Dec. 31, 2005
ATLANTA – Behind tournament MVP Janie Mitchell’s second consecutive double-double and all-tournament sophomore Chioma Nnamaka’s 17 points, Georgia Tech (11-1) captured the Georgia Tech/Atlanta Marriott NW Holiday Invitational championship with a 57-43 win over UMass (3-8) Saturday afternoon at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
The Yellow Jackets came back from a nine-point deficit and outscored the Minutewomen, 38-20 in the second half to capture their third holiday tournament championship in three years under head coach MaChelle Joseph.
“There is no doubt (that it was a good comeback),” said Joseph. “Headed into ACC play, it was good to get a contest like that where we had to play from behind. We thought that UMass was a much better team than 3-7 headed into the game, so I’m proud of the way that our team responded today.”
Tech fell behind early in the contest, as the Minutewomen opened with a 6-0 run and extended their lead to 14-5 at 13:14 on a pair of free-throws by all-tournament honoree Pam Rosanio. Still trailing by nine points with just over four minutes remaining in the first half, the Jackets closed out the frame with a 5-0 run of their own, on a jumper by Janie Mitchell at 4:09 and a three-pointer by Nnamaka with 2:08 remaining on the clock.
“I told them (at halftime) that the worst thing is that this was the worst half of basketball that we’ve played this year,” said Joseph, “but I also said that the best thing is that even though it’s the worst half that we’ve played, we’re trailing by only four points.”
The Jackets pulled within one point to open the second half, and after UMass extended the lead to six, Tech responded with a 10-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 12:23 on a jumper by Nnamaka. Nnamaka scored 11 of her 17 points over the last 12:23 of the game, going 4-for-5 from the field, including converting both three-point attempts.
Sophomore point guard Jill Ingram hit a key three-pointer with 9:09 remaining on the clock to give the Jackets the lead for good, and converted on all four of her free-throw attempts over the last 12 minutes to cap her game-high 18-point performance on the night.
Mitchell had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in her second-straight game with a double-double. She now has five double-doubles in her career, including four this season.
“I was really proud of the way that we played late in the second half,” added Joseph. “I think that our seniors stepped up and our leadership really emerged. I also thought that our effort was great, holding UMass to just 20 points.”
UMass was led by Rosanio, who finished with 12 points.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action this coming Thursday when they host the Miami Hurricanes in their ACC opener at 7 p.m. at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on CSS (Comcast SportsNet) and on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta). Livestats for all Georgia Tech games are available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
“We had a great first half (of the season), there is no doubt about it,” said Joseph. “Not only did we win the games that we were supposed to win, but we won them the way that we were supposed to. I’m really proud of that, but now the second half of the season has started. Our goal is postseason, and you have to get it done in ACC play to go to postseason.”
CONSOLATION GAME:
Brown held off a late Alabama State run to win the consolation game by a 67-55 score. Colleen Kelly led the Brown Bears with a game-high 20 points, while Sarah Hayes added 12, and Ashley King-Bischof came off the bench to score 10. Alabama State had three players in double-figures, with L’Teisha Holloway, Latille Ross and Frantina Coleman all scoring 12.
TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
Georgia Tech/Atlanta Marriott NW Holiday Champions: Georgia Tech
Runner-Up: UMass
Consolation Winner: Brown University
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Chioma Nnamaka, Georgia Tech
Pam Rosanio, UMass
Kate Mills, UMass
Colleen Kelly, Brown
Latille Ross, Alabama State
MVP-Janie Mitchell, Georgia Tech
