Dec. 10, 2006
Atlanta – Georgia Tech turned their slim four-point halftime lead to a 22-point win Sunday, using depth and three point shooting to wear down the Jacksonville Dolphins en route to a 79-57 victory at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
The offense sputtered on both sides of the court in the opening minutes of play. It wasn’t until nearly 3:00 ticked off the clock that Tech’s Janie Mitchell earned the first score of the game. Virginia Gregoire, who tied as Jacksonville’s leading scorer with 14 points, hit the Dolphins’ first field goal of the game nearly 5:00 into the first half.
The Dolphins kept it close in the first half and held two brief leads over the Jackets, but back-to-back scores by Stephanie Higgs and a Chioma Nnamaka three pointer late in the first half allowed the Jackets to pull away. The Jackets never trailed in the second half, pulling out to a 20-point lead with 9:22 left to play, which they held until the end.
Sophomore Jacqua Williams got her first start of the season Sunday, and stepped up to the challenge earning 15 points and five rebounds, both of which were second highest on the team. She was also a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point land. Williams’ tied junior Jill Ingram for a team-high three steals Sunday, bringing her season total to 22 steals.
“I take my defensive play very serious. It’s very personal to me,” said Williams. “You’re not just going to come on to my court and do whatever you want with the ball.”
Co-captain Chioma Nnamaka found her jumper Sunday, ending her shooting drought and scoring a team-high 22 points, 15 of which came from behind the arc. Nnamaka tied fellow captain Janie Mitchell for a team-high six rebounds. Sunday’s scoring effort ties a season-high for the Uppsala, Sweden native who also scored 22 against Appalachian State on Nov. 14.
Ingram offered a career-high eight assists Sunday, which is also a team-high for the season. The veteran point guard was sidelined for the Nov. 25 game in San Diego with a stress fracture in her left foot and has seen limited playing time in the last two contests. Ingram played a solid 21 minutes against Jacksonville.
The Jackets, who begin taking final exams Monday, Dec. 11, don’t play again until Monday, Dec. 18 when they face the Northwestern Wildcats at the Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
