2, when Tech travels to Raleigh, N.C., to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack (8-3) at Reynolds Coliseum in a 7 p.m. matchup. Live streaming and stats will be available through GoPack.com. Richard Musterer and Michele Van Gorp will have the Yellow Jacket call on WREK 91.1 FM and RamblinWreck.com.
Tech fans can purchase an ACC pack for 2012 Yellow Jacket conference games through RamblinWreck.com where fans can choose any three ACC home games for only $9.
Fans are encouraged to follow us on Twitter, @GTWBB, for instant updates and like us on Facebook, GTWomensBasketball, for a view inside the program.
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