THE FLATS – No. 17 Georgia Tech closed out non-conference play pocketing another top-25 win, downing No. 23 Nebraska, 72-61, Saturday evening in McCamish Pavilion. Dani Carnegie led the offensive front with 20 points, while Kara Dunn logged a double-double as Tech improved to 13-0 on the season.
A defensive battle ensued in the first half as the teams remained within one possession through the first nine minutes of the game. It was a back-and-forth battle in the early going before the Jackets put together a 14-4 run fueled by four points from Kayla Blackshear and triples from Carnegie and Chit-Chat Wright. Wright’s triple put Tech on top 21-12 with 7:51 to play in the second, forcing Nebraska to burn an early timeout. Tech closed the half on three-pointers from Wright and back-to-back treys from Carnegie for a 32-19 halftime lead. Carnegie went into the locker room leading all scorers with 12 points on four three-pointers.
The Jackets pushed their lead out to 18 points in the third period, using a 7-0 spurt midway through the quarter to lead 43-25. Nebraska slowly chipped away at its deficit and would cut the score to single digits for the first time since the second quarter following a three-pointer from Logan Nissley at 1:36 in the fourth to setup a 64-55 tally. Nebraska would continue to send Tech to the free throw line over the final minute, and the Jackets held steady, converting 7-of-8 attempts to close the game. Tech was nearly perfect at the charity stripe overall, going 18-for-21 (85.7 percent) to help seal the win.
Georgia Tech improved to 13-0 on the season after picking up its third win over a ranked opponent this season. Photo by Danny Karnik
Tech was held to a 38.7 percent shooting effort from the field led by Carnegie with 20 points. Dunn added 16 points to the scoreboard, while Wright finished with a season-high 15 points and Tonie Morgan chipped in 10. The Jackets won the rebounding battle, 42-39, led by Dunn’s second double-double of the season with a career-high 14 rebounds. Dunn added four steals to her stat line and was 6-of-7 at the free throw line in the win.
Nebraska came into the contest leading the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (39.8) and averaging 9.4 a game. The Cornhuskers were held one three-pointer in the first half and finished with 6-of-23 overall for a 26.1 percent clip. Alexis Markowski led Nebraska with 20 points and 10 rebounds in just the second loss for the Cornhuskers this season.
Georgia Tech returns to conference play, welcoming Pitt to McCamish Pavilion on Dec. 29. Tip is slated for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
Dani Carnegie postgame press conference
Head coach Nell Fortner postgame press conference
ACC PICK 3 TICKET PACKAGE FOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Pick three premier ACC women’s basketball home games in the ACC Pick 3 ticket plan for just $24. Packages are available for purchase only until Dec. 29. Single-game tickets for the season remain on sale. Single game tickets begin at just $10 for general admission seating and are $12 for reserved seating. Youth pricing begins at $8 per game and are available day of game, while group ticket packages are on sale for 10 or more tickets at $5 per ticket. Please contact the Georgia Tech Athletic Association ticket office for more information on group tickets at tickets@athletics.gatech.edu. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting RamblinWreck.com or by calling the Georgia Tech ticket office at 1-888-TECH-TIX.
GEORGIA TECH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
Georgia Tech is celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s basketball on The Flats this season. Under the direction of coach Jim Culpepper, Georgia Tech competed its first year in the Georgia Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (GAIAW) in 1974-75 before joining the ACC in 1979-80. Tech has seen many highlights over 50 years, including playing in the NCAA Tournament 11 times, with two Sweet 16 appearances (2012, 2021), and producing nine WNBA draft picks, featuring first round draft picks Alex Montgomery and Sasha Goodlett. In its first postseason berth in school history, Georgia Tech captured the 1992 National Women’s Invitational Tournament. Currently in its sixth season under head coach Nell Fortner, the Yellow Jackets have reach postseason play three times in the last five years.
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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