THE FLATS – Another quick start helped Georgia Tech women’s basketball secure a 68-60 victory over West Georgia in the final outing of its five-game homestand Wednesday.
Tech (3-2, 0-0 ACC) cruised out of the gate to a 25-12 lead in the first and a 44-22 advantage over the Wolves (2-2, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) at the halftime break. The in-state foe scored 23 in the third to close the gap before a last-minute defensive stand gave Tech the win.
Led by Savannah Samuel (15) – who made her first start for Tech Wednesday – four Yellow Jackets scored in double figures including Jada Crawshaw, D’Asia Thomas-Harris and La’Nya Foster, who all had 11 points apiece. Crawshaw neared a double-double with eight rebounds, second to Brianna Turnage (11), who had her fourth double-digit rebound game this season.
Turnage’s five assists also led the team.
The win wrapped up a five-game, season-opening homestand from head coach Karen Blair’s squad. The Jackets now face seven of the next eight games away from McCamish Pavilion.
FIRST HALF
Talayah Walker (nine points, four rebounds) scored the first points of the game on a layup in Tech’s first possession. Samuel and Walker were responsible for the first 13 Jacket points (seven and six, respectively), helping Tech to an early 10-point lead. Another 6-0 run helped the Jackets to a 19-8 advantage at the 4:03 media timeout. Georgia Tech went 7-for-7 on layups in the first on its way to a 25-12 lead at the end of one. Tech shot 71.4% from the floor in the opening 10 minutes.
Foster nailed a trey to open the second quarter, getting the Jackets ahead 28-14. A Turnage free throw moments later gave Tech its largest lead of the night up to that point, 31-16. A block from Crawshaw forced a UWG turnover that immediately translated into a three from Walker, sending the game into a media timeout with the Jackets leading 36-18. Back-to-back buckets from Crawshaw got Tech to 40 with less than two minutes left, now leading by 20. Alben sped down the court for a quarter-ending layup, sealing a 44-22 score at the break.
SECOND HALF
West Georgia started on a 9-0 run before Crawshaw broke up the run with a free throw. She was the only one to put points on the board for Tech in the first five minutes of the third as West Georgia got back within 11, 47-36, at the under-five media timeout. Samuel got into double figures on a UWG-momentum-halting three that put Tech ahead 52-39. West Georgia inched closer in the end of the third but a Catherine Alben (six points, five rebounds and four assists) steal followed by a Foster layup got the Jackets to 57 – and a 12-point lead going into the fourth.
Alben sped down the court again and, off a Foster assist, sank the first basket of the fourth. Crawshaw got into double digits moments later on a layup to make it a 16-point game, 61-45. A quick 6-0 run forced West Georgia to take a timeout less than 3 minutes into the period, 63-45. The Wolves went on a run to get as close as nine, 65-56, with under four minutes on the clock. West Georgia got within five, 60-65, before Samuel made a clutch trey to make it 68-60 with under a minute left. Tech held on in the closing seconds for the victory.
GAME NOTES
- Georgia Tech held West Georgia to 2-for-16 from beyond the arc in the first half.
- Georgia Tech’s bench collected 39 points Wednesday night to West Georgia’s three.
- Georgia Tech improved to 13-2 in its last 15 games against Division I opponents from the state of Georgia.
- Georgia Tech improved to 3-2 this season.
- Georgia Tech improved to 4-3 all-time versus West Georgia, now on a four-game win streak in the series.
- Georgia Tech improved to 435-242 at home all-time.
UP NEXT
Tech returns to the court for its first road game of the season in the form of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate against Georgia Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. on SEC Network Plus. Fans can also listen to the action live on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets app.
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.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X (@GTWBB), Instagram (GTWBB), Facebook (Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
