THE FLATS – A strong defensive effort and late rally were not enough to lift Georgia Tech women’s basketball past California Thursday, 63-56, inside McCamish Pavilion.
Tech (10-14, 5-7 ACC) rebounded from a slow first half by outscoring the Golden Bears (14-10, 5-6 ACC) in the third quarter, 15-12, and went on a fourth-quarter rally led by Jada Crawshaw. The Darwin, Australia native tied for the team-lead with 14 points, her third-straight game in double figures.
Talayah Walker was tied with Crawshaw at 14 points, adding four assists and seven rebounds. Brianna Turnage added her fifth-straight game with double-digit rebounds, collecting a team-high 13. She also led Tech in assists (5) and steals (3) Thursday night. Savannah Samuel also had key distance shots in the second half to keep the Yellow Jackets within just a couple possessions of the Bears.
The Jackets shot 66.7% in the fourth quarter, their best frame from a shooting standpoint. Walker also continued her impressive season at the charity stripe, going a perfect 4-for-4.
Defensively, Tech held the Bears to 26.3% from beyond the arc, adding to a home three-point defensive average that led the conference going into the night.
FIRST HALF
The game’s first points came via a turnover forced by La’Nya Foster that turned into a layup from Walker. Cal managed four-straight before Walker scored again to even the game at four apiece. She added two more on free throws to answer a Cal score to tie the game again, 6-6, with four minutes left. The road team took a 10-6 before Catherine Alben grabbed a steal-and-score of her own to get Tech back within two. Cal made a trey to get ahead 13-8 but scores from Crawshaw and Ariadna Termis (three-pointer) had Tech down just 15-13 after one.
Cal struck first in the second quarter to lead 17-13. A drive to the basket from Alben marked Tech’s first score of the quarter, getting it back to a two-point game. Cal scored five-straight then Erica Moon knocked down her first triple of the game, putting the Jackets down four, 22-18. Out of a 7-0 Golden Bear run, Crawshaw made a jumper to get Tech to 20 points on the night. She struck again moments later to answer a Cal score, 31-22. Samuel then added her first score of the game to make it an eight-point game 32-24. One last make from the charity stripe had Cal ahead 33-24 at the intermission.
SECOND HALF
Cal started the third as it ended the second, with a single free throw make. On the next possession, Walker made a second-chance basket to make it 34-26. Then down 36-26, Foster made a corner three on a long assist from Turnage to cut into the deficit. Coming out of the 4:43 media timeout, Walker made two free throws to get within seven again, 38-31. After forcing a turnover, the Jackets drove down the court again and an assist from Crawshaw to Foster sliced the deficit to five, 38-33. Almost two minutes later, Walker hit a midrange jumper to make it just a three-point game, 38-35. The two teams exchanged three scores each before Cal hit the final shot of the third to lead 45-39.
Turnage scored a couple free throws for the Jackets’ first score of the fourth, following another lone free throw make for Cal. On the next offensive possession, Walker hit a deep jumper to put Tech within three again, 46-43. After the Bears got ahead 48-43, Samuel connected on a trey – now cutting it to two, 48-46. The road team score four-straight to extend its lead then Turnage made a jumper of her own to keep Tech within striking distance, 52-48, going into the 4:07 media timeout. Now with three minutes left, Crawshaw made a driving layup to get into double figures and keep Tech within three, 54-51. The Bears managed to get ahead 59-52 but back-to-back momentum plays from Crawshaw sliced it to a three-point game with less than a minute left, 59-56. The Bears managed to hold on in the final seconds for the 63-56 decision.
UP NEXT
Tech hosts Stanford Sunday, Feb. 8 for this season’s Play4Kay game. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra. Fans can purchase tickets here.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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