HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – In a nail-biting game which featured six lead changes and five ties in the final three minutes, the Georgia Tech women’s basketball team outlasted the Hofstra Pride, 77-74, Thursday night.
Senior Jaime Kruppa paced the Yellow Jackets to a nine-point halftime lead with 13 points before intermission. But Hofstra’s Jen Brickey and Kimberley Coke combined for 31 second-half points and the Pride shot 54 percent from the field in the second half to keep Hofstra in the game.
Junior Milli Martinez countered for the Yellow Jackets in the second half. She tallied 10 of her 14 points, nine of her 12 rebounds and all of her team-leading three steals after halftime.
After making just nine of 18 free throws in the first half, the Yellow Jackets sealed the victory from the line in the second half. Georgia Tech made 20 of 21 free throws in the second period and scored its final nine points from the charity stripe.
For the second-straight game, Georgia Tech dominated the boards. The Yellow Jackets out-rebounded the Pride, 46-22, and hold a 97-40 rebounding advantage in their last two contests.
Kruppa finished the game as Tech’s leading scorer with 17 points and added 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Martinez also posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Niesha Butler scored 10 points, all in the second half, and was a perfect eight-for-eight from the line. Sophomore Alex Stewart also chipped in 10 points.
Coke and Brickey finished as Hofstra’s leading scorers with 22 points apiece.
Georgia Tech, which improved to 6-3 with its third consecutive win, hosts St. Francis (Pa.) in the Georgia Tech/Atlanta Marriott Northwest Holiday Classic on Dec. 29. Hofstra fell to 3-6 with the loss.
