GREENSBORO, N.C. – Georgia Tech cut the score to single digits in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t overcome Duke, falling 70-58 in the ACC Tournament second round. Tech moved to 17-15 overall on the year.
Stints of cold shooting from the Yellow Jackets allowed the Blue Devils to open double-digit leads in the first half. After an Inés Noguero bucket in the first quarter broke a tie, Duke closed the frame with an 11-0 run to hold a 17-8 lead after the opener. But back-to-back triples from Kara Dunn and Tonie Morgan to open the second quarter sparked an 8-0 Georgia Tech spurt, slicing the score to 17-16, forcing Duke to burn a timeout. Buckets from Rusne Augustinaite and Kayla Blackshear knotted the score at 20-apiece before Duke posted an 18-1 run over nearly six minutes. The Jackets closed the half with five unanswered to leave Duke in the lead, 38-2, at halftime.
A nearly even third quarter left the Blue Devils with a 13-point lead entering the final period. Dunn sank a triple to open the second half as both Dunn and Morgan dropped seven points each in the period. The Jackets cut it to single digits twice, but Duke shot 53 percent in the period to maintain control. Tech maintained pace with Duke in the final period and Morgan made it a nine-point game, 62-53, off a pair of free throws, but the Blue Devils held on for the win.
Morgan finished with 19 points to average 21.5 points per game in the tournament to lead the Jackets offensively. She just missed a triple-double with eight rebounds and seven assists on the night. Morgan paced Tech at the charity stripe, converting 10-of-14 free throw attempts as the Jackets finished 15-of-25 overall. Dunn added 14 points to the scoreboard, while Augustinaite contributed 11.
Duke was led by Oluchi Okananwa with 15 points. The Blue Devils won the rebounding battle, 42-27, and shot 50.8 percent from the field for the game.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
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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