Jackson Lifts Jackets Past Belmont, 58-52

ESTERO, Fla. – Bianca Jackson scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 24 on the day to lift Georgia Tech to a 58-52 victory over Belmont in the final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Sunday. Tech finished 2-1 in the tournament and moved to 5-2 overall on the season.

It all came down to the final three minutes as Belmont came out of halftime and dominated the third quarter, winning the period, 22-7, to take the lead and hold a 39-36 advantage entering the fourth quarter. The Bruins led by five, 50-45, as the clock hit 3:05 before Tech finished with a 13-2 run to close the game. Jackson hit a clutch three-pointer at the 1:50 mark and Tech went 10-for-12 at the free throw line over the final stretch to seal the win.

A distribution of its offense led Georgia Tech to a 29-17 halftime advantage despite shooting just 28.9 percent from the field. Jackson led Tech in the first half with eight points, followed by Cameron Swartz with seven and Kara Dunn with six. The Jackets shook off a slow start as Belmont kept Tech off the scoreboard until Eylia Love hit a jumper at 5:56. Tech slowly erased its deficit and used a strong defensive second quarter to build its lead. Limited to only nine attempts from the field in the second quarter, Belmont was outscored in the frame, 18-7, as the Jackets put together a 9-1 run over the final four minutes to hold the lead at intermission.

Kara Dunn finished with eight points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal in the win over Belmont. Photo by Kevin Bires

Jackson finished the day with a game-high 24 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal. The Montgomery, Ala., native went 7-for-8 from the free throw line to lead Tech’s 18-for-25 effort at the charity stripe. Swartz added 12 points, six rebounds and was 5-for-5 in free throws, while Dunn added eight points and seven rebounds in the win.

Belmont was held to a 5-for-9 showing at the free throw line and shot 31.3 percent from the field led by Madison Bartley with 22 points. Tech held Belmont’s top three scorers all to single digits and kept the Bruins to a 20.6 percent clip (7-34) from three-point range. Tech narrowly won the rebounding battle, 49-43, despite Belmont’s second half effort, 26-21.

Georgia Tech returns to the hardwood for the 2022 ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 1 traveling to face Michigan State. The Yellow Jackets and Spartans are set to tip at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network inside the Breslin Center.

Competitive Drive Initiative

In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.

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