Dec. 28, 2010
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
It’s been over three weeks since the Yellow Jackets’ women’s basketball team played in front of its home fans at Alexander Memorial Coliseum and Tech will make its return to its home floor tonight when it hosts the Mercer Bears (1-9) in a 7 p.m. contest. Tech enters the game sporting a 9-4 record and has won six straight games, dating back to Nov. 27.
In its last game, Tech claimed a 60-27 win over the Washington Huskies in Seattle as senior Alex Montgomery put on a show for her hometown, finishing with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds. Montgomery made a three just five seconds into the game and made her first five shots, while scoring nine of the Jackets’ first 10 points.
Montgomery earned her second ACC Player of the Week award of the season and her career for her performances in the Pacific Northwest.
The Bears enter tonight’s game with a 1-9 record in Susie Gardner’s first year in Macon. This will be Mercer’s first game since a 76-73 loss to UNC Asheville on Dec. 22 and the bears are in the midst of a three-game losing skid. Freshman Briana Williams leads Mercer in scoring with 15.7 ppg, while sophomore Sharmesia Smith is the top Bear rebounder at 6.6 per game and Sharnea Boykin runs the offense, averaging 5.3 apg.
KIDS DAY
Tonight’s game is the first of three straight women’s basketball Kids Days. All children under the age of 12 will be admitted free tonight, Dec. 30 vs. Tennessee State and Jan. 2 vs. Jacksonville State.
LAST TIME OUT VS. MERCER
Atlanta – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team beat Mercer, 87-48 in its regular season opener at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
As a team, the Jackets hit 12 of their 17 shots behind the arc, which is a school record. Junior co-captain Chioma Nnamaka led the three-point effort, nailing 5-of-7 from distance, and 7-of-11 from the field. Nnamaka finished the night with 19 points and six rebounds.
Senior guard Stephanie Higgs led her team in points with 21, shooting 7-of-16 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Higgs pulled down seven boards and grabbed three steals on the night, capping off a tremendous defensive effort by the Jackets. Tech held Mercer to just a 34.7 shooting.
Tiffany Blackmon exploded on the college basketball scene Friday, missing only two shots from the field and using her length and wingspan to grab seven rebounds. The six-foot-two center exhibited the toughness and composure of her upper-class teammates, looking more like a seasoned veteran than the freshman that she is.
Joseph also touted the play of fellow freshman Brigitte Ardossi, who only saw 12 minutes of court time, but pulled down three defensive rebounds, came up with a steal, and was perfect from the charity stripe, exhibiting her sound fundamentals.
LOOKING BACK
Last season at this point, Tech was 10-2 after claiming a road win at Georgia State, 62-50, on Dec. 22 in Atlanta, the Jackets fifth straight win.
Last year, the Jackets downed Hampton 63-54 in the first game of the FIU Holiday Tournament on Dec. 28 in Miami to improve to 11-2.
TECH VERSUS THE ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE
Georgia Tech is 47-18 all-time against teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference, and 1-0 this year against A-Sun squads, with a 79-60 win over Kennesaw State on Nov. 17 in Atlanta. Tech is 13-6 against Mercer as a member of the A-Sun and the Bears finished 2009-10 14-16 overall mark and a 11-9 record in league action.
Tech’s record vs. Atlantic Sun schools:
Campbell 0-1 .000
Florida Atlantic 1-0 1.000
Florida Gulf Coast 1-0 1.000
Florida International** 1-0 1.000
Georgia State** 17-11 .607
Jacksonville 1-0 1.000
Kennesaw State** 5-0 1.000
Mercer 13-6 .684
Samford 2-0 1.000
Stetson 4-0 1.000
UCF 2-0 1.000
** Record against teams as members of conference.
MONTGOMERY HONORED
Senior Alex Montgomery earned her second ACC Player of the Week award on Dec. 7 after leading Tech to a 2-0 week in the Pacific Northwest. It is the second time this season and for her career that she has earned POW honors. For the week, Montgomery led the team in points (34/17.0 ppg), rebounds (17/8.5 rpg) and steals (6/3.0 spg). She converted nearly 62 percent of her field goal attempts and 73 percent of three-point attempts, and shot at least 50 percent from the field in both outings.
Head Coach MaChelle Joseph praised her senior for the poise and composure it took to put on the type of performances she did in the high-pressure situation of playing in front of a large contingency of family & friends for the first time.
JACKETS GET DEFENSIVE
The Jackets put on a defensive showcase in the Dec. 23 game at Washington. Tech limited the Huskies to only nine second half points and only 27 for the game, which tied the record for fewest points by a Yellow Jacket opponent. The Jackets held Winthrop to only 27 points on Dec. 18, 2008.
The Huskies went without a field goal from the 15:54 point of the second half to just 36 seconds remaining. During that span, UW was limited to just three free throws as Tech built a 60-25 lead.
GOIN’ STREAKIN
Tech posted its sixth straight win with the victory over Washington on Dec. 23. It is the Jackets’ longest winning streak since reeling off eight straight from Dec. 13 to Jan. 2 of last season.
Since the return of senior Deja Foster, Tech is 6-1. Foster, made her season debut against Tennessee after recovering from a knee injury in the offseason.
–RamblinWreck.com–
