Jackets Open Up Puerto Rico Classic With UTEP

Dec. 19, 2013

The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (7-2) kicks off the Puerto Rico Classic on Friday, facing UTEP (9-0) at 5 p.m E.T. at the Guillermo Angulo Coliseum. Tune into WREK 91.1 to listen to the action or follow along with GameTracker.

The Jackets will face another undefeated team #13/15 Oklahoma State (8-0) on Saturday, also at 5 p.m. ET.

Tech most recently won it’s sixth-straight game, defeating Portland State by 50 points, 104-54, in head coach MaChelle Joseph’s 200th career victory. Joseph became just the second Georgia Tech women’s basketball head coach to reach the milestone.

Senior Tyaunna Marshall led the Jackets in the win against the Vikings, recording her second double-double of the season. She scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. In total, five Jackets scored in double-figures, including sophomore Roddreka Rogers, who tied her career-high 13 points.

TECH TIDBITS
– Senior Tyaunna Marshall is in fifth place on the Georgia Tech career scoring list with 1,651 career points. Marshall is 305 points away from breaking Kisha Ford’s all-time record of 1,955 and 21 points away from besting Carla Munnion’s (1995-98) 1,671 career points for fourth place.
– Against Portland State, Tech scored 104 points, its highest offensive output all season. The last time the Jackets scored 100+ points since their 101-44 victory against Mercer on Dec. 28, 2010
– With her 3.0 made 3-pointers a game, freshman Kaela Davis ranks 12th in the nation and third in the ACC. She leads the Jackets with 27 made 3-pointers.
– Out of the Jackets’ seven wins so far this season, six games have been won by 20 or more points with its biggest margin of victory being 50 points against Portland State.
– In seven out of Tech’s nine games, one Jacket has scored 20 points or more. Davis notched 20+ in each of the first three games and against Alabama A&M while Marshall recorded 20+ points in each game of the LIU Turkey Classic and 27 against Illinois
– The Jackets set a new school record, making 13 3-pointers against Western Carolina
– Prior to the game against Western Carolina, the Jackets’ school record was 12 3-point baskets made, which was against Mercer exactly 7 years prior, on Nov. 10, 2006
– Sophomore Nariah Taylor scored a career 14 points against Coppin State while redshirt senior Shayla Bivins scored a career-high eight against Illinois

A WIN WOULD…
– Make the Jackets undefeated in neutral site games this season
– Be the sixth straight victory for Tech and make the Jackets 5-0 at home
– Be the first against UTEP – this is the first meeting between the two teams
– Make Tech 66-65 during neutral games overall
– Be the first against Oklahoma State since a 70-64 loss on Nov. 15 2009 at Oklahoma State.
– Be the first win against a ranked team since a 76-64 win against No. 17/16 Georgetown on March 20, 2012
– Make the Jackets 1-2 against ranked opponents this season
– Be Tech’s 33rd win overall against a ranked team and 11th under Joseph
– Make Tech 3-3 in games played in San Juan over the past two years.

HELLO AGAIN SAN JUAN
This is the third year in a row that the Jackets will play in San Juan. Tech is 1-3 while playing in Puerto Rico over the past two seasons. Two of the Jackets’ losses have comee during overtime, a 67-62 defeat against Green Bay in 2011 and a 75-72 loss to Syracuse last year.

THE 200 CLUB
During her 11th season at the helm of the Yellow Jackets, head coach MaChelle Joseph captured her 200th career victory.

Joseph defeated Portland State, 104-54, to reach the mileston. She is only the second Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach to reach 200 wins and is 200-124 during her career. Her predecessor, Agnus Berenato, was the first women’s basketball coach at Tech to finish with at least 200 wins. Berenato finished her 15-year tenure leading the Yellow Jackets with a 223-209 record.

Joseph won her 100th career game against Clemson at home on Feb. 1, 2009 by a score of 49-41.

ONE-TWO PUNCH
Both Davis and Marshall have proven to be a dangerous duo – both on offense and defense – for the Yellow Jackets. Together, the two account for an average of 33.1 ppg for the Jackets and an average of 12.9 rebounds. The two hold the top two scoring averages on the team, Davis with 18.6 ppg and Marshall with 16.4. While Davis poses a threat from behind the 3-point line with a team high 36.5 3-point shooting percentage, Marshall leads Tech with an average of 2.6 steals per game.

PICK POCKETS
Both Tyaunna Marshall and Dawnn Maye rank in the top-10 of the ACC in steals. Marshall checks in at fifth with her 2.6 spg average while Maye’s 2.8 spg has her in third in the ACC.

The two are also featured on the Yellow Jackets’ career steals list. Marshall is currently in sixth with 219 career steals while Maye is in seventh with 214.

Marshall leads the ACC with her 3.4 assist/turnover ratio, which also ranks 25th in the nation.

DAVIS FOR THREE
Davis was hot from behind-the-arc, against Alabama A&M, going 7-for-14 (.500). Her seven made 3-pointers rank second on the Tech individual single game records. The freshman leads the Yellow Jackets in both scoring with an average of 18.6 ppg, and 3-pointers made, with 27. With her 3.0 made 3-pointers a game, Davis ranks 12th in the nation and third in the ACC.

FOLLOW THE YELLOW JACKETS
For an inside look at the program, follow Georgia Tech women’s basketball on Twitter, @GTWBB, Instagram, GTWBB, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, GTWomensBasketball.

–RamblinWreck.com–