@GTWBB and Tulane Play Monday in Second Round

March 20, 2016

STARTING FIVE

1. Georgia Tech hosts Tulane for the second round of the WNIT on Monday at 7 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion. Richard Musterer will have the call on WREK 91.1.
2. This will be the fifth meeting between Georgia Tech and Tualne. The Yellow Jackets have won all four previous meetings, including two at home. The last time the Yellow Jackets faced the Green Wave was on Jan. 4, 2009 when Tech won 69-52 at home.
3. Senior Aaliyah Whiteside leads the ACC with her 19.3 points per game which is 36th in the nation. She is second on the Jackets in rebounding with 7.2 boards per game, which is 12th in the ACC. She has scored at least 20 points in 17 of 32 games and has five double-doubles this season. She scored her 1,000th career point against Southeastern Louisiana.
4. This is the Yellow Jackets’ second-straight appearance in the WNIT and the ninth postseason appearance under head coach MaChelle Joseph. The Yellow Jackets are 7-8 in the post season under Joseph’s direction.
5. Head coach MaChelle Joseph became the all-time winningest coach in Georgia Tech women’s basketball history last year and has a career record of 252-161 and the highest winning percentage in Yellow Jacket history at 61.0 percent. She is currently in her 13th season at the helm of the Jackets and is 95-102 in her career in ACC play.

a win would…
– Give Joseph her seventh season winning at least 21 games.
– Be the fifth-straight win for the Yellow Jackets against the Green Wave and give them a 5-0 record against Tulane. 
– Put the Jackets at 8-4 overall in the WNIT Tournament and give the Jackets a 3-1 record in the WNIT under Joseph,
– Put the Jackets at 15-21 overall in the postseason and give Joseph a 8-8 overall record in the postseason,
– Be the 253rd win of Coach Joseph’s career and give her a 253-161 overall record.
– Give Georgia Tech its 628th program win and put Georgia Tech at 628-588 overall over 41 years of women’s basketball.

wnit history
The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team is making its second-straight appearance in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament its sixth appearance overall. In five appearances in the WNIT, the Jackets have gone 7-4. The Yellow Jackets won the 1992 NWIT at the Cal Farley Coliseum in Amarillo, Texas, knocking off Green Bay Wisconsin, Nebraska and Hawaii. Tech hosted first round games in 2000, 2002 and 2015. The Jackets played in the WNIT in 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2015. This is the second time under head coach MaChelle Joseph that the Jackets will play in the WNIT. Last season, the  Jackets advanced to the second round after knocking off Elon, 69-47, in Atlanta but fell at Ole Miss, 63-48 last season. Tech most recently advanced to the second round after defeating Mercer, 73-56.

JOSEPH IN THE POSTSEASON            
Georgia Tech’s trip to the WNIT marks head coach MaChelle Joseph’s ninth appearance in the postseason in her 13 years as a head coach. Joseph, who is the all-time winningest coach at Georgia Tech, led the Jackets to seven NCAA Tournaments, including six-straight from the years of 2007-2012. The Yellow Jackets also played in 2014 NCAA Tournament. In 2012, the Jackets made history under Joseph’s direction, advancing to the program’s first-ever Sweet 16. Joseph owns a 7-8 record in the post season and this is her second trip to the WNIT Tournament as a head coach.

SERIES vs. tulane
This will be the fifth meeting between Georgia Tech and Tualne. The Yellow Jackets have won all four previous meetings, including two at home. The last time the Yellow Jackets faced the Green Wave was on Jan. 4, 2009 when Tech won 69-52 at home. Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton was an assistant coach for Georgia Tech from 1990-94. The Yellow Jackets won the NWIT in 1992 when Stockton was an assistant coach.

acc scoring title
If senior Aaliyah Whiteside continues to lead the ACC in scoring, she will be only the second Yellow Jacket to capture the ACC scoring title. The scoring title is determined at the conclusion of the post season after all games are played. The only other Jacket to lead the ACC in scoring at the conclusion of the season was Dolores Bootz in 1988. She averaged 20.6 ppg over 27 games.

Whiteside is currently averaging 19.3 points per game. She has 1,555 career points and ranks ninth on Tech’s all-time scoring list.

Georgia Tech’s All-Time Scoring List

1. Tyaunna Marshall (2011-14) 2,129
2. Kisha Ford (1994-97) 1,955
3. Karen Lounsbury (1989-92) 1,743
4. Dolores Bootz (1985-88) 1,723
5. Carla Munnion (1995-98) 1,671
6. Chioma Nnamaka (2005-08) 1,593
7. Alex Montgomery (2008-11) 1,565
8. Joyce Pierce (1991-93) 1,557
9. Aaliyah Whiteside (2012-pres.) 1,555
10. Janie Mitchell (2005-08) 1,422
     Kate Brandt (1981-84)  1,422

bringing in the hardware
The awards have been rolling in for senior Aaliyah Whiteside. Whiteside was named First Team All-ACC by the Blue Ribbon Panel and the ACC’s head coaches. Whiteside is the sixth Jacket to earn All-ACC First Team accolades. Whiteside’s appointment on the All-ACC First Team marks the fourth-straight year Tech has had a player honored on the first team. This is the first postseason award for Whiteside.

Whiteside is the third Jacket under Joseph to garner the accolade joining Tyaunna Marshall (2013, 2014) and Kaela Davis (2015). Tech’s three other All-ACC first team members are Kisha Ford (1997), Sonja Mallory (2003) and Ida Neal (1989).

She was also named the Georgia College Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, marking the seventh-straight year a Yellow Jacket has won the award. A Tech student-athlete has claimed the honor in eight of the last nine years. Whiteside’s honor marks the eighth time a Jacket has been named the Georgia Women’s College Player of the Year under head coach MaChelle Joseph. Overall, 10 Yellow Jackets have been named the Georgia Women’s College Player of the Year a total of 11 times.

600 and counting
Against Mercer, senior Aaliyah Whiteside moved into second all-time on Tech’s single season scoring list with 619 points. She surpassed former Yellow Jacket Tyaunna Marshall’s 609 points for second. She is 34 points away from surpassing Kaela Davis’s 652 points that were scored during 2014-15. Whiteside is just the third Yellow Jackets to score 600 points in a season. Her 619 points are 33rd in the NCAA. Whiteside has scored in double figures in 30 out of 32 games and 37 out of the past 39 games. She has led Tech in scoring 22 times this season. Whiteside has scored 31 points on two seperate occasions this season and has 17 20+ points games this year.

rogers back to her old ways

Senior Roddreka Rogers has been back to her old ways. She recorded a double-double in four of the past nine games – at Syracuse, vs. Miami, at Duke and vs. Mercer. She has a team-best seven double-doubles this season. Rogers has scored in double-figures in six of the past nine games and has 24 career double-doubles which is tied for first among active players in the ACC. She has led the Jackets in rebounding in 17 games his season. Her 7.7 rebounds per game are sixth in the ACC and her 7.7 rebounds per game in conference play finished at ninth. She averages 3.0 offensive rebounds per game and 4.7 defensive rebounds per game.