Feb. 23, 2011
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Georgia Tech (20-8, 8-4 ACC) will be looking to complete only its third season sweep of North Carolina (22-5, 8-4 ACC) since the 1990-91 season when the Jackets travel to Chapel Hill to face the No.13/16 ranked Tar Heels.
In the two sides’ first meeting this year, Tech came back from being down seven with 1:06 to play to win 71-70 on Jan. 6 in Atlanta. Freshman Tyuanna Marshall scored a game-high 24 points in her first ACC game against the then-eighth ranked Tar Heels, including an NBA range three as the shot clock nearly expired to spark the Tech comeback. Senior Italee Lucas led UNC with 21 points in the loss.
In their last outing, the Jackets reached the 20-win plateau for the fifth consecutive season with a 72-46 win over the Clemson Lady Tigers on Feb. 17. Junior center Sasha Goodlett led Tech with 12 points.
UNC is coming off an 88-72 loss to rival NC State on Feb. 21 in Raleigh despite Laura Broomfield’s 11 point, 18 rebound double-double, and 20 points from She’la White.
The two teams are tied for fourth place in the ACC standings with two games to go before next week’s ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C., and fighting for the crucial first-round bye which goes to the top four seeds.
LOOKING BACK
Last season at this point, Tech was 21-7, 7-5 ACC after a 77-73 win at Miami on Feb. 21.
SEASON SWEEP
Georgia Tech will be looking for its first season sweep of North Carolina since the 1990-91 season in Thursday night’s contest with the Tar Heels. In addition to the `90-91 season, the only other GT season sweep of UNC came in the 1988-89 season.
THREE STRAIGHT
The Jackets will be looking for their first three-game winning streak since beating the Tar Heels in three consecutive outings from Feb. 13, 1988 to Jan. 11, 1990, a streak of four games.
RANKED ROAD WIN
Tech will be attempting to beat its first ranked opponent on the road since the Jackets downed No. 17/17 North Carolina, 81-62, on Jan. 17, 2002.
That 2002 contest was also the last time Tech defeated UNC in Chapel Hill.
COMEBACK KIDS
Despite being down seven with 1:06 to play, the Jackets didn’t quit in their ACC opener against #8/8 UNC on Jan. 6. Ty Marshall hit an NBA range three with two seconds on the shot clock and Tech forced a turnover as the Tar Heels were unable to inbound the ball. Deja Foster got a jumper underneath the basket, stole the ball and Metra Walthour knocked down the game-winning three from the corner with 23.6 seconds left.
CAROLINA BLUES
The win over the Tar Heels was the Yellow Jackets’ third straight win over UNC at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The win also gave Tech back-to-back wins over UNC for the first time since Jan. 9, 1991, and Feb. 22, 1991, a streak of 40 games.
20-WIN SEASONS
With the win over Clemson, Georgia Tech reached the 20 win plateau for the eighth time in program history, and five of those seasons have come under head coach MaChelle Joseph in the past five seasons.
SENIOR CLASS VICTORIES
This year’s senior class of Deja Foster and Alex Montgomery has a chance to become the all-time winningest class to play for the Yellow Jackets. Currently, the duo has been a part of 87 wins in their three-plus years, second in the Tech annals. The most recent class, Brigitte Ardossi and Tiffany Blackmon, to leave The Flats set the record with 88 wins in four years. In order for Foster and Montgomery to take the top spot, they would need two more wins to pass the `09-10 class, which would also give the Jackets their fifth consecutive 20-win season.
BY THE NUMBERS
In addition to becoming the all-time winningest class on The Flats, the 2011 class has a chance to set a few more records.
… They can tie the 2010 class for most ACC wins in their careers, 32, with a win at North Carolina, and can set the record by beating both UNC and Miami on Feb. 27.
… They are currently on pace to have the highest winning percentage of any class in Tech history. Heading into Thursday’s game, the 2011 class has won 69.6 percent of career games and 57.4 percent of ACC games. The 2010 class set both records, winning 67.7 percent of all games and 57.1 percent of ACC games during its tenure.
STRIVING FOR NEW ACC HEIGHTS
With two games remaining in the ACC regular season, the Jackets have a chance to do something that has never been done before on The Flats. If Tech would win out and post a 10-4 league record, it would be the first time the Yellow Jackets have won at least 10 ACC games. In fact, only one previous time has Tech won even nine conference games, which happened in 2006-07 when GT finished 9-5.
With the win over Clemson, the Jackets won their eighth ACC game for only the sixth time in program history. Four of those six seasons have come under Joseph. The only other two times when Tech won eight league outings all came when the ACC played a 16-game schedule.
–RamblinWreck.com–
