@GTWBB Travels to FSU For Sunday Tilt

Jan. 9, 2016

STARTING FIVE

1. Georgia Tech continues play on the road, traveling to #19/15 Florida State on Sunday at 4 p.m. Fans can watch the game on RSN/Fox Sports South with Tom Werme and LaChina Robinson on the call. The game can be heard on WREK 91.1.
2. This will be the 44th all-time meeting between Georgia Tech and Florida State. The Jackets lost last year’s meeting in Atlanta, 82-62 but won the previous meeting at Florida State in 2014, 86-78. The Yellow Jackets are 11-10 when playing at Florida State.
3. Senior Aaliyah Whiteside leads the ACC with her 20.8 points per game which also is 18th in the nation. She is also Tech’s leading rebounder with 7.5 boards per game, which is 7th in the ACC. She has scored at least 21 points in 12 of 16 games and had four-straight double-doubles this season. She scored her 1,000th career point against Southeastern Louisiana.
4. Whiteside has shown no signs of slowing down – the senior scored a career-high 31points at NC State and is just one of three players in the ACC to have a 30 point game. Whiteside is averaging 24.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game in conference games.
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 242-155 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 87-96 in her career in ACC play.

a win would…
– Break a three game conference losing streak for the Yellow Jackets and give them their first ACC win of the season.
– Put the series at 23-21 in favor of Florida State.
– Be the first road win at Florida State since the Jackets won on Feb. 27, 2014, 86-78 and put Tech at 12-10 against the Seminoles on the road.
– Be the first time Tech defeats a top-25 opponent since the Jackets upset No. 16/17 last season, 71-62, on Feb. 26, 2015.
– Be the first win against a top-25 opponent on the road since a 56-54 win at No. 23/RV North Carolina on Feb. 12, 2012.
– Give the Yellow Jackets an overall ACC record of 189-339 and an 88-96 record in the ACC under Coach Joseph.
– Be the 243rd win of Coach Joseph’s career and her 398th game at the helm of the Jackets putting her just two games away from hitting the 400 mark.
– Give Georgia Tech its 618th program win and put Georgia Tech at 618-582 overall over 41 years of women’s basketball.

Miss do-it-all
Senior Aaliyah Whiteside has proved night in and night out that she is an all-round player. Whiteside scored a career-high 31 points at NC State while leading the Jackets in rebounding with nine boards and in assists with three. She is only the third player in the ACC to score at least 30 points in a game this season. The last game a Yellow Jacket scored at least 30 points was against Virginia on Jan. 25, 2015. This season, she has hit the double digit mark before half time in 10 out of 16 games and has scored in double-figures in every game besides one.

Whiteside leads the Jackets in three stat categories – points (20.8), rebounds (7.6) and assists (3.4). She leads the ACC in scoring and has a league-high 12 20+ point games. Her 7.6 rebounds per game rank 7th in the ACC and her 1.9 steals per game are 12th.

the last meeting vs. Florida state
The Yellow Jackets suffered a 20 point loss to the then-ranked #9 Seminoles at home last season. Three players scored in double-figures for Tech and Aaliyah Whiteside led the Jackets with a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Zaire O’Neil scored 10 points while Roddreka Rogers contributed eight points and six rebounds.

going hard in the paint
The Yellow Jackets have outscored eight opponents in the point and are averaging 38.6 points per game in the paint. Tech has outrebounded nine opponents this season and are 7-2 when winning the rebounding the battle. Tech’s 43.0 offensive rebound percentage is second-best in the ACC.

leading by example
With Tech’s roster featuring nine freshmen and sophomores, seniors Aaliyah Whiteside and Roddreka Rogers’ leadership is key. The veteran duo has teamed up to score 44 percent of GT’s offensive output this season and have pulled down 37.4 percent of the Jackets’ rebounds this season. Whiteside has scored at least 21 points in 12 of 16 games while Rogers has tallied three double-doubles. Whitesides’ 12 20+ point games are a league high while Rogers’ 20 career double-doubles lead the ACC.

The senior duo led the Yellow Jackets to a 60-50 victory at IUPUI. Rogers and Whiteside combined to score 48 of Tech’s 60 points and the two went a combined 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of the game to secure the victory. Whiteside scored a career-best 28 points while Rogers recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

keeping track of aaliyah
Senior Aaliyah Whiteside has scored at least 21 points in 12 out of 16 games this season. Her 12 20 point games are the most by any player in the ACC. She is averaging an ACC-high 20.8 points per game, which is 18th in the nation, and has scored 333 points so far, which is the most by an ACC player and fifth in the NCAA. Whiteside has scored at least 20 points in 19 games in her career.

After recovering from being sick, Whiteside only scored eight points against Alabama, snapping an 18-game streak of scoring at least 10 points, which dated back to last season. She followed up her eight-point game with a then career-high 28 points at IUPUI. She has scored in double figures in 22 out of 23 games.

Whiteside has four double-doubles this season and nine in her career.  Her four this season came in consecutive games from Indiana to Prairie View A&M. Against Prairie View A&M, she scored 14 points and handing out 11 assists for her first points/assists double-double. In the contest, she had nine rebounds, putting her one rebound away from a triple-double.

roddreka “rebounds” rogers

Senior Roddreka Rogers cracked the top 10 on Georgia Tech’s all-time career rebounding list with her five boards against Indiana. Rogers now has 825 career rebounds, which puts her in sixth on the all-time career list. She needs 12 more rebounds to tie Alex Montgomery for fifth with 837. Rogers is 215 rebounds away from becoming the all-time career leader in rebounds. Her career rebounding average if 7.4 rebounds per game is tied for 8th in the Georgia Tech record book.