@GTWBB Faces #6 Notre Dame on ESPN3

Jan. 21, 2015

The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (12-7, 2-3 ACC) hits the road, traveling to #6/5 Notre Dame (17-2, 4-1 ACC) for a Thursday night matchup at 7 p.m. on ESPN3. 

A WIN WOULD…
– Be the 226th win of Coach Joseph’s career, making her 226-141 overall
– Be the first win against Notre Dame in program history
– Give Joseph a 1-1 record against Notre Dame
– Give Georgia Tech its 601st program win and put Georgia Tech at 601-566 overall over 40 years of women’s basketball
– Be the eighth win in the past 11 games for Tech
– Snap a two-game conference losing streak
– Be the first win against a top-10 opponent since Tech defeated No. 8/8 North Carolina, 71-70, on Jan. 6, 2011
– Be the first win against a top-25 opponent since the Jackets defeated No. 13/11 North Carolina, 94-91, last season on Feb. 6, 2014
– Be the first win against a top-25 opponent on the road since defeating No. 23/RV North Carolina, 56-64 on Feb. 12, 2012

TECH TIDBITS
– Senior Sydney Wallace became the 27th Yellow Jacket to score 1,000 career points after recording 10 points against Lipscomb
– Tech’s seven losses are to teams receiving votes or ranked in top 25 polls
– In 12 wins, Tech has averaged a 20.5 margin of victory
– In 12 of Tech’s 19 games, at least one player has scored 20 points or more. In four games, two Yellow Jackets reached the 20 point mark in the same game.
– Kaela Davis, Aaliyah Whiteside, Zaire O’Neil and Sydney Wallace are all averaging double-figures.
– Davis ranks third in the ACC with her 20.5 ppg average and 23rd in the NCAA.
– The Jackets have won the rebounding battle in 14 of their 19 games and tied their opponents in rebounding in one game.  
– The Jackets are averaging 81.4 points per game when playing at home this season.
– Dating back to the 2012-13 season, Tech has won 18 out of its 21 home non-conference games. Tech’s loss to Georgia was its first nonconference home loss since Dec. 2, 2012 against UGA.
– Tech only committed seven fouls against Central Arkansas, which ties for the third-least amount of fouls committed in a game in Georgia Tech history. They only sent UCA to the foul line once the entire game.
– Tech also only sent Lipscomb to the foul line once while committing 11 fouls. 

FAST TRACK TO 1,000 POINTS
Sophomore Kaela Davis has 983 career points, which puts her 17 points away from becoming the 28th Yellow Jacket to reach 1,000. Davis, who has played in 51 career games, is on track to become the fastest player to reach the 1,000 point milestone. Dolores Bootz (1985-88) and Joyce Pierce (1991-93) both reached the milestone in 55 games. To become the fastest player in GT history to reach 1,000, Davis will need to average 5.7 ppg. She is currently averaging a team-best 20.5 points per game.Davis would be the second Yellow Jacket to achieve the feat this year for senior Sydney Wallace became the 27th Yellow Jacket to score 1,000 career points against Lipscomb on Dec. 29, 2014. 

THROWBACK TO THE LAST TIME THEY MET
During the last meeting between Georgia Tech and Notre Dame, the Yellow Jackets fell to the #2 ranked Irish, 87-72. Aaliyah Whiteside led the Yellow Jackets with a then-career high 21 points. Former Jacket Tyaunna Marshall had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jewell Loyd scored 27 points for the Irish. Kaela Davis added 15 points for Tech. 

#3 FOR 30
Against Pittsburgh, sophomore Kaela Davis scored 31 points for her third 30 point game of the season and fourth of her career.  Davis joins four other Yellow Jackets who have recorded at least four 30 point games in their careers – Kisha Ford (six), Dolores Bootz (six), Karen Lounsbury (six) and Joyce Pierce (four). Davis is also just one of four Yellow Jackets to record at least three 30 point games in a single-season:

– Kaela Davis – 3 in 2014-15
– Kisha Ford – 3 in 1996-97
– Dolores Bootz – 5 in 1987-88
– Karen Lounsbury – 4 in 1988-89

STEPPING UP BIG
After losing senior Sydney Wallace for the season because of a torn ACL, junior Aaliyah Whiteside has stepped up in a bigger scoring role. Before getting injured during the Lipscomb game, Wallace was the second leading scorer on the Yellow Jackets, averaging 13.1 points per game. Since the Lipscomb game, Whiteside has scored at least 14 points a game, averaging 17.8 points per game the past six games. Whiteside has scored at least 20 points in two of the past three games, scoring 20 at Boston College and leading Tech with 22 points at #8 North Carolina. 

Whiteside is averaging 18.0 points per game in ACC play and 7.2 boards per game, which are both second on the Jackets. She is also leading the Jackets in assists per game in ACC games with 3.2 per game. Whiteside is also averaging 39.6 minutes per game in conference play.

REBOUNDING MACHINE
Junior Roddreka Rogers has been a huge presence on the boards for the Jackets this season, averaging 9.7 rebounds per game which ranks fifth in the ACC. During conference play, Rogers is averaging a double-double with 12.4 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game. She leads the ACC in rebounds per game in conference play and her 12.4 ppg is tied for 23rd. 

Rogers has six double-doubles this season, with three coming against conference opponents – Clemson, North Carolina and Pittsburgh. She has led the Jackets in rebounding in 13 games and has had nine games in double-figure rebounding this season.

ACC ROAD WARRIORS
The Yellow Jackets are on the road for five of their first seven ACC games, traveling to Louisville, Boston College, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Virginia. The Jackets willl travel 3,066 miles during the month of January. Tech is 1-2 in ACC road games so far. 

JOSEPH VS. THE RANKED
Since MaChelle Joseph took the reigns of the Yellow Jacket program prior to the 2003-04 season, Tech has beaten 11 ranked opponents. All-time, Georgia Tech has 33 wins against AP ranked teams with eight of those coming on the road.

JOSEPH IS ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH
With a 74-66 win vs. Clemson on Jan. 4, 2015, head coach MaChelle Joseph became the all-time winningest coach in Georgia Tech women’s basketball history with a career record of 225-141. Joseph surpassed Agnus Berenato’s record of 223-209, which Berenato accomplished in 15 seasons. Joseph is in the middle of her 12th season at the helm of the Jackets and owns the highest overall winning percentage (.615) and ACC winning percentage (.488) in GT women’s basketball history. 

DOWN TO THE WIRE
The Yellow Jackets are 1-2 in games decided by three points or less this season. In their game against BC, which featured 10 lead changes, freshman Zaire O’Neil’s offensive board and put-back with1:02 left secured the win for the Yellow Jackets after the score was tied at 76-76 with 2:08 on the clock. Prior to O’Neil’s game-winning layup, sophomore Kaela Davis had hit a baseline jumper to break the 76-76 tie. The score was tied 11 times in the game against Boston College. 

Georgia Tech’s other close calls were against Minnesota when it lost, 72-69 and the 75-72 overtime loss against Pittsburgh.

FREE BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech played in its first overtime game at #16/16 Michigan State on Dec. 4 since falling to Clemson on Jan. 30, 2014, 80-79 in OT.  The Yellow Jackets also went to overtime against Pitt, losing 75-72. Overall, the Yellow Jackets are 18-23 when playing in OT. Under Joseph, Tech has a 4-11 record in overtime. When playing more than one overtime period, the Jackets are 2-5.

WATCH OUT FOR WHITESIDE
Junior Aaliyah Whiteside has scored at least 14 points in six-straight games – vs. LA Tech (17), at Louisville (17), vs. Clemson (17), at Boston College (20), at North Carolina (22) and vs. Pitt (14). She led the Yellow Jackets in scoring against Clemson, at Louisville and at North Carolina. At Louisville, Whiteside recorded her second double-double of the season with 17 points and a team-best 10 rebounds. She recorded her second and third 20 point games of the season at Boston College and at North Carolina. 

The junior is averaging a team-best 2.5 assists per game and her 12.7 points per game are third on the Jackets. She has scored in double-figures in seven of the past nine games and 12 games this season.  Whiteside has also been cleaning up the glass this season, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game.

MISS. DOUBLE-DOUBLE
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 17 rebounds vs. Morgan State. She then recorded her third double-double of the season against Grambling State, grabbing a team-high 15 rebounds and scoring 10 points. Her fourth double-double of the season came against Clemson with 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. She recorded back-to-back double-doubles again, notching one at North Carolina (13 points, 11 rebounds) and vs. Pittsburgh (14 points, 13 rebounds). Rogers’ six double-doubles are fourth in the ACC and her 11 career double-doubles are tied for seventh among all active ACC players.

When asked about her goals in the beginning of the season, Rogers stated that she wanted to average a double-double as a junior. Her 9.7 rebounds per game rank fifth in the ACC and 52nd in the NCAA. She has led the Jackets in rebounding in 13 games.  

NEXT UP
The Yellow Jackets stay on the road, traveling to Virginia on Sunday at 2 p.m.