Dec. 20, 2014
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (8-4) edged St. Francis Brooklyn (3-8), 65-59, at the Pope Physical Educational Center on Saturday afternoon.
“We didn’t play particularly well but we played well enough to win on the road in a tough environment,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “It was really crowded. I thought that we struggled offensively, but we got it done on the defensive end when we needed to. It’s one of those things that when you are on the road you have to expect the unexpected. That’s going to help get us ready for ACC play.”
With the win, Joseph is now three wins away from becoming the all-time winningest coach in Georgia Tech history. Joseph has a career record of 221-138 after today’s victory.
Sophomore Kaela Davis scored a team-high 19 points, leading the team on offense for the eighth time this season with 19 points. Davis has scored in double figures in every game this season and in 41 out of her 44 game career. She also recorded a career-high six steals against the Terriers.
With her 14 points against the Terriers, senior Sydney Wallace is now nine points away from becoming the 27th Yellow Jacket to score 1,000 career points. She has 991 career points.
Sophomore Roddreka Rogers led the team on the boards for the eighth time this season, pulling down 11 rebounds and scoring seven points. Her 11 rebounds marked the sixth time the Rogers has had double-figure rebounds this season.
Down by as much 12 in the first half, the Jackets rallied to outscore the Terriers 10-0 in the final 3:17 of the half to take a 27-25 lead into halftime. The lead bounced back and forth in the opening minutes of the second half but back to back 3-point baskets from Davis and Wallace gave Tech a 41-36 advantage with 11:23 left in the game.
Freshman Zaire O’Neil scored five-straight points to spark 10-0 run by the Jackets that gave Tech its largest lead of the game of 11 points, 51-39 with 8:17 on the clock. The Terriers would keep it a ball game, scoring seven-straight points to pull within four points of the Jackets, 55-51.
The Jackets went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe to go ahead 61-55 with 1:31 to go. The Terriers cut Tech’s lead to four points, but the Jackets scored back-to-back baskets and preserve its 65-59 victory.
Both teams struggled with shooting in the opening minutes going a combined 3-for-15 from the floor. Back-to-back three pointers by Eilidh Simpson put St. Francis ahead, 10-4, at 14:31 in the first half. The Terriers would tack on two more 3-pointers to go ahead 18-6.
Down by 12 points, Davis would score five straight points to spark 11-3 run to cut the Jackets’ deficit to four points, 21-17. Whiteside would kick off a 10-0 run with a 3-point play that would give the Jackets its first lead since a 2-0 start 15 seconds into the game. Tech would take the 27-25 lead into halftime.
After a break for the holidays, the Yellow Jackets return to the Flats to host the Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament, featuring Harvard, LA Tech and Lipscomb on Dec. 29 and 30th. Tech faces Lipscomb at 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 29th.
–TogetherWeSwarm–
