THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s basketball opened the Nell Fortner era on Tuesday night handling Houston, 69-38, in McCamish Pavilion. Senior Francesca Pan finished two points shy of her career-high with 24 points, while Lotta-Maj Lahtinen added a career-best 16 points to the scoreboard in the season-opener for both teams.
How It Happened
Georgia Tech shook off a slow start in the first quarter, erasing a seven-point deficit with a 14-6 run to end the opening frame and give the Jackets a slight 16-15 edge before dominating the second stanza, outscoring the Cougars, 26-1, to open a commanding lead. The Jackets shot 55.0 percent (11-20), forced nine Houston turnovers and outrebounded the Cougars, 15-5, in the second quarter, while not allowing a field goal to open a 26-point lead, 42-16, at halftime. Pan led the way offensively in the frame, putting 10 points on the scoreboard.
Coming out of the halftime break, Pan and Lahtinen combined for eight points in the first five minutes to open a 30-point advantage for the Jackets, 50-20, with 5:35 to play in the third. Tech held its largest lead of 32 points in the fourth quarter following a Lahtinen bucket as the Jackets sealed a 69-38 victory over Houston to open the 2019-20 season in style.
For the game, Tech shot 39.4 percent (26-66) to Houston’s 31.3 percent (15-48), and won the rebounding battle, 53-26, led by eight rebounds from Lahtinen. A total of 10 Yellow Jackets saw playing time on the floor with eight contributing offensively.
“It’s good to get the first home win under our belt in the regular season,” commented Fortner. “I thought we did some things that were good, but we showed that we have a long way to go. I’m really proud of them [the team] for the second quarter, holding the team [Houston] to one point in a quarter is something to feel good about, but the second half we just really didn’t play with the intensity and the purpose that we need to all the time. We’ve got work to do and we’ll get it done.”
Next Up
Georgia Tech continues this two-game homestand welcoming Grambling State on Sunday, Nov. 10, for a 2 p.m. tilt on ACC Network Extra.
ACC Network has launched!
The ACC Network is a linear and digital platform dedicated to 24/7 coverage of ACC sports that launched on Aug. 22, 2019. It will exclusively televise approximately 450 live events each year, including 40 football games, as well as 150 men’s and women’s basketball contests.
Don’t get shut out! For more information and to learn if your cable/satellite/digital provider is carrying the ACC Network, visit GetACCN.com. Georgia Tech fans whose cable/satellite/digital providers aren’t carrying the ACC Network are urged to contact their providers and ask for the ACC Network to be a part of their subscription.
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