Nov. 27, 2015
CANCUN, Mexico – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (4-2) fell short to Northern Iowa (3-1), 61-58, in its first game of the Cancun Challenge on Thursday night.
“Obviously we are disappointed in the loss but I was proud of the way that we bounced back, being down 13,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “We fought our way back and had an opportunity to win at the end. We had two wide open threes with our two best 3-point shooters, but we just weren’t able to get it to go down.”
How it Happened
With 2:39 remaining in the third period, Georgia Tech found itself in a 13 point hole, down 49-36 to Northern Iowa. Whiteside would score four unanswered points to close out the period and set up Georgia Tech’s fourth quarter comeback.
Down 51-42 at the start of the fourth period, the Yellow Jackets came out strong, going on an 8-1 run to erase their deficit to just two points, 52-50, with 6:09 on the clock. The Jackets were right on the Panthers’ heels until freshman Ciani Cryor and senior Aaliyah Whiteside each intercepted a pass and turned it into two points on the other end on back-to-back plays to knot the score at 57-57 with 1:40 on the clock.
With 34.6 on the clock, Whiteside was fouled going up for a shot and made the second attempt of her two free throws to give Tech the 59-58 lead. However, Northern Iowa’s Ellie Herzberg would go 4-for-4 from the free throw line and put the Panthers ahead 61-58 with 12 seconds left. On the ensuing Georgia Tech possession, both Whiteside’s and junior Katarina Vuckovic’s 3-point attempts fell short and the Yellow Jackets suffered its second loss of the season.
Rogers’ Second Straight Double-Double
Senior Roddreka Rogers registered her second-straight double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds. Rogers has 19 double-doubles in her career, which leads all active-ACC players . She has led the Jackets in rebounding in three games this season. Rogers has recorded at least 10 rebounds in three games this season and 30 times in her career.
Whiteside’s 20 Point Streak
Senior Aaliyah Whiteside’s streak of scoring at least 20 points was extended against the Panthers after scoring 22 points. Whiteside has scored at least 20 points in every game this season, which is the most by any player in the ACC. She is averaging a team-high 21.7 points per game.
Tech Tidbits
- This was the first meeting in school history against Northern Iowa.
- After scoring 22 points against Northern Illinois, Whiteside has now scored in double-figures in 13 straight games, dating back to last season, and all six games this season.
- With her 10 made free throws, surpassed Karen Lounsbury (320) for seventh on Tech’s all-time free throws made list and has 325 made free throws in her career. Whiteside went 10-for-11 from the free throw line against the Panthers. She needs 16 more made free throws to move into sixth past Ida Neal’s 340.
- Senior Roddrea Rogers recorded her second-straight double-double of the season, leading the Yellow Jackets on the boards with 13 rebounds and scoring 13 points. She has scored in double-figures four times this season and grabbed at least 20 rebounds on three different occasions this season.
Next Up
The Yellow Jackets face High Point on Friday at 6:30 p.m. for their last game in the Cancun Challenge. All games will be streamed live on YouTube Live and can be heard on WREK 91.1/WREK.org. Click here to find all the live streaming and live stats information.
