CONWAY, S.C. – Led by four players in double-figures, Georgia Tech women’s basketball advanced to the second round of the 2017 ACC Tournament with a 71-67 victory over 15th-seeded Boston College. The Jackets, the No. 10 seed, advanced to face 7th-seeded Miami on Thursday at 6 p.m.
“First of all, I’m just really proud of our team,” commented head coach MaChelle Joseph. “We have a lot of young players. Four of our top eight players are first year to the ACC – first year playing at this level, and it’s been a very interesting year for this team. We’ve been in the situation that we were in today seven other times this year, and so to come out with the win just says a lot about the growth of this team over the course of the season. I was just really pleased with the play of Kaylan Pugh. She struggled a little bit in the first half and really came out in the second half and I thought got aggressive and attacked the basket and made plays for us.”
How It Happened
The Jackets shook off a slow start as Boston College led the majority of the first quarter but closed the opening frame with Antonia Peresson draining a triple to leave the game tied at 14-14. The Eagles jumped out ahead early in the second quarter and led by four off a three-pointer from Kailey Edwards before the Jackets put together a 12-4 run fueled by four points from Kaylan Pugh and six points from Francesca Pan for a 31-27 lead at halftime.
The teams traded the score six times in the third quarter, but Georgia Tech led for over half the period, leading by as many as six to end the frame. The Eagles posted an 11-2 run to open the third frame and took a three-point lead, 38-35, with 6:30 to play. The lead was short-lived as Pan nailed a three-pointer to knot the score on the next possession. After two more lead changes, the Jackets would gain the final lead on an Imani Tilford jumper at the 2:30 mark. Tech closed the third frame with a 9-2 spurt to lead 49-43 at the final intermission.
Tech never relinquished the lead in the final quarter, pushing out to a nine point advantage on two free throws from Pan with 3:43 to play. The Eagles tried to put together a late rally, coming within four points, but Tech hit three free throws to close the game for the win.
Tech Tidbits
* Georgia Tech defeated Boston College in the regular season by the same score
* Tech improved to 17-13 overall on the season with the win
* Kaylan Pugh led the Jackets with 20 points, while Francesca Pan added 14 points
* Zaire O’Neil and Imani Tilford completed the quartet in double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively
* Boston College finished the game shooting 45.5 percent (25-55) from the field compared to Tech’s 39.1 percent (25-64) effort
* The Jackets converted 17 free throws – the same amount BC attempted
* BC finished 14-of-17 from the charity stripe, while Tech was 17-for-26
Next Up
Georgia Tech will face 7th-seeded Miami on Thursday in the second round at 6 p.m.
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