THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s basketball recorded its sixth-straight Atlantic Coast Conference win on Tuesday night, defeating Syracuse in a convincing 76-63 win. Three Yellow Jackets – Lorela Cubaj, Kierra Fletcher and Eylia Love – posted double-figure scoring numbers, lifting Tech to a 10-3 overall record and 8-2 conference ledger.
The Yellow Jackets shot 66.7 percent (10-15) in the first quarter, including an 80.0 percent (4-5) effort from three-point range to hold a 16-point lead after the first stanza. Tech built its lead back out to 17 points early in the second frame before the Orange put together an 8-1 run to close within 32-22 with 4:56 to play. Tech answered holding off the rally to lead 40-27 at halftime. Fletcher and Cubaj combined to score 23 points in the first half as Tech also went 8-for-11 at the free throw line, while Syracuse was held without a trip to the charity stripe.
The Orange came out of halftime and posted an 8-0 spurt to force a Tech timeout, narrowing the score to 40-35. The Jackets would build their lead back out to double-digits in the frame, but Syracuse used another 8-0 run bridging both quarters to slice the score to 54-51 with 8:27 to play in the fourth. Cubaj snapped the streak as the Jackets began to answer the Orange and shot 8-for-10 from the field in the frame to regain a comfortable double-digit advantage.
Tech saw offensive output from seven different Jackets led by Cubaj’s 21 points to match her career-high. Fletcher followed with 18 and Love added 14 off the bench to set a personal-best. The Jackets finished 16-for-21 at the free throw line, while Syracuse was held scoreless at the charity stripe with a 0-for-4 showing. For the 10th time this season, Tech won the rebounding battle, edging the Orange on the glass, 33-23. Cubaj led with nine rebounds on the night, narrowly missing a double-double. For the game, Tech shot 49.1 percent (28-57) from the field.
Syracuse was paced offensively by Kamilla Cardoso with 18 points. The Orange shot 53.7 percent (29-54) from the field and outscored the Jackets in the paint, 46-32.
The six-game ACC win streak marks the longest for Tech since 2011-12 when the Jackets won seven-straight, stretching into the ACC Tournament with two wins. It is the longest regular season ACC win streak in program history.
Tech faces a quick turnaround, welcoming Clemson to McCamish Pavilion on Thursday. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and the Support The Swarm Fund, created to give fans an opportunity to help Georgia Tech athletics maintain its recent momentum through the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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