ATLANTA (Nov. 27) — Junior Jaime Kruppa registered a double-double with a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore Niesha Butler added 11 points en route to tournament most valuable player honors as Georgia Tech downed Hofstra, 89-61, in the finals of the Georgia Tech/Atlanta Marriott Northwest Basketball Classic Saturday at O’Keefe Gymnasium.
Kruppa scored 21 of game-high 26 in the first half as the Yellow Jackets (3-0) won their annual Thanksgiving tournament for the third straight year and for the eighth time overall.
Tech fed Kruppa inside early as the junior from Lithonia, Ga., went 6-for-7 from the floor and a perfect 9-for-9 from the foul line in the first 20 minutes as the Jackets shot 55.2 percent in the first half and built a 23-point lead at the intermission.
Kruppa finished 6-of-10 from the floor and 14-of-17 from the foul line. She also had three assists and five steals.
Junior Candice McCallum aided Kruppa and the Jackets’ inside game, finishing with 14 points and five rebounds.
Senior Noreen Duffy led Hofstra (1-2) with 14 points as the Flying Dutchwomen placed three players in double figures. Freshman Jennifer Brickey added 13, and sophomore Kimberly Coke had 10.
Kruppa and senior Danielle Donehew, who finished with nine points on three three-pointers, were also named to the all-tournament team. Hofstra’s Coke, Elon’s Anestha Blankeney and Yale’s Meg Simpson rounded out the team.
In the consolation game, Elon defeated Yale, 55-50.
The Yellow Jackets open Atlantic Coast Conference play by hosting seventh-ranked NC State at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum at McDonald’s Center.
Elon Tops Yale In Consolation Game
ATLANTA (Nov. 27) — Freshman Anestha Blankeney tied for agame-high 16 points as Elon held off Yale down the stretch to takea 55-50 win in the consolation game of the Georgia Tech/AtlantaMarriott Northwest Basketball Classic Saturday at O’KeefeGymnasium.
Blankeney’s 16 points included a pair of free throws with four seconds left to help seal the win for the Fighting Christians (2-2).
Yale (0-3) trailed by double digits for much of the second half, but rallied to pull to within two at 52-50 on a pair of free throws by Alyson Miller with 48 seconds left. The Bulldogs turned the ball over twice in the final 23 seconds, and Elon went 3-for-4 from the foul line down the stretch.
Miller led Yale and matched Elon’s Blankeney with a game-high tying 16 points.
Tournament MVP: Niesha Butler, Georgia Tech
All-Tournament Team: Danielle Donehew, Georgia Tech Jaime Kruppa, Georgia Tech Kimberly Coke, Hofstra Anestha Blankeney, Elon Meg Simpson, Yale
