@GTWBB Opens Up ACC Play at #7 Louisville

Jan. 1, 2015

The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team gets ACC play started on Friday at #7 Louisville at 7 p.m. on ESPN3. It will be the first ACC game for Louisville in school history.

a win would…
– Be the first-ever against Louisville
– Be the 224th win of Coach Joseph’s career, making her the all-time winningest coach in Georgia Tech history
– Give Georgia Tech its 599th program win, putting it one win away from reaching the 600 win milestone
– 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 at top-25 opponent on the road since defeating No. 23/RV North Carolina, 56-64 on Feb. 12, 2012
– Make the Yellow Jackets 5-7 in ACC Openers under Joseph 

TECH TIDBITS
– Senior Sydney Wallace became the 27th Yellow Jacket to score 1,000 career points after recording 10 points against Lipscomb
– Tech is currently on a five-game winning streak heading into ACC play
– Tech’s four losses to teams receiving votes or ranked in top 25 polls
– In 10 wins, Tech has averaged 23.5 margin of victory
– In nine of Tech’s 14 games, at least one player as scored 20 points ore more. In three 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.
– The Jackets have won the rebounding battle in 11 of their 14 games.
– The Jackets are averaging 83.5 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.

by the numbers
An inside look at the statistical differences in the Yellow Jackets’ wins and losses:
– In wins, Tech is averaging 83.9 ppg. In losses, the Jackets have averaged 62.2 ppg.
– In wins, Tech allows only 60.4 ppg. In losses, opponents have tallied 71.5 ppg.
– In wins, opponents are shooting only 37.3 percent from the field. In losses, opponents are shooting at 46.4 percent.
– In wins, Tech is out-rebounding opponents by 16.6 boards per game. In losses, Tech is out-rebounded by opponents by 4.7 rebounds per game.
– In wins, Tech is averaging 19 free throw attempts per game. In losses, the Jackets are only getting 15 attempts from the stripe.
– In wins, Davis is averaging 22.9 ppg and O’Neil is averaging 13.0 ppg. Davis averages 17.0 ppg and O’Neil averages 8.5 ppg in losses.

wallace nets 1,000th career point
Senior Sydney Wallace became the 27th Yellow Jacket to score 1,000 career points after scoring 10 against Lipscomb on Dec. 29,2014. Wallace entered into the game needing just nine points to join the 1,000 point club. In her career, Wallace has made 167 3-pointers in her career. 

acc openers
Under head coach MaChelle Joseph, the Yellow Jackets are 5-6 in ACC opening games. The Jackets have opened up with Duke the past two years and travel to Louisville for the Cardinals’ inaugural ACC game on Friday. 

This will be only the second time in the last nine years that Georgia Tech hasn’t opened the ACC season with a team from the state of North Carolina.

on the way to 1,000

Senior Sydney Wallace became the 27th Yellow Jacket to score 1,000 career points against Lispcomb on Dec. 29, 2014, but she is not the only one this season that was close to hitting the milestone. Sophomore Kaela Davis has 891 career points, which puts her 109 points away from 1,000. Davis has played in 46 career games. The record for the fastest player to reach 1,000 points is 55 games. To become the fastest player to reach 1,000, Davis will have to average 13.6 points per game. She is averaging 21.2 ppg.

kd has a career-day, again
Sophomore Kaela Davis set a new career-high against LA Tech, scoring 35 points. Her 35 points marked her third 30 point of her career and second of the season. Against Alabama State on Dec. 17, Davis scored 33 points, including six 3-pointers. Her first career 30 point game was against Clemson on January 30, 2014 when she scored 31 points for a previous career-high. Davis ranks 19th in the NCAA with her 21.2 ppg. 

gt holiday tournament champions
The Yellow Jackets won the Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament for the second year in a row, defeating Lipscomb, 71-53, and LA Tech, 96-81. Tech’s 96 points scored against LA Tech marked the fourth time this season that the Jackets have scored at least 90 points against an opponent. 

Sophomore Kaela Davis averaged an impressive 31.5 ppg during the Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament. Davis was named the MVP of the tournament. Freshman Zaire O’Neil was also a strong force for the Jackets, scoring 20 points against LA Tech for her second 20 point game of the season. O’Neil missed the game against Lipscomb due to an injury.

With freshman point guard Antonia Peresson out for the Jackets during the tournament, fellow freshman PG Imani Tilford stepped up big for Tech. Tilford played an average of 30 minutes per game in the tournament when her previous season high was nine minutes. She led the Jackets in assists against Lipscomb with six and steals against LA Tech with five. Both O’Neil and Tilford were honored on the all-tournament team.

approaching milestones
Joseph enters her 12th season at the helm of the Yellow Jackets with a career record of 223-138. Joseph is one win away from becoming the all-time winningest coach in Georgia Tech history. Former coach Agnus Berenato is currently the all-time winningest coach with a record of 223-209 in 15 seasons.

Georgia Tech has 598 program wins, putting them two wins away from reaching the 600 win milestone. 

NEXT UP
Georgia Tech returns home to host Clemson on Sunday at 2 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion.