STARKVILLE, Miss. – Tonie Morgan recorded her seventh-straight double-figure scoring game, but Georgia Tech got off to a slow start and couldn’t overcome Mississippi State in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, falling 84-47 in Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday.
Shooting struggles plagued the Yellow Jackets in the first half as Georgia Tech saw offensive production from only three different Jackets. Tech was held scoreless for nearly the first six minutes of the game, allowing Mississippi State to build a double-digit lead early. Morgan kept Tech in the game in the first 20 minutes, producing 12 points. Inés Noguero hit the Jackets’ first triple of the game early in the third frame as Kara Dunn chipped in seven points in the period to lead Tech, but the Bulldogs continued to answer every Tech move.
Morgan finished with 16 points on five field goals and a 6-of-7 effort from the free throw line. Dunn followed with 14 points, while Kayla Blackshear added eight and Rusne Augustinaite contributed six points. Morgan also led the Jackets on the glass with six rebounds, while Sydney Johnson dished out a game-high six assists. Cold shooting plagued the Jackets from the start as the team shot 28.8 percent (17-59) from the field.
Morgan capped her sophomore season with 29 double-figure scoring games, eight double-doubles and led Tech with 170 assists. She finished as the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on average.
Mississippi State was led offensively by four Bulldogs in double-figures. Jasmine Brown-Hagger led the way with 17 points. MSU won the battle on the glass, 44-30, paced by seven rebounds from Jessika Carter. For the game, the Bulldogs shot 51.6 percent (32-62) from the field and 13-for-15 from the free throw line.
Tech closed its season with a 17-16 overall record and made its third postseason appearance in five seasons under head coach Nell Fortner. Morgan and Dunn both picked up prestigious recognition, being named second-team all-ACC.
Postgame press conference with head coach Nell Fortner and sophomore guard Tonie Morgan
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The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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