@GTWBB Clashes With Georgia on Sunday

Nov. 21, 2014

THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (3-0) hosts in-state rival #24/rv Georgia (3-0) on Sunday at 2 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion. The game will be aired on ESPN3 or fans can listen live on 91.1 WREK FM. 

Georgia Tech students are welcome to come celebrate Thanksgiving early and enjoy a pre-game turkey feast prior to the Georgia game while supplies last. As always, kids get in free on Sundays. Please not that there will be no inflatables or a DJ on Sunday due to inclement weather. Fans that bring canned goods to donate will receive $3 admission.

a win would…
–  Be the fifth overall for the Yellow Jackets against Georgia
– Snap a three game-losing streak to the Bulldogs
– Be the first win against UGA since a 69-53 win on Dec. 5, 2010 in Atlanta.
– Give the Jackets a 4-2 record at home against Georgia under Coach Joseph
– Be the 217th win of Coach Joseph’s career, putting her 7 wins shy of becoming the all-time winningest coach in Georgia Tech history
– Give the Jackets a 4-0 record for the fifth time under Coach Joseph
– Give Georgia Tech its 592nd program win, putting it 8 wins away from reaching the 600 win milestone.

Scouting the bulldogs
The 24/rv Georgia Bulldogs enter into the contest with a 3-0 record after defeating Morgan State, TCU and Ohio State. The Bulldogs are led on offense by junior Tiaria Griffin who is averaging 15.7 points per game. Griffin led the scoring effort at Ohio State, scoring 16 points for her third-straight double figure effort. Junior Shacobia Barbee is the Bulldogs’ top-rebounder, averaging 8.7 boards per game and 10.7 points per game. 

Georgia Tech also faced Morgan State this nonconference season, defeating the Bears, 105-76.

whiteside’s 20,000 shots
This offseason, Whiteside made it a goal to put up 20,000 shots and dial into her training before her junior season and her extra hard work has paid off. The junior recorded her second career double-double against Kennesaw State, tying her career-high 11 rebounds and scoring 14 points. In the contest prior to Kennesaw State against Morgan State, Whiteside led the Jackets in scoring for the sixth time in her career with a career-high 26 points. 

Whiteside is averaging 16.3 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game, which are both rank second on the Jackets. Whiteside’s 16.3 ppg ties her for 12th in the ACC.

consistency is key
There have been some reoccurring themes throughout the Yellow Jackets’ first three victories. One Yellow Jacket has had a double-double in each game, with junior Roddreka Rogers recording two against Loyola and Morgan State and junior Aaliyah Whiteside tallying one against Kennesaw State. In all three wins, Georgia Tech has had double-figure margin of victories, with its largest being 35 in a 92-57 win at Loyola Chicago. 

Four different Jackets have led the Jackets in scoring in three games. Sophomores Kaela Davis and Katarina Vuckovic each scored a team-high 17 points at Loyola Chicago while Davis led Tech against Kennesaw State with 15 points. Whiteside was the top scorer against Morgan State.

Three Yellow Jackets have scored in double figures in all three games – Davis, senior Sydney Wallace and freshman Zaire O’Neil.

NEVER DOWN
Georgia Tech has only trailed for 4:12 this season. The only time the Yellow Jackets were behind was to Kennesaw State, with their largest deficit coming at five points. 

davis’ scoring streak
Sophomore Kaela Davis extended her double-figure scoring streak to 15-straight games after leading the Yellow Jackets with 15 points against Kennesaw State. Davis has scored in double-figures in all three games this season after notching a team-high 17 points at Loyola Chicago and dropping 22 against Morgan State. Davis has scored in double-figures in 32 games in her 35-game career.

She has led the Yellow Jackets in scoring in 17 games. Davis’ 18.0 points per game ranks sixth in the ACC and first on the Yellow Jackets. Her 9.0 rebounds per game is third-best on the team.

Sharing is caring
The Yellow Jackets are averaging 16.0 assists per game which is seventh-best in the ACC. The Jackets dished out 18 assists against Loyola Chicago in their 92-57 victory. Freshman point guard Antonia Peresson led the squad with eight assists after starting in her first career game. Peresson ranks eighth in the ACC with a 4.0 assists per game average. Against Morgan State, the Jackets had 17 assists, with sophomore Kaela Davis leading the way with a career-high five helpers.

“I was really pleased with how we shared the basketball,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said following the game at Loyola.

top-10 in scoring
Georgia Tech ranks second in the ACC in scoring offense, averaging 91.3 points per game. The Jackets are just one of two teams that are averaging more than 90 points per game in the ACC, joining Florida State. Two of the 15 ACC teams have two players that rank in the top 10 in scoring. Sophomore Kaela Davis checks in at fourth with 18.0 ppg in the ACC and junior Aaliyah Whiteside tied for 12th with 16.3 ppg. 

double-doubles for rogers
Junior Roddreka Rogers opened up the 2014-15 season with back-to-back double-doubles, scoring 10 points and pulling down a team-high 13 rebounds at Loyola and tying her career-high 17 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds vs. Morgan State. The double-doubles were the sixth and seventh of her career. When asked about her goals in the beginning of the season, Rogers stated that she wanted to average a double-double as a junior. 

Raining three’s
In the opening game at Loyola Chicago, Georgia Tech made 11 3-point shots which ranks third in the Georgia Tech record books for 3-pointers made in a game. The following game, the Jackets made nine against Morgan State. Georgia Tech is tied for the ACC lead in 3-pointers made per game with an average of 8.7.

The Yellow Jackets had four players make at least two 3-point shots against Loyola and three players that made at least two from behind the arc against Morgan State. Senior Sydney Wallace is tied for second in the ACC with 2.7 3-pointers made per game 

NEXT UP
The Yellow Jackets close out a four-game homestand by welcoming Grambling State University on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. Fans that bring canned goods to donate will receive $3 admission.

–TogetherWeSwarm–