THE FLATS –Georgia Tech never trailed Thursday night and cruised to a 72-58 victory over Clemson in McCamish Pavilion. Seniors Katarina Vuckovic and Cha’Ron Sweeney were recognized before the game as the Jackets concluded the regular season home schedule.
“I’m really pleased to get these two wins at home,” commented head coach MaChelle Joseph. “We keep seeing Elo [Edeferioka] get better and better. Again we had four players in double-figures, so we had a lot of balance. We wanted to win the battle of the boards because we didn’t do a great job at Clemson and I thought that was really important. Katarina Vuckovic was huge in the first half playing in her Senior Night. I’m excited about this last game at Miami and then heading into the ACC Tournament. I keep seeing us putting all the pieces together and if that happens at the right time, this could be a scary team at tournament time.”
How It Happened
Katarina Vuckovic set the tone for the game, opening the contest scoring eight points in the first five minutes as the Jackets opened a double-digit lead by the 3:46 mark in the first quarter. Clemson came within seven points late in the first quarter, but Tech quickly opened a double-digit lead and pushed its lead to 21 on a pair of free throws from Edeferioka with less than a minute to play in the second quarter. The Jackets would hold a 40-18 lead at the halftime break.
Clemson outscored Tech 21-14 in the third frame, but Tech never conceded a comfortable double-figure lead. The closest the Tigers came the remainder of the game was 12 points at the 9:14 mark in the fourth quarter.
Tech Tidbits
* Georgia Tech closed out the regular season at home with an 11-5 mark, improving to 16-12 overall with the win and 5-10 in ACC play
* The Jackets finished 26-of-37 at the free throw line, while Clemson was 18-for-26
* Edeferioka tied her career-high with 17 points, while Kaylan Pugh posted 16 points and Francesca Pan and Katarina Vuckovic each added 12 points
* Tech won the battle on the boards, 39-33, led by Edeferioka with nine. The Jackets converted 19 offensive rebounds into 21 second chance points
* For the game, the Jackets shot 38.6 percent (22-57) from the field
Next Up
Georgia Tech plays its final regular season game of 2016-17, traveling to Miami for a 1 p.m. matchup on Sunday, Feb. 26 on RSN.
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