Jackets Head to Notre Dame on Monday

Feb. 16, 2014

The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (17-8, 7-5 ACC) hits the road on Monday, traveling to #2/#2 Notre Dame (24-0, 11-0 ACC) for a 7 p.m. game at Purcell Pavilion. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Regional Sports Network and ESPN3 and fans can also listen to Richard Musterer and LaQuananisha Adams call the game on WREK 91.1.

This will be only the second times the Yellow Jackets and Fighting Irish have met. Notre Dame won the first meeting, 76-69, in Atlanta on November 29, 1996. Two Jackets will be traveling back to their home state for the game. Head coach MaChelle Joseph, a native of Auburn, Ind., will be less than 100 miles away from her hometown. Sophomore Nariah Taylor hails from Indianapolis and will be 150 miles away from where she grew up.

The Jackets are currently on a four game winning streak, after most recently defeating Virginia, 95-76, at home on Friday. With 20 points against the Cavaliers, Marshall became the first Yellow Jacket to reach 2,000 career points and is only the 24th player in the ACC to reach the milestone. On Feb. 6, Marshall became Georgia Tech’s all-time leading scorer. She is averaging a team-high 20.0 ppg.

Freshman Kaela Davis led the Jackets in scoring against Virginia, recording 27 points. It was Davis’ 11th game scoring at least 20 points. Aaliyah Whiteside led the rebounding effort with nine.

TECH TIDBITS
– Senior Tyaunna Marshall became Georgia Tech’s all-time leading scorer against #13/11 UNC on Feb. 6, 2014 after scoring 32 against the Tar Heels to break Kisha Ford’s record of 1,955 points. Marshall scored 20 points against Virginia to become the first Yellow Jacket and 24th ACC player to reach the 2,000 point mark. She currently has 2,000 career points.
– In the last seven of eight games, Marshall has scored at least 20 points. She has averaged 24.1 ppg over that stretch.
– Out of the Jackets’ 17 wins so far this season, 10 games have been won by 20 or more points with its biggest margin of victory being 50 points against Portland State.
– In 13 out of 25 games, the Jackets have scored at least 80 points. Tech is averaging 81.5 ppg.
– In 20 out of Tech’s 25 games, at least one Jacket has scored 20 points or more. Davis has scored 20+ in 10 games while Marshall has scored at least 20 in 13. Both Marshall and Davis scored more than 20 against UTEP, Clemson, #6 Maryland, #13 UNC and Virginia. Wallace hit the 20-point mark against Miami.
-The Jackets were on a 15-game streak of outrebounding their opponents, until Virginia Tech edged the Jackets by one rebound. Tech has won the rebounding battle in 21 out of 25 games this season and average 45.7 rpg.
– With her 2.6 made 3-pointers a game, freshman Kaela Davis ranks 57th in the nation and is fourth in the ACC. She leads Tech with 66 made 3-pointers.
– The Yellow Jackets averaged an impressive 92 points per game at home during its non-conference portion of its schedule on its way to a 7-0 record at McCamish.

A WIN WOULD…
– Extend Tech’s ACC-winning streak to five games
– Be the first win against Notre Dame in history
– Make Coach Joseph 1-0 against Notre Dame
– Make Coach Joseph 211-130 overall
– Give the Jackets its first win against a top-5 opponent since a 66-62 win against #2/3 North Carolina on Jan. 22, 2009
– Give the Jackets its first win against a top-10 opponent since a 71-70 win against #8/8 North Carolina on Jan. 6, 2011
– Give the Jackets its first win against a top-25 opponent since a 94-91 win against #13/11 North Carolina on Feb. 6, 2014
– Give the Jackets its first win against a top-25 opponent on the road since a 56-64 win against #25/RV North Carolina on Feb. 12, 2012

BY THE NUMBERS
An inside look at the statistical differences in the Yellow Jackets’ wins and losses:
– In wins, Tech is averaging 88.0 ppg. In losses, the Jackets have averaged 67.8 ppg.
– In wins, Tech allows only 65.4 ppg. In losses, opponents have tallied 76.2 ppg.
– In wins, opponents are shooting only 36.9 percent from the field. In losses, opponents are shooting at 43.3 percent.
– In wins, Tech is out-rebounding opponents by 11.3 boards per game. In losses, Tech is out-rebounding opponents by 0.3 per game.
– In wins, Tech is averaging 28 free throw attempts per game. In losses, the Jackets are only getting 18 attempts from the stripe.
– In wins, Marshall is averaging 21.0 ppg and Davis is averaging 19.2 ppg. Marshall averages 18.0 ppg and Davis averages 16.5 ppg in losses.

GEORGIA TECH’S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER
Senior Tyaunna Marshall became Georgia Tech’s all-time leading scorer against #13/11 North Carolina on Feb. 6, 2014 after scoring 32 points against the Tar Heels to break Kisha Ford’s record of 1,955 points. She hit two free throws with 4.3 seconds left to break the record and secure the Jackets’ first win against a ranked opponent since 2012. Marshall is one of just five Yellow Jackets all-time with at least 1,500 career points and 600 career rebounds.

Marshall became the first Yellow Jacket and 24th ACC player to score 2,000 career points after she scored 20 points against Virginia on Feb. 14. What is more remarkable is that Marshall has only made 20 3-pointers in her entire career – meaning that her 2,000 career points game from a total of 827 made field goals and 326 made free throw shots.

NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Marshall was named espnW’s National Player of the Week after having one of the most successful weeks of her career on Feb. 10. Marshall became Georgia Tech’s all-time leading scorer last week after leading the Jackets to its first win against a ranked opponent since 2012 by scoring 32 points against #13/11 North Carolina. Marshall entered the game against the Tar Heels needing just 32 points to break Kisha Ford’s record of 1,955 points that was set in 1997. Marshall hit the 32-point mark in the contest after sinking two foul shots with 4.3 seconds left to not only break the career scoring record, but secure the Jackets’ victory.

The Upper Marlboro, Md., native followed her record-breaking performance by scoring 24 points at Miami and setting a career-high in steals with seven. Marshall led the Jackets in every category in points (24), rebounds (9), assists (3) and steals (7) against the Hurricanes. Marshall’s 1,980 career points has her just 20 points shy of becoming the first Yellow Jacket to reach 2,000 career points and is in 23rd on the ACC career points list.

Marshall started off the memorable week by leading the Jackets to a road win at Pittsburgh, tallying 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds against the Panthers. She led the Jackets in scoring in all three wins this past week. Marshall leads the Jackets in scoring, rebounding and steals, averaging 20.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 2.8 steals per game.

HIGH SCORING JACKETS
The Yellow Jackets are averaging 81.5 ppg during the 2013-14 season. They have scored at least 80 points in 14 games, at least 90 in seven games and hit the 100 point mark twice this season. Tech’s 81.5 ppg ranks fifth in the ACC and checks in at 18th in the nation. This is the highest average of points for a Tech team since the 1990-91 season when the Jackets averaged 84.3 ppg. The Jackets have outscored their opponents by a +12.7 margin so far, which is sixth in the ACC and 33rd in the NCAA.

HITTING THE 30 MARK
Marshall has hit the 30-point mark twice this season while Davis had a season-high 31 points against Clemson. Marshall scored 32 points against #13 UNC, leading the Jackets to victory and breaking the career points record. Davis’ 31 points led Tech in the overtime loss against Clemson, 80-79. Davis scored six of the Jackets eight points in overtime.

Marshall led the Jackets against Virginia Tech, scoring 30 points against the Hokies. The first time Marshall scored 30 points in her career was against Miami last season, where she scored a career-high 37. Marshall has led the Jackets in points, rebounds and assists in three games this season, with the most recent being at Miami, where she also led the Jackets in steals.

WATCH OUT FOR WHITESIDE
Sophomore Aaliyah Whiteside has emerged over the past few games as a key player for the Jackets. Whiteside scored a season-high 18 points at Pittsburgh. She followed up her impressive offensive output with her first career double-double (10 pts, 11 reb.) against #13 UNC. Her 11 rebounds were a career-high.

During the first eight ACC games, Whiteside only averaged 4.0 ppg. Over the past four conference games, she has averaged 12.3 ppg.

STEPPING UP IN CONFERENCE PLAY
Marshall is averaging a team and conference-high 22.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg in ACC games. She has scored at least 20 points in nine of 12 conference games this season. Davis has been averaging 18.2 ppg against conference opponents and averages 2.8 made 3-pointers in ACC play. Sophomore Nariah Taylor has emerged as a force against ACC opponents, averaging 7.5 ppg and 3.7 rpg. She is shooting 46.6 percent from the floor in conference games (34-for-73).

The Jackets rank fourth in scoring in conference play with 78.8 ppg. Tech is in 13th in scoring defense, allowing 74.5 ppg in conference play. Four of the Jackets’ five conference losses have come to teams ranked or receiving votes in this week’s AP poll.

NEXT UP
The Yellow Jackets return home to host Maryland on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.