Jan. 26, 2002
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team officially completed its first trip through the Atlantic Coast Conference and won its fifth-straight conference game for the first time in school history in the process, with an 83-78 victory over Clemson on Saturday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
Senior guard Milli Martinez led the way for the Yellow Jackets (12-6, 6-3 ACC) as she netted a career- and game-high 29 points to go along with eight rebounds.
“Right now I feel like our team is really all on the same page,” said Martinez. “We all want to win and get to the NCAA Tournament. I feel like I play better with more on my plate and I feel like I can really step up in those situations.”
Tech jumped on top of the Tigers (12-8, 4-5 ACC) at the outset of the game, sprinting to a 12-3 lead just 4:46 into the contest, on the strength of four points each from Martinez, Fallon Stokes and Sonja Mallory. Clemson climbed right back into the game, scoring 11-straight points on a trio of three pointers and five points from Chrissy Floyd. The Tigers then built their advantage to as much as six on a fast break layup by Lakeia Stokes to make the score 23-17 with 7:18 to play in the first half.
The Jackets then regained the lead for good at 29-27 with 2:25 remaining in the opening half, as Mallory sank a layup. Tech then continued its run by scoring the next nine points to end the half, extending a 21-4 run over the final 7:18 to claim a 38-27 lead at the break. A three-pointer with two seconds remaining, by Megan Isom, ensured the halftime margin.
Tech held the Tigers at bay as the second half opened, allowing Clemson to within six points at 43-37 with 16:25 to play in the game, before extending that margin to 11 on a jumper by Fallon Stokes with 7:45 to play that made the score 53-42. The Jackets’ lead then grew to 14 at 60-46 as rookie Nefertiti Walker made both free throws that resulted from a technical foul on the Clemson bench.
The Tigers were not done, as they made a late charge as well, cutting to the lead to four at 64-60 when Julie Aderhold sank a three and stole Tech’s inbound pass before feeding Floyd for a layup with 2:38 to play. The final difference in the contest came at the free throw line, as Walker’s two points from the line were part of a 22-for-30 shooting effort from the charity stripe by the Yellow Jackets over the final 4:15. Martinez scored 12 of her 29 points in the game over that final span for Tech.
Martinez was one of four Yellow Jackets in double-figure scoring with her 29 points and eight boards to go along with five assists, as she assumed the point guard duties for much of the second half. She was followed in the game by Stokes, who had 18 points and seven rebound, along with Mallory, who netted double-digits in points for the fourth-straight game and coupled that with a game-high nine rebounds and two blocks. Isom was the final Tech player in double figures, as she continued her hot play of late, scoring 12 points and pulling down six rebounds.
Tech controlled the boards once again, outrebounding the Tigers by a 42-22 margin.
A pair of players led Clemson with 20 or more points, as Marci Glenney finished with 24 and Floyed ended the night with 22 points.
Georgia Tech will not have too much time off before returning to action, as the Yellow Jackets will host Charleston Southern in a non-conference match-up beginning at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
