@GTWBB Hosts #3 Notre Dame Thursday

Jan. 27, 2016

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The doors will open a half hour early at 5:30 p.m. for Thursday’s game. Parking will be available in Family Housing (ER66) and East O’Keefe. ADA parking will be on Fowler Street between 10th and Eighth Street. McCamish is pass list only for this game. 

STARTING FIVE

1. Georgia Tech returns to McCamish Pavilion Thursday night to host #3 Notre Dame at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports South/RSN with Jenn Hildreth and Debbie Antonelli on the call. The game can also be heard on WREK 91.1 with Richard Musterer and Kurt Hoyt.
2. This will be the second meeting against Notre Dame this season. The Yellow Jackets fell to the Fighting Irish in South Bend, 85-76, in this season’s ACC-opener. Tech is in search of its first win against Notre Dame in school history. The Irish have won all five previous meetings.
3. Senior Aaliyah Whiteside leads the ACC with her 21.8 points per game which also is 12th in the nation. She is also Tech’s leading rebounder with 7.5 boards per game, which is seventh in the ACC. She has scored at least 21 points in 15 of 20 games and had four-straight double-doubles this season. She scored her 1,000th career point against Southeastern Louisiana.
4. The Yellow Jackets are shooting a league-high 74.0 percent from the free throw line. Whiteside leads the team in free throw percentage with 82.9 percent (136-164). Whiteside’s 136 made free throws are third in the nation and her 164 free throw attempts are third in the NCAA. Whiteside is shooting 81.5 percent (22-27) from the charity stripe when fouled in the final five minutes of the game.
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 244-157 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 89-99 in her career in ACC play.

a win would…
– Be the first win against Notre Dame in program history at put the all-time series record at 5-1 in favor of Notre Dame.
– Be the first time the Yellow Jackets defeated a top-10 opponent since a 71-70 victory against No. 8/8 North Carolina on Jan. 6. 2011
– Be the first time Tech defeats a top-25 opponent since the Jackets upset No. 16/17 Duke last season, 71-62, on Feb. 26, 2015
– Give the Yellow Jackets an overall ACC record of 191-341 and an 90-99 record in the ACC under Coach Joseph.
– Be the 245th win of Coach Joseph’s career and give her a 245-157 overall record.
– Give Georgia Tech its 620th program win and put Georgia Tech at 620-584 overall over 41 years of women’s basketball.

super scorer
Senior Aaliyah Whiteside led the Yellow Jackets to victory at Clemson, scoring a career-best 31 points for the second time in five games. She scored 31 points earlier this month on Jan. 7 in a loss at NC State. Whiteside is averaging a league-high 24.9 points per game in ACC contents and a league-high 21.8 points per game overall. Her 21.8 scoring average ranks 12th in the nation and her 435 total points are first in the ACC and ninth in the NCAA. Whiteside is one of two ACC players to record two 30+ games this season.

the last meeting vs. notre dame
Three Yellow Jackets scored in double-figures in the nine point loss at Notre Dame on Dec. 30. Freshman Ciani Cryor led Tech with a career-high 19 points while seniors Roddreka Rogers and Aaliyah Whiteside each scored 17 points a piece.  The  Jackets came back from being down 21 to come within 11 of Notre Dame, but the Irish held off the Jackets for the win.

Miss do-it-all
Senior Aaliyah Whiteside has proved night in and night out that she is an all-around team player. Whiteside has scored 31 points in two ACC games this season (at NC State and at Clemson). Whiteside has scored in double-figures in every game besides one this season and she has hit the double digit mark before half time in 13 out of 20 games. Whiteside has led the Jackets in scoring in 14 games and in rebounding in 11 games.

Whiteside leads the Jackets in three stat categories – points (21.8), rebounds (7.5) and assists (3.1). She leads the ACC in scoring and has a league-high 15 20+ point games. Her 7.5 rebounds per game rank seventh in the ACC. Whiteside is also leading the conference in scoring in just ACC games with 24.9 points per game. She is also grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game against ACC opponents which is ninth in the conference.

VUCKOVIC’S GROWTH
Junior Katarina Vuckovic has had quite the transformation from her sophomore to junior seasons. Vuckovic is averaging 7.3 points per game this season. She is averaging 4.9 rebounds per game, which is third on the Jackets. She scored a career-high 20 points at Georgia and has scored in double figures in eight of the past 19 games. During her first two seasons, she averaged 5.1 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game.

After going scoreless for four-straight games, Vuckovic was back to her old ways at Clemson, scoring 10 points, including two 3-pointers, and grabbing six rebounds.

Approaching Milestones
Senior Aaliyah Whiteside became the 29th Yellow Jacket to score 1,000 career points on Nov. 18. Whiteside accomplished the feat in 97 career games. Whiteside’s 1,371 career points rank 11th on GT’s all-time list. To crack the top 10 of Tech’s all-time leading scorers, Whiteside needs to score 51 more points.

She is also quickly moving up Tech’s all-time career free throws made list. She began this season ranked 10th with 286 made free throws but has quickly catapulted to second with 422 made free throws. She needs nine more to become Tech’s all-time leader in free throws made. She’s made 136 so far this season.

Fellow senior Roddreka Rogers cracked the top 10 of Georgia Tech’s all-time leading rebounding list at Indiana. Rogers has accumulated 847 boards in her four seasons so far which  puts her in fifth. In order to become GT’s all-time leading rebounder, Rogers needs 193 boards this season. She tallied 335 in her junior year.

welcome back zaire

Sophomore Zaire O’Neil made her first appearance this season against Samford after recovering from a knee injury that happened at the end of last season. O’Neil entered into the game with 2:00 minutes left in the first period, scoring four points to help the Yellow Jackets to a 13-10 advantage. She finished the game with six points, one assist and one
steal. It was also O’Neil’s 20th birthday. In eight appearances, she is averaging 6.5 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game. O’Neil  has been key in Tech’s two ACC victories this season. Against North Carolina, she scored a season-high 14 points and grabbed three rebounds. She also hit double figures at Clemson, tallying 13 points. Nine of her points came in the fourth period as the Jackets held off the Tigers.