WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Fueled by a double-double from Lorela Cubaj, No. 22 Georgia Tech women’s basketball concluded regular season play with a 64-56 victory at Wake Forest. A total of four Yellow Jackets dropped double-figure scoring totals in LJVM Coliseum on Sunday.
Georgia Tech (20-9, 11-7 ACC) dominated in the paint, outscoring the Demon Deacons, 44-22, as Cubaj finished with a game-high 18 points followed by 16 points from Nerea Hermosa. Lotta-Maj Lahtinen contributed 12 points and Avyonce Carter added 11 to round out the Jackets in double-figures.
Hermosa handed the Jackets their first lead of the game on a bucket with 3:13 in the first as the junior posted eight points in the opening quarter. Leading by four after the first 10 minutes, Carter took control in the second frame, scoring Tech’s first eight points in just over two minutes to extend Tech’s lead to 28-19. But Wake Forest called a timeout and responded erasing its deficit and hitting a three-pointer with two seconds left to hold a narrow 33-32 lead at halftime.
WFU’s lead was short-lived as Hermosa returned the final lead to Georgia Tech immediately out of halftime. Tech opened the third quarter with a 7-0 spurt and never looked back. The Deacons would close their differential to one point, 54-53, with 5:10 left to play in the final stanza, but after a timeout on the floor, the Jackets answered with a 7-0 run to put the game away. Cubaj closed the game going 3-for-4 from the free throw line to account for the final score.
Tech shot 48.2 percent (27-56) from the field and finished 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from the free throw line. Behind Cubaj’s game-high 16 rebounds, Tech won the battle on the glass, 42-24.
Wake Forest was led offensively by Christina Morra with 14 points, followed by Niyah Becker with 13. The ACC’s leading scorer, Jewel Spear, was held to 11 points.
Up next, Georgia Tech heads to Greensboro, N.C., for the 2022 ACC Tournament, which runs March 2-6.
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 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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