THE FLATS – Georgia Tech gained the permanent lead in the first quarter despite a feisty Clemson team and walked away with a 70-62 victory Thursday night in McCamish Pavilion. The third-straight Atlantic Coast Conference win pushed the Jackets to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Four Yellow Jackets finished in double-figures, paced by 19 points from Kara Dunn and a double-double from Kayla Blackshear with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Tonie Morgan added 16 points, while Rusne Augustinaite contributed 14 to the scoreboard. Off the bench, Sydney Johnson dished out a season-high seven assists, and provided valuable minutes down the stretch.
Georgia Tech set the tone early, fighting back from an early deficit to build a six-point lead off a Morgan three-pointer at the first quarter buzzer for a 17-11 score. Fueled by eight points from Morgan, the Jackets opened a 28-18 lead in the second quarter and led 32-23 at intermission.
Inés Noguero dropped in a triple from the corner in the third, but the Tigers strung together an 8-0 run to close the gap to 41-39, forcing Georgia Tech to call a timeout at 4:45. Amari Robinson converted a three-point play to open the fourth quarter, slicing the score to 45-44, but the Jackets answered with an 11-2 run of their own, fueled by seven points from Dunn, to push their lead back out to 56-46 with 7:13 to play. Clemson did not go lightly and slowly chipped away, coming back within two points, but strong play from Dunn helped the Jackets close the game for their third-straight win.
Georgia Tech won the battle on the glass, 36-33, and recorded 20 assists on 28 made field goals on the night. The Jackets converted 9-of-11 free throws, highlighted by a perfect 5-for-5 effort from Morgan at the stripe.
Clemson was led by Robinson with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mackenzie Kramer and Ruby Whitehorn, who both opened the game with three-pointers, added 18 and 17 points, respectively. The Tigers hit seven three-pointers, but were limited at the free throw line, going 5-for-5.
Georgia Tech is back in action this weekend traveling to Duke for a Sunday tilt. The Yellow Jackets and Blue Devils tip at 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Head coach Nell Fortner postgame press conference
Kayla Blackshear meets with media postgame
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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