Nov. 26, 2002
ATLANTA – Behind a career-high 17 points from junior guard Megan Isom and three other players in double-figure scoring, the Georgia Tech women’s basketball team recorded an 82-47 victory over Long Island on Tuesday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
“We’re obviously happy with the win, we did some good things tonight,” said Tech head coach Agnus Berenato. “The Kansas State game was a tough loss, but I really thought we were able to build on some of the things that we did there and we worked harder after that loss during the past week. Obviously the win is good for us, but now we need to start thinking about this weekend.”
The Yellow Jackets (2-1) took early control in the game, sprinting to a 17-4 lead just over six minutes into the contest. Isom and senior center Sonja Mallory keyed the run, both netting six points in the span. The Blackbirds (0-2) cut the margin to 17-10 two minutes later on a pair of three-pointers from freshman guard Amber Wirth. Tech finished the half on a 20-9 run to take a 37-19 lead into the intermission. In the period, Isom and Mallory each netted 12 points, with Isom hitting on three of four attempts from behind the three-point arc. The Jackets also capitalized on 15 LIU turnovers, scoring 18 points off of those miscues.
“We needed Megan Isom to break out for us and she did that tonight,” said Berenato. “She has been shooting the ball well in practice and just hadn’t been able to do it in a game. Tonight she knocked down her shots and that’s what we’ve been looking for her to do.”
The second half brought much of the same, as Tech forced four Long Island turnovers in the first 2:04 of the half and converted those into eight quick points to take a 45-22 advantage 17:43 to play. The Jackets went deep into their bench in the contest playing ten players in the contest, including five freshmen. One of those rookies, forward Kasha Terry had a break-out second half with 10 points and four rebounds, with all of the points coming in the final 2:33. Junior forward Fallon Stokes also found her rhythm in the second stanza, scoring 12 of her 17 points in the contest after the intermission.
In the game, the Yellow Jackets scored nearly half of their points off of Long Island turnovers, as Tech converted 29 turnovers into 27 points. The Jackets also were dominant in the paint, outscoring the Blackbirds 48-10 down low.
Mallory led all scorers in the game with 20 points, as she also grabbed seven rebounds. Isom and Stokes were next in the contest as each finished with 17 points, with Isom tying a career best with four three pointers to go along with her career-high scoring night. Isom also recorded a career-high six steals, the most by a Tech player since Milli Martinez had five against Duke last December. The fourth Yellow Jacket in double figures was Terry, who finished with 14 points and team highs of eight rebounds and two blocks.
“Kasha played well tonight and I think she really got comfortable at the end of the game,” said Berenato. “I think that’s the case for all of the freshman, it just will take time for them to get comfortable. I felt like Kasha, Megan (Harpring) and Ashley (Guerrant) all played the best that they have this year and that’s just from them getting more playing time and being comfortable out there.”
Amber Wirth was the leading scorer for Long Island, finishing with 17 points on five-of-10 shooting from behind the three-point arc. Yolanda Ward added 10 points for the Blackbirds in the contest.
Georgia Tech will return to action on Nov. 29-30, when it hosts the Atlanta Marriott Northwest Classic at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Jackets will face East Tennessee State in the first round on Friday at 1 p.m., while Arkansas State will face Miami (Ohio) at 3 p.m. The winners will face each other on Saturday at 3 p.m., with the consolation game scheduled for 1 p.m.
