WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Behind three Yellow Jackets in double-figures, including a third consecutive double-double from Lorela Cubaj, Georgia Tech women’s basketball dominated Wake Forest in LJVM Coliseum Thursday night, 73-44. Nerea Hermosa tied her career-high and Lotta-Maj Lahtinen led all scorers as Tech improved to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The Jackets came out on fire in the first half, shooting 72.7 percent from the field and forcing four Wake Forest turnovers through the first media timeout to hold a 17-9 lead with five minutes to play. Hermosa dominated inside, posting Tech’s first six points and finishing with 10 in the frame. Tech put together a 5-0 spurt to open the second quarter, but both teams struggled offensively in the stanza, hitting a combined six field goals. Lahtinen would cap the frame with an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Jackets up, 32-22, at halftime.
Tech carried its momentum into the second half, keeping the Demon Deacons at bay and building its lead out to as many as 31 points in the fourth quarter. The Jackets opened the second half with a 9-0 run, forcing Wake Forest to call a timeout with less than four minutes expired, and Tech never looked back the remainder of the game to pocket their third road win of the season.
Led by 12 points from Hermosa, Tech scored 20 points in the paint in the first half, and was paced on the boards by Cubaj with 12. The Jackets would score 38 points in the paint on the night. Hermosa finished with 16 points on a perfect 8-for-8 performance from the field, while Cubaj posted her sixth double-double of the season with 15 rebounds and 11 points. Lahtinen led Tech with 17 points, finishing 6-for-7 from the free throw line.
A strong defensive presence from Tech limited Wake Forest to a 26.4 percent (14-53) shooting clip, and held the Demon Deacons to four second chance points, cleaning up the boards, 40-28. Tech shot 52.7 percent (29-55) from the floor and 76.9 percent (10-13) from the charity stripe.
Tech returns to action on Sunday, welcoming Florida State to McCamish Pavilion. Tip is slated for 1 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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