GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands – A resurgent third quarter and three in double-digit scoring figures were not enough for Georgia Tech women’s basketball in a 77-75 defeat at the hands of St. John’s Friday afternoon at the Cayman Islands Classic.
Tech (3-4, 0-0 ACC) was led by 18 points each from Catherine Alben and Talayah Walker in addition to 11 from D’Asia Thomas-Harris. The Red Storm (6-1, 0-0 Big East) got out to a 23-13 start in the first quarter before 45 combined second and third quarter points from Tech saw the Yellow Jackets lead going into the fourth. A final rally from St. John’s proved to be the difference in the fourth.
Erica Moon led Tech with seven assists, setting a new career-high and the most by a Jacket this season. She also led Tech with three steals. Walker made 10 free throws Friday on 14 attempts – setting a new career-best on shots made from the charity stripe. Thomas-Harris made the first three-pointer of her college career, erupting from beyond the arc at a 3-for-5 clip. Alben had a team-high six rebounds.
Tech had 35 bench points to St. John’s 16 and doubled the Red Storm in fast break points (16-8).
FIRST HALF
An and-one play for Brianna Turnage answered a game-opening trey from St. John’s. The Red Storm then went on a scoring run before Walker cut into it with a bucket to cut the deficit to 12-5. A make from the beyond the arc from Thomas-Harris cut got the Jackets within six, 14-8, with under six left in the first. St. John’s went on a 7-0 run but a late push from the Yellow Jackets had the Red Storm up only 23-13 after one.
La’Nya Foster made a bucket to open the second quarter, cutting it to 23-15. The Red Storm collected a few more scores before Thomas-Harris drilled another trey to get it to 34-24. Alben then made a jumper to make it an eight-point game, 34-26, with under three left in the half. Moon added a layup followed by a three-pointer from Alben to place Tech down only five, 38-33. Alben capped off the half with a free throw to make it just a four-point game going into the intermission, 38-34.
Alben led the Yellow Jackets in points (10) and rebounds (4) in the first half. Moon’s three assists were a team-high in the half.
SECOND HALF
A half-opening trey from Thomas-Harris and driving lay from Alben gave Tech its first lead early on in the third, 39-38. St. John’s went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead before a jumper from Moon slashed into it, 45-41. Two more scores from Foster and Ariadna Termis had the Jackets down by just three, 48-45, at the 4:06 media timeout. Another score for the Red Storm got the score to 50-45 but back-to-back scores from Termis and Alben cut it to one, 50-49. Both teams traded scores until Turnage scored a second-chance lay to help give Georgia Tech the lead and a 58-55 lead going into the fourth.
Walker made a free throw for the first points of the fourth to give Tech a 59-55 lead. Tech started on a 4-0 run to open the quarter before the Red Storm finally managed a bucket two-and-a-half minutes into the period, 62-57. St. John’s got within one, 64-63, then Walker made a clutch bucket followed back a pair of free throws from Savannah Samuel, that put Tech ahead 68-63, with five minutes left. The Red Storm then managed to make a trey to even the game at 68. Walker scored another layup to make it 70-68. SJU evened the game at 70 with under three on the clock and retook the lead on free throws, 72-70, at the 2:40 mark. A Red Storm trey and three Walker free throws sent the game to 75-73 with under a minute left. St. John’s held on to take the 77-75 result.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets square off against the Florida Gators for game two of the Cayman Islands Classic Saturday, Nov. 29. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. on FloCollege inside John Gray Gymnasium.
Georgia Tech is back inside McCamish Pavilion Monday, Dec. 8 for a 7 p.m. clash with Norfolk State. Fans can purchase tickets here.
PURCHASE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2025-26 Georgia Tech women’s basketball season remain on sale. Season tickets begin at just $50 for general admission and $65 for reserved seats. Fans won’t want to miss any of the action in McCamish Pavilion this upcoming season, which features a challenging nine-game Atlantic Coast Conference schedule in addition to a competitive non-conference slate. To purchase tickets, or for more information, please visit RamblinWreck.com.
Single-game tickets also remain on sale, as well as a Mini Plan for patrons wishing to attend multiple games this season. A Mini Plan includes tickets to four games, anchored by Tech’s marquee matchup against Notre Dame on Jan. 1 plus the choice of three additional Atlantic Coast Conference games.
Group tickets are also on sale now. For groups interested in purchasing tickets to a Georgia Tech athletics event, please fill out this form linked.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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