March 23, 2021

HOW SWEET IT IS!

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SAN ANTONIO — Behind 22 points from Lotta-Maj Lahtinen and 21 from Lorela Cubaj, Georgia Tech women’s basketball routed West Virginia, 73-56, in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at UTSA Convocation Center.

With the victory, Georgia Tech (17-8), the No. 5 seed in the Hemisfair Region, advances to the Sweet 16 for only the second time in school history and the first time since 2012. The Yellow Jackets will face top-seeded South Carolina in the regional semifinals, which will be played on Saturday or Sunday in San Antonio.

After falling behind by nine points (15-6) to fourth-seeded West Virginia (22-7) less than eight minutes into the game, Georgia Tech controlled the action the rest of the way. The Yellow Jackets closed the first quarter with a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 17-15, took their first lead at 22-20 on a 3-pointer by Lahtinen less than two minutes into the second quarter, then gained the advantage for good with a 7-0 run late in the second period.

Tech, which led 36-32 at halftime, outscored the Mountaineers, 22-9, in the third quarter to take a commanding 58-41 advantage. The Jackets expanded the lead to as many as 21 points late in the fourth period to set off a raucous celebration on the Tech sideline and among the GT fans permitted to be in the stands at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Lahtinen, Cubaj and Kierra Fletcher (14 points) combined to score 57 of the Yellow Jackets’ 73 points on 25-of-45 shooting. Lahtinen sank 4-of-9 3-point attempts, Cubaj added a game-high 12 rebounds for her second-straight NCAA Tournament double-double (and 14th of the season) and Fletcher led Tech with four assists.

As a team, Georgia Tech shot 51.8% from the field (29-of-56) and 42.9% from 3-point range (6-of-14), compared to 43.8% overall (21-for-48) and 26.7% from 3-point land for WVU. Tech out-rebounded the Mountaineers by a 36-22 margin, including 13-6 on the offensive glass.