Jan. 3, 2009
Game Notes | Watch | Listen | Gametracker
ATLANTA – The No. 23/24 Georgia Tech women’s basketball team continues its three-game homestand Sunday against Tulane (9-5). Tipoff at Alexander Memorial Coliseum is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Fans can listen to Richard Musterer and Kurt Hoyt call all the action this weekend on WREK Radio (91.1 FM/www.wrek.org), Georgia Tech women’s basketball’s flagship station. Fans can also watch the game live on ACC Select (www.ACCSelect.com).
The Yellow Jacket women (11-2), who are currently on a seven-game win streak, defeated Florida A&M 77-42 last Tuesday. Tech was led by Alex Montgomery, who registered her third career double-double in the win. Jacqua Williams finished with 16 points, five assists and four steals in the win.
The Green Wave had lost two games in a row prior to defeating UTEP in their Conference USA opener Friday night. Brittany Lindsey leads Tulane averaging 12.1 points per game. Brett Benzio is scoring 9.6 points and grabbing 10.4 rebounds for the Wave.
Georgia Tech is 3-0 all-time against Tulane, including a 66-61 win against Tulane in New Orleans last season.
NEXT UP: BOSTON COLLEGE
The Yellow Jackets will open their Atlantic Coast Conference portion of the schedule on Thur., Jan. 8 against Boston College at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Georgia Tech is 3-2 all-time against the Eagles. Last season, Tech dropped a 62-53 decision to BC in Chestnut Hill.
TECH VS. TULANE
• Georgia Tech leads the all-time series 3-0, including a 66-61 win against Tulane in New Orleans last season.
• Tulane forward Brittany Lindsey hails from Lithonia, Ga. and attended school at Woodward Academy.
• Tech is 17-3 all-time against Conference USA opponents.
LOOKING BACK: NO. 25 GEORGIA TECH SNEAKS PAST UT-ARLINGTON, 63-56
Jacqua Williams scored 16 of her career-high 20 points in the second half to lead the No. 25 Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (10-2) to a 63-56 win over UT-Arlington (4-6) in the championship game of the Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout Saturday.
Williams went nine-of-10 from the free-throw line, dished out five assists and had four steals on her way to being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Alex Montgomery, who finished with 15 points and five rebounds, was named to the All-Tournament Team.
PICK A POCKET OR TWO
After three-plus seasons on the Flats, senior Jacqua Williams has earned the reputation as one of the best defenders in the nation. The speedster from Seattle, Wash., recorded her 279th career steal on Nov. 22, 2008 against Mississippi Valley State for a new school record, surpassing Kisha Ford and Tiffany Martin on the all-time steals list. Williams plans to obliterate the previous record during the remainder of the season.
Last season, Williams finished with a single-season school record 118 steals, leading the ACC and ranking fourth in the nation with 3.8 per game. She has registered at least one steal in 50 straight games and even held the ACC single game record for steals with 11 (later broken by former Yellow Jacket Jill Ingram with 14). This season she leads the Jackets with 58 steals and has 319 on her career. She currently leads the ACC and ranks second in the nation in steals with 4.5 per game.
SENIOR CLASS PILING UP WINS
Georgia Tech’s 2008-09 senior class of Tabitha Turner and Jacqua Williams have been a part of 68 wins since beginning their careers on the Flats. The two Jackets have helped Tech to back-to-back record-setting seasons and are on pace to become the most successful class in the history of the program. With two more wins this season, the pair will accumulate the most wins by any senior class to ever play for the Yellow Jackets. Last year’s seniors finished with a school-best 69 wins in their careers.
RECOGNITION WELL DESERVED
Alex Montgomery led Georgia Tech with 18 points and four rebounds in a 74-59 win over Oregon at the Rose Garden. For her effort, Montgomery was named the Pape Jam Most Valuable Player.
At the Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout, Jacqua Williams tied her career-high with 20 points by scoring 16 in the second half to help Tech defeat UT-Arlington in the championship game to earn the tournament’s MVP. Montgomery was named to the All-Tournament team for her successful play during the weekend.
AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE … OYE, OYE, OYE
Junior Brigitte Ardossi started 26 games during her freshman season and helped the Jackets to their first win in the NCAA Tournament. Last season she was regulated to the first big off the bench and made the most of her opportunity by scoring 3.9 points per game and grabbing 2.8 rebounds in 14.5 minutes. Coach Joseph expects big things from her Aussie post-player in 2008-09 and has inserted her back into the starting lineup. She has played in 78 straight games, every game since coming to the Flats, and has started 39 of those games.
Ardossi, who has elevated her game to a new level, is scoring 9.1 points a game and is grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game. She is also knocking down her free-throw attempts at an 79% clip. Against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 30, 2008, Ardossi scored a career-high 18 points to lead Tech to the win. On Dec. 5, Ardossi helped Tech defeat its archrival Georgia with her first career double-double (15 pts, 10 reb).
SHE CAN DO IT ALL
Anyone who watched Alex Montgomery play last season knows she can really do it all. She is not only the team’s top returning scorer (10.8) and rebounder (5.4), Montgomery has also shown she can dish it, steal it, block it or even win a jump ball. A starter of 26 games as a freshman, Montgomery has become the center of the Yellow Jackets offense. She is averaging 13.4 points, has grabbed 5.8 rebounds a game and is shooting 38 percent from beyond-the-arc.
Montgomery has registered two double-doubles this season. She recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds against Winthrop and had 12 points and 10 rebounds in win over Florida A&M
BIG SHOT MONTGOMERY
With under 10 seconds remaining on the clock and the Jackets need someone to knock down a big shot, Alex Montgomery has not shied away from taking it. Last season, Montgomery hit a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to lift Tech past Miami at home (1/15/08). Montgomery has continued to show no fear when a big shot is needed, knocking down a three-pointer as time expired before halftime in three straight games (Michigan State, Georgia and Oregon) earlier in the season.
MOVING OUT
Sophomore Iasia Hemingway excelled as an undersized post player for the Jackets last season, scoring over 20 points against the likes of Maryland’s Crystal Langhorne and Tasha Humphrey of Georgia. This season, Coach Joseph has added some taller players to the Jackets roster that will allow Hemingway to take her game outside to the wing. Hemingway will now have a chance to not only post up players her height, she will also be able to take the ball to the basket and box out smaller guards for rebounds.
Hemingway is averaging 11.1 points and is registering 4.6 rebounds a game. She recorded her first career double-double against Georgia State (21 pts, 11 reb.) on Nov. 26, 2008. Hemingway has also shown a knack for getting to the free-throw line, with 63 attempts so far and is shooting 70 percent from the charity stripe.
SIXTH (WO)MAN
Most teams are lucky enough to have a solid starting five. This season, Joseph feels she can list six starters on her roster. Sophomore’s Deja Foster has shown the ability to step on the court and make an instant impact for the Jackets. Foster is averaging 22.9 minutes and started her first career game on Nov. 30, 2008 against Tennessee Tech.
Foster is scoring 7.9 points a game and is averaging 4.4 rebounds. Against Michigan State, she sparked Tech in the final five minutes with her first career three-pointer and back-to-back three-point plays on her way to a career-high 13 points.
FULL COURT PRESS
Last season, Georgia Tech finished the season with a school record 456 steals and led the NCAA with 14.3 steals per game. This has to be credited to Coach Joseph’s pressing defense. Joseph will press for 40 minutes with numerous pressing schemes to keep the offensive off-balance. Joseph wants her team to “be an impressive running defensive team that creates opportunities for the offense.” Even though it is early in the season, Tech is averaging a staggering 14.2 steals a game.
WINNING WITH COACH JO
In just her sixth season at the helm, Coach MaChelle Joseph is already has registered the second-most wins in Georgia Tech history. Joseph has registered a 95-68 (.583) records. She has led Tech to its first back-to-back 20-win seasons and two straight NCAA Tournaments.
TECH IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Georgia Tech cracked the top 25 in the Dec. 15, 2008 Associated Press poll. It the second time in the last year when Tech found itself ranked. Tech was also ranked on Jan. 21, 2008. Prior to last season, the Yellow Jackets were not ranked for 14 years to the week, with the last time coming on Jan. 19, 1993. The Jackets are ranked 23 in the current AP poll, tying it’s highest ever AP ranking. Tech is ranked No. 23 in AP poll for the fifth week all-time. The Yellow Jackets entered the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 25 on Dec. 23, 2008.
TECH VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Yellow Jackets played two top-10 teams in there first six games for the first time since facing No. 3 Georgia and No. 9 Maryland back in 1983. Tech went 0-2 in those games but fell by only 11 points at No. 1 UConn and then lost a tight game by eight points to No. 9 Texas in Florida. These games proved to help the Jackets as they upset No. 21 Michigan State at home on Dec. 3, 2008. This was the first win over a ranked opponent for Tech since it defeated No. 4 Maryland on Feb. 1, 2007.
BEST IN STATE
The Yellow Jackets did not win any trophy or cup but they did accomplish of their main goals coming in to the season,Tech has defeated Kennesaw State, Georgia State Georgia. With a win over Savannah State later this season, Tech will be able to call themselves the top team in the state of Georgia for the 2008-09 season. The last time Georgia Tech defeated three in-state teams was in 2002-03, when Tech defeated Georgia, Georgia State and Mercer.
THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Since Joseph began her tenure, Georgia Tech is 63-20 (.759) at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Last season, Tech finished with a program-best 14-2 mark on the Coliseum floor and is off to a good start in 2008-09, registering a 7-0 mark so far.
