CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Four Yellow Jackets finished in double-figures led by Lorela Cubaj’s double-double as Georgia Tech cruised to a 70-56 victory over Miami in the Watsco Center on Thursday night. The win, which marked the fifth-straight for the Jackets, moved Tech to 9-3 overall and 7-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Behind a 51.6 percent (16-31) shooting clip, Georgia Tech held a 15-point halftime lead, distributing its offense amongst seven different scorers. Miami came out with a five-point lead, but it was short-lived as Lotta-Maj Lahtinen hit Tech’s first of six three-pointers in the half to spark the Jackets. Tied at 12-12 with 4:43 to play, Tech would put together a 17-4 run extending into the second quarter, forcing Miami to burn a timeout with the Jackets up 29-16 with 8:14 on the clock. Tech would lead by as many as 18 points in the half.
The Jackets maintained a comfortable lead in the third quarter before the Hurricanes cut the deficit to single digits with a 10-2 run spanning the final break for a 55-46 tally. It would be the closest Miami came the remainder of the game as Tech built its lead back out to 16 points following a pair of free throws from Lahtinen, and never looked back.
Cubaj led the Jackets with 14 points and 14 rebounds for her 16th career double-double. She was followed in scoring by Lahtinen with 13 points, Kierra Fletcher contributed 12 points and Nerea Hermosa added 10 points.
For the game, Tech shot 45.9 percent (28-61) and finished shooting 70.0 percent (7-10) from the free throw line. The Jackets dominated on the glass for the ninth game winning the rebounding battle. Fueled by Cubaj’s 14 boards, Tech out-rebounded the Hurricanes, 41-29.
Kelsey Marshall paced Miami with 16 points.
The Jackets return to action with three home games next week beginning with Syracuse on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. in McCamish Pavilion on ACC Network Extra.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and the Support The Swarm Fund, created to give fans an opportunity to help Georgia Tech athletics maintain its recent momentum through the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTWBB), Instagram (GTWBB), Facebook (Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
