Jan. 25, 2007
Atlanta – Georgia Tech scored 30 points off turnovers and senior Stephanie Higgs led all scorers with 16 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (12-8. 3-3 ACC) past Boston College (11-9, 1-5 ACC), 60-49, in Atlantic Coast Conference women’s basketball action on Thursday night in the Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
“I think Boston College is a very solid basketball team and when they made their runs at us we got sharper and did not fall back on our heels,” said Tech coach MaChelle Joseph. “We put our shoulder down and went after them and that is what you have to do to win in this league.”
Tech’s Chioma Nnamaka was the only other Jacket in double figures, tallying 10 points and seven rebounds. BC’s Kathrin Ross had 12 points to lead the Eagles.
The Jackets scored just six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Eagles tied the game for the third time, 40-40. The Yellow Jackets’ Higgs ended a 3:59 scoring drought with a layup and Tech scored seven straight points to regain its lead, 47-42, with 7:54 remaining in the game.
After BC stormed back again to tie the game at 49-49, GT’s Janie Mitchell assumed control of the game. Mitchell made a nice dish at the basket to Kentrina Wilson for two points and had a put back off a rebound to tally an old fashioned 3-point play and give the Jackets a 52-47 lead at the 5:19 mark.
“Janie Mitchell is a big time player and big time players make big time plays,” said Joseph. “Our job as coaches is to put them in a position to win and the players have to make plays at the end of the game and I think that Janie Mitchell came up big for us.”
Mitchell added a big basket with just 1:46 left in the game to all but ice the Eagles and their chances of winning the game. Tech held BC scoreless over a five-minute span and made their free throws down the stretch to claim an 11-point victory.
In the first half, each team suffered through some offensive dry spells and turnovers over the first eight minutes as the Yellow Jackets started the game on a 6-0 run and the Eagles responded with a 10-0 run to take an early 10-6 lead with 13:52 remaining in first half. Tech countered with a 7-0 run and led BC 17-14 with 7:41 left in the first 20 minutes.
With the scored tied at 17-17 with 6:49 remaining, the Jackets outscored the Eagles 16-11 off six fast break points and 14 points in the paint to lead 33-28 at halftime.
BC’s Kindyll Dorsey led all scorers in the first half with 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting, including three 3-pointers. Tech’s Nnamaka led the Jackets with seven points on 3-of-7 shooting from the floor.
Mitchell finished the game with nine points for the Yellow Jackets, while Wilson scored eight and grabbed six rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets will remain in conference action this weekend as Tech travels to Winston Salem, N.C, to face Wake Forest (8-11, 0-6 ACC) on Sunday, Jan. 28. Tip off for that game is slated for 1 p.m. The Rambling Wreck will then host defending national champion and No. 3 Maryland (20-1, 4-1 ACC) on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. in the AMC.
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