@GTWBB Travels to Syracuse on Sunday

Feb. 6, 2016

STARTING FIVE

1. Georgia Tech heads to -/23 Syracuse, fresh off of two-straight wins to face the Orange at 2 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN3 at the Carrier Dome. The game can be heard on WREK 91.1 with Richard Musterer and former Yellow Jacket Tabitha Turner.
2. This is the fourth all-time meeting between Georgia Tech and Syracuse. The Orange has won all three previous meetings including last year’s contest, 65-60, in Atlanta.
3. Senior Aaliyah Whiteside leads the ACC with her 20.7 points per game which also is 18th in the nation. She is also Tech’s leading rebounder with 7.1 boards per game, which is eighth in the ACC. She has scored at least 21 points in 15 of 23 games and had four-straight double-doubles this season. She scored her 1,000th career point against Southeastern Louisiana.
4. Junior Katarina Vuckovic has stepped up these past four games, recording double digits in three of the past four and leading the Yellow Jackets in scoring in the past two games. Vuckovic followed up her double-double against Boston College with a 15 point performance at Virginia Tech. She is averaging 11.5 ppg over the past four 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 246-158 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 91-100 in her career in ACC play.

a win would…
– Be the first win ever against the Orange. Syracuse currently leads the series, 3-0.
– Be the third-straight win for the Jackets, extending their ACC win streak to three games.
– 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 193-342 and an 92-100 record in the ACC under Coach Joseph.
– Be the 247th win of Coach Joseph’s career and give her a 247-158 overall record.
– Give Georgia Tech its 622nd program win and put Georgia Tech at 622-585 overall over 41 years of women’s basketball.

vuckovic re-emerges
After going scoreless for four-straight games from NC State to Virginia, Vuckovic has came roaring back, averaging 11.5 points per game over the past four games. Vuckovic was back to her old ways at Clemson, scoring 10 points, including two 3-pointers, and grabbing six rebounds. She led the Jackets in rebounding vs. #3 Notre Dame with eight rebounds and led the Yellow Jackets with a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) in a win against Boston College. She followed up her double-double by leading the Jackets again in scoring, tallying 15 points, including three 3-pointers, in a win at Virginia Tech. In wins, Vuckovic is averaging 9.8 points per game and 5.1 rebounds.

whiteside breaks georgia tech’s school record
Senior Aaliyah Whiteside made her 431st free throw of her career against Boston College, breaking Georgia Tech’s school record of career made free throws. Joyce Pierce (1991-93) previously held the record with 430 made free throws. Whiteside began this season ranked 10th on list with 286 but quickly catapulted up the list and currently has made 436 shots from the foul line. Whiteside ranks second in the nation in made free throws and third in attempted free throws this season. Whiteside is shooting 84.8 percent (28-33) from the charity stripe when fouled in the final five minutes of the game.

 “That just shows that she is someone who does the dirty work. She goes in and posts up and gets loose balls, offensive rebounds and put backs. You don’t get fouled that much just on offense. You have to make those things happen with hustle points.” – Coach Jo on Whiteside breaking the all-time free throws made record

Whiteside has also shot up the all-time scoring list. She started off this season with 936 career points. On Nov. 18 she became the 29th Yellow Jacket to score her 1,000th career point. Whiteside has gone from 29th to 11th on GT’s all-time scoring list with her 1,413 career points and is 10 points away from cracking the top 10 and surpassing Kate Brandt’s 1,422 career points for 10th. She is also tied for 10th on Tech’s career 3-pointers made list with 101 made 3-pointers.

the last meeting vs. SYRACUSE
Three Yellow Jackets scored in double digits as Georgia Tech fell for the third-straight time to the Orange. Aaliyah Whiteside scored 17 points while pulling down six boards. Zaire O’Neil recorded a career-high five blocks while tallying 10 points and six rebounds. The Orange jumped out ahead early with a 12-2 lead and the Yellow Jackets couldn’t quite catch their opponents for the remainder of the game.

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 21.6 points per game in ACC contests and a league-high 20.7 points per game overall. Her 20.7 scoring average ranks 18th in the nation and her 477 total points are first in the ACC and 11th in the NCAA. Whiteside is one of two ACC players to record two 30+ games this season.