Feb. 14, 2014
Final Stats | GT Photo Gallery
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer, senior Tyaunna Marshall, became the first Yellow Jacket and 24th player in the ACC to score 2,000 career points after scoring 20 points in the Jacket’s 95-76 win against Virginia on Friday night.
“We are starting to play,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “We are starting to come together. We are starting to play at the level that we know that we are capable of playing at. I think we are starting to come into our own and are really coming together right now.”
Freshman Kaela Davis led the Yellow Jackets (17-8, 7-5 ACC) to their fourth-straight victory, scoring 27 points and grabbing four rebounds against the Cavaliers (12-12, 5-6 ACC) in Tech’s Play 4 Kay game. Davis shot five-for-nine from behind the 3-point line. Along with Marshall’s 20 points, the senior had tied a career-high with seven assists and had three steals.
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“When our bench scores 30 points that’s when people are going to have a hard time beating us,” Joseph said. “I thought Katarina Vuckovic really stepped up in a big way. She did some really great things on the floor and made a huge difference. Aaliyah Whiteside was big in rebounding.”
Freshman Katarina Vuckovic had a season-high 14 points against the Cavaliers while dishing out three assists and draining two 3-pointers. Sophomore Aaliyah Whiteside led the team in rebounds, grabbing a team-high nine, and scored 12 points. Junior Sydney Wallace hit three 3-point shots on the way to 14 points and recorded four assists.
The Jackets recorded 23 assists, its second-highest assist output since the squad dished out 25 against Western Carolina in the second game of the season. The Yellow Jackets also scored 10 3-point baskets, shooting 58.8 percent from behind the arc (10-for-17). This was the seventh game this season Tech as scored at least 90 points.
Davis was an offensive spark in the first half, scoring 23 points in the first 20 minutes of play and making five 3-pointers. Davis scored the Jackets first eight points, propelling Tech to an 8-4 lead. Davis sank back-to-back 3-pointers, both assisted by Marshall, and went 2-for-2 from the foul line in the first 1:27 of the game.
The Jackets were perfect from the field in the opening games minutes, going 8-for-8. By the 16:18 minute mark in the first half, Davis already had 11 points.
Tech utilized impressive 3-point shooting in the first half, draining five 3-pointers within the first 4:23 of the game – three from Davis and two from Wallace – to put Tech ahead 19-8 at the 15:34 mark.
Davis’ shot from behind the arc at 16:18 sparked an 11-0 run for the Jackets and put them ahead 16, 24-8.
The Cavaliers would outscore Tech, 10-4, over a 2:56 period to go climb within 10 of the Jacket’s 39-29 lead with 3:58 remaining. The Jackets answered Virginia’s run with eight-straight unanswered points to take a 47-29 advantage. Tech would head into the locker room at half with a 50-35 lead.
Virginia would come out strong after halftime, outscoring the Jackets 12-7 in the first four minutes of the second half, but a quick 7-0 run for the Jackets put them back on top 64-48 with 15:26 left. Six-straight points from Marshall in just 46 seconds gave the Jackets a 71- 55 lead with 11:04 left on the clock.
With 6:49 left, Marshall, drove to the basket and pulled up in the paint, hitting one of her signature jump shots to score her 2000th career point. Marshall’s bucket put Tech up, 77-66. The Jackets closed out the game on a 9-4 run, securing its 17th overall win of the season.
Sarah Imovbioh led the Cavaliers, scoring 21 points while Lexie Gerson scored 18 and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets travel to #2 Notre Dame on Monday to face the Fighting Irish at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Regional Sports Network.
–RamblinWreck.com–
