@GTWBB Hosts #9 Florida State in Friday Night Tilt

Jan. 29, 2015

The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (13-8, 3-4 ACC) kicks off a four-game homestand with #9/9 Florida State (19-2, 6-1 ACC) on Friday at 7 p.m. on RSN/Fox and ESPN3. 

#5THINGS
– Sophomore Kaela Davis became the fastest GT player to score 1,000 career points after scoring 24 pts at Notre Dame. She broke the record of 55 games, scoring 1,000 points in 52 games.
– Junior Roddreka Rogers has a team-best six double-doubles after recording back-to-back double-doubles at UNC and against Pittsburgh.
– Head coach MaChelle Joseph became GT’s all-time winningest coach after the Jackets defeated Clemson on Jan. 4. She has a career record of 226-142.
– Senior Sydney Wallace became the 27th Jacket to score 1,000 career points after scoring 10 points against Lipscomb.
– This is the 43rd meeting in school history vs. Florida State. Tech is 8-11 vs. the ‘Noles at home.

a win would…
– Be the 227th win of Coach Joseph’s career, making her 227-142 overall
– Be the second-straight win against Florida State, marking the first time the Jackets have won back-to-back games against the Seminoles since 2004-05
– Give Joseph a 7-8 record against Florida State
– Give Georgia Tech its 602nd program win and put Georgia Tech at 602-568 overall over 40 years of women’s basketball
– 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 at home since the Jackets defeated No. 13/11 North Carolina, 94-91, last season on Feb. 6, 2014

#SWARMSTATS
– Sophomore Kaela Davis became the 28th Yellow Jacket and fastest player at Tech to reach 1,000 points after scoring 24 points at Notre Dame. She played in 52 game – the previous record was 55 games
– Senior Sydney Wallace became the 27th Yellow Jacket to score 1,000 career points after recording 10 points against Lipscomb
– Tech’s eight losses are to teams receiving votes or ranked in top 25 polls
– In 13 wins, Tech has averaged a 18.4 margin of victory
– In 14 of Tech’s 21 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 second in the ACC with her 20.5 ppg average and 17th in the NCAA.
– Davis’ 21.0 ppg in ACC play leads the conference while Roddreka Rogers’ 10.1 rebounds per game is third in ACC play.
– The Jackets have won the rebounding battle in 15 of their 21 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.
– The Yellow Jackets have scored first in 17 of their 21 games. Georgia Tech is 12-5 when they score the first points of the game.  
– 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.
– The Yellow Jackets are averaging 31.5 points per game in the paint, which is 42 percent of their overall points average (75.9).

fast track to 1,000 points
Sophomore Kaela Davis became the 28th Yellow Jacket to reach 1,000 career points after scoring 24 at Notre Dame. Davis, scored 1,000 points in 52 career games, is the fastest player in GT women’s basketball history to reach the 1,000 point milestone. Dolores Bootz (1985-88) and Joyce Pierce (1991-93) both reached the milestone in 55 games. Davis is 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.  Davis currently has 1,038 points. 

free points
At Virginia, the Yellow Jackets shot 100 percent from the free throw line (14-14) marking the first time the Jackets have gone 100 percent from the charity stripe since Virginia and Georgia Tech met on Jan. 13, 2011 and Tech shot 11-for-11.  The Yellow Jackets are shooting 73.7 percent from the free throw line as a team, which ranks third in the ACC and 38th in the NCAA. Tech is shooting 79.3 percent from the foul line in crunch time (the final five minutes of the game). Five Yellow Jackets are shooting 80 percent or better from the charity stripe this season, led by junior Aaliyah Whiteside who is shooting team-best 82 percent  (73-for-89) which ranks eighth in the ACC.

THROWBACK to the last time they met
Georgia Tech won last year’s meeting in Tallahassee, 86-78. The Yellow Jackets were led by junior Sydney Wallace, who scored a season-high 22 points against the Seminoles. Wallace’s 22 points were scored all in the first half as she shot 7-for-9 from the field and was 5-for-6 behind the three point line. Wallace took a hard fall in the opening seconds of the second half, and was unable to play the remainder of the game. Kaela Davis added 18 points against Florida State. The Yellow Jackets used an explosive first half to take a 52-31 lead at the half and held on to capture the victory.

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

– Kaela Davis – 4 in 2014-15
– Dolores Bootz – 5 in 1987-88
– Karen Lounsbury – 4 in 1988-89
 
davis bounces back
Following a six-point performance, her second lowest point total in a single-game in her career, sophomore Kaela Davis has been red hot, averaging 28.7 points per game over the past three games. She scored 31 points in two of those games (Pitt and at Virginia) and totaled 24 points at #6 Notre Dame. At Virginia, Davis scored 46 percent of Tech’s 68 points. She is responsible for 28 percent of the Jackets’ points this season (444-of-1.587). She is averaging 21.1 points per game, which is second in the ACC and 17th in the nation. Davis is averaging 21.0 points per game during conference play, which leads all ACC players. 

two for 1,000
Senior Sydney Wallace and sophomore Kaela Davis are the fifth pair of teammates to reach 1,000 career points in the same season. They are the first duo since Brigitte Ardossi and Alex Montgomery each reached 1,000 career points in the 2009-10 season. Two Jackets have acheived the milestone in a single season three seasons under Joseph’s direction – 2006-07, 2009-10, 2014-15. 

rewriting the record book
With her 1,038 career points, sophomore Kaela Davis checks in at 25th on Georgia Tech’s all-time scoring list. Also on that list is senior Sydeny Wallace who is tied for 26th with 1,001 career points. Both Jackets are also on the 3-point field goals made in a career chart, with Wallace in sixth (167 ) and Davis in eighth (130). Davis’ 444 points this season currently ranks sixth on the single-season list for a sophomore a Georgia Tech. Junior Roddreka Rogers’ 201 rebounds this season ties her for ninth on the single-season rebounds for a Yellow Jacket in their junior season.