THE FLATS – Efficient offense and a career-high 25 points from La’Nya Foster helped Georgia Tech to a 74-52 win over the Stanford Cardinal Sunday inside McCamish Pavilion.
The Yellow Jackets (11-14, 6-7 ACC) put together a wire-to-wire win over the Cardinal (16-9, 5-7 ACC), not giving up the lead at any point in the contest. A ferocious first quarter offensively saw Tech get ahead 21-15 and then the defense turned up the gas, holding Stanford to a season-low seven second-quarter points. Despite a 19-18 third in the favor of the road team, the Jackets powered through with 19 points in the fourth to get its ninth home win of the season and first-ever victory over the Cardinal.
Foster shot 9-for-15 from the floor and set a personal-best with five made three’s after tying her previous mark of three in the first quarter.
She led the Jackets in scoring, followed by 17 points from Talayah Walker. Walker also had eight rebounds, nearing a double-double. Brianna Turnage had her sixth-straight game with double-digit rebounds, tallying 12 with a team-high seven assists.
Erica Moon tied her career-high in scoring Sunday with 12 points of her own. Her ledger also included six rebounds and five assists.
Georgia Tech erupted for seven three’s in the first half – the most in a half for Tech this season.
FIRST HALF
Seconds after Turnage won the opening tip, Foster connected on a trey to get Tech ahead 3-0 early. Ariadna Termis added a basket to make it 5-0, while it took the Cardinal over two minutes to score its first points of the game, 5-2. Foster hit a triple moments later to give the Jackets an 8-2 advantage. Stanford managed a 6-2 run that was gashed by Foster’s third three of the quarter – putting Tech ahead 13-8 going into the 4:07 media timeout. After the Cardinal evened the game at 13, an inside pass to D’Asia Thomas-Harris allowed her to score and break the stalemate, 15-13. Walker extended that lead to eight with back-to-back treys near the one-minute mark, 21-13. Tech led 21-15 after one with seven assists on its eight made baskets.
After a scoreless first 2:30 of the second quarter, Walker drew a successful and-one play to push the lead to nine, 24-15. Stanford then managed a score before Moon connected on a trey of her own, now 27-17. Foster hit her career-best-setting fourth triple of the day to get the score to 30-19, following a Stanford score. Both teams were kept off the scoreboard for almost four minutes before Moon drew a three-point play to get it to 33-19. Savannah Samuel scored her first bucket on the next Tech possession, now 35-19. The teams each exchanged one more score apiece as Tech led 37-22 going into the intermission. The 15-point halftime lead tied Tech’s largest in ACC play this season.
SECOND HALF
Stanford scored the first four points of the third before Foster put the first Tech points on the board, keeping the Yellow Jackets ahead 39-26. After a timeout, Foster connected on a midrange jumper to answer a Stanford score, 41-28. The Cardinal got on a 7-0 run that was shut down by a driving layup from Moon, 43-35. Walker and Termis added scores ahead of the 3:21 media timeout, where the Jackets had a 47-39 advantage. Thomas-Harris scored out of the break on a jumper to give Tech a double-digit lead again, 49-39. Alben and Walker added to an 8-0 Jackets run and a 14-point lead, 53-39, with 30 seconds left in the third. Stanford added two free throws before Alben hit a clutch shot near the buzzer, sending the game to the fourth with a 55-41 Tech lead.
The Cardinal struck first in the fourth on a trey to cut into the Tech advantage, 55-44. Foster connected on back-to-back scores to answer buckets from the Cardinal, 60-47. A second-chance effort from Walker brought the lead back to 15, 62-47, with six minutes left. After Stanford scored on a trey, Thomas-Harris added one of her own to get it to 65-50. A tough basket from Moon then gave Tech its largest lead of the afternoon, 67-50, going into the 4:40 media timeout. A 7-0 after that break saw Foster eclipse her career-high in points (25) and helped Georgia Tech seal with 74-52 win.
UP NEXT
The Jackets begin their final road stretch of the regular season Thursday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. against Clemson. Fans can catch the action live on the ACC Network.
Tech is back at McCamish Pavilion to face No. 6/6 Louisville Thursday, Feb. 26. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on the ACC Network. Fans can purchase tickets here.
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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