SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Three Yellow Jackets finished in double-figures and Georgia Tech pushed until the final buzzer, but could not overcome No. 23 Syracuse on the road, falling, 62-59, on Thursday night.
Georgia Tech (14-10, 5-7 ACC) held the 31-28 halftime lead behind 10 points from Kara Dunn and six each from Rusne Augustinaite and Kayla Blackshear in the first half. The Jackets hit four triples in the opening 20 minutes, paced by a pair from Dunn, and held its largest lead of 31-23 following two free throws from Blackshear at 5:05 in the second. But Syracuse (19-4, 9-3 ACC) closed the half with five unanswered points to setup the three-point halftime difference.
Syracuse extended its run into the third quarter, completing a 12-0 run for a 35-31 lead before Tonie Morgan snapped the spurt. The Orange pushed their lead out to eight in the third quarter, but the Jackets worked their way back, knotting the score at 43-43 on an Aixa Wone Aranaz and one play. It would all come down to the fourth quarter as Tech trailed by one, 44-43, entering the final 10 minutes.
Knotted at 53-53 at the final media timeout at 4:16, Blackshear broke the tie with a bucket, but a costly turnover from the Jackets two possessions later allowed Dyaisha Fair to hit a three-pointer. Dunn returned a 59-58 lead to Georgia Tech with 2:23 to play before Syracuse closed the game on a field goal and two free throws. Alyssa Latham missed a pair of free throws with 10.9 ticks on the clock as Morgan pulled down the rebound, allowing Tech a chance to tie the game trailing, 62-59. The Jackets looked for a three-pointer, but could not get one to fall for the final score.
Dunn finished with a team-high 17 points, followed closely by Blackshear with 15 and Morgan with 12. Tech outscored Syracuse in the paint, 38-34, but the Orange won the rebounding battle, 40-32. For the game, Tech shot 42.1 percent.
Fair led Syracuse with 17 points, while Izabel Varejao chipped in 13 followed by Latham with 12. The Orange shot 43.9 percent from the field, but struggled at the free throw line, going 9-for-17. Both teams capitalized on turnovers as a combined 41 points were scored off miscues.
Georgia Tech breaks up this stretch of road games with a home tilt against Miami on Sunday, Feb. 11. Tip is slated for 2 p.m. inside McCamish Pavilion and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. The game will serve as Tech’s annual Play4Kay Pink Game.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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