Feb. 18, 2012
By Jon Cooper
Sting Daily
No. 20/22 Georgia Tech looks to stay hot as it heads into its final three games of the regular season, hosting Boston College this afternoon at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. The Jackets entertain realistic hopes of finishing third in the ACC, entering Sunday tied with Maryland at 9-4 in the conference. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
The Yellow Jackets made it six wins in their last seven on Thursday night, leading wire-to-wire in knocking off Wake Forest, 67-52, at Joel Coliseum. Sophomore guard Dawnn Maye erupted for a career-high 23 points, Sasha Goodlett had 16, and Ty Marshall added a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Jackets, who made 14 steals and forced 23 turnovers, broke open what was a seven-point game at the half. Back-to-back steals and breakaway layups by Metra Walthour and Maye opened the second half and set the tone as the Jackets puled away from the Demon Deacons, leading by as much as 16.
The Eagles are riding a season-high two-game winning streak, after their dramatic come-from-behind 56-53 victory over Clemson Thursday night at Conte Forum. Kristen Doherty had a team-high 17 points, including the go-ahead basket with 40 seconds remaining, as B.C. closed the game on an 8-2 run to overcome a 51-47 deficit with 2:40 to play. Doherty added a team-high seven rebounds and a game-high five steals. The Eagles have won two straight after dropping their first 11 ACC games.
Today’s game is the 10th in the series, which began in 1991. The Yellow Jackets lead the series 5-4, and are 3-1 in home games against B.C. A win today would give them their first home winning streak in the series and first season sweep of the Eagles.
Fans can catch the action on WREK, 91.1 FM or online at www.WREK.org with Richard Musterer and Michele Van Gorp on the call. Fans can get live stats on RamblinWreck.com and also can get instant updates by following the team on Twitter at @GTWBB and can get more information on the team by liking them on Facebook, GTWomensBasketball.
And now, the Starting Five for today’s game.
The Last Time We Met: It was “Career Day” for Sasha Goodlett, who put up career-bests with 26 points and 16 rebounds, as Georgia Tech took care of Boston College, 68-58, on Jan. 15. The win was Tech’s first at Conte Forum in four tries. The Yellow Jackets held the Eagles without a field goal for nearly eight minutes and outscored them 13-7 over the final 6:41 of the first half to take a 33-27 lead into the locker room. Tech opened the second half on a 10-2 run in the first 2:05 to extend the lead to 14. The Eagles would pull to within three on several occasions but Tech weathered the storm each time and made seven of nine free throws down the stretch to salt away the win.
Pink Power: Georgia Tech will be donning pink today and encourages fans to do the same, as they play their annual Play4Kay game. The Jackets will be raising money for the Kay Yow Foundation in support of breast cancer research and awareness. Yow was the long-time head women’s basketball coach at North Carolina State, who fought an inspirational battle with breast cancer for more than two decades before finally succumbing in her third bout with the disease on January 24, 2009. Fans also can donate to a fund for former Yellow Jackets softball player Amy Hosier (class of ’06), who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. For more information on the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, visit www.kayyow.com. For more on Amy Hosier visit to www.amysangels21.com.
Red (Hot) Dawnn: Dawnn Maye broke out in a big way offensively Thursday night against Wake Forest, scoring a game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Her points, field goals attempted and field goals made all were career bests. She also ran the point efficiently, recording two assists without a turnover, her first clean game of the season. On the defensive end, Maye had a game-high five steals, the most she’s ever had in an ACC game, and two off her career high, set Nov. 22 against Kennesaw State. To show how effective she’s been on both ends of the court, Maye is one of five guards in the ACC in the top 10 in assists, assists-to-turnover ratio, and steals.
Double Nickels: With her three steals against Wake Forest on Thursday night, Metra Walthour moved into seventh place all-time in Georgia Tech school history, as her 201 career thefts passed Aimee Weiss (1990-93). Walthour enters today’s game 14 steals shy of tying Kate Brandt (1981-84) for sixth place and 21 from tying Alex Montgomery for fifth. Were she to catch Montgomery Me-Me would become only the second Yellow Jacket to rank in the school’s top five in both steals and assists, joining Tiffany Martin (1994-97), who is first in assists and tied for second in steals. Regardless, Walthour is one of six Jackets to land in the top 10 in both categories (steals have been kept since 1979) and one of only three to rank in the top seven in both. Jill Ingram (2005-08), who is seventh in assists and fourth in steals, also can make the claim.
She Can Pass, Too: Sasha Goodlett is proving that she can pass the ball as well as score it. Over her last five games, while Goodlett is averaging 15.6 points per game, she’s also handing out 2.8 assists, having recorded 14 helpers. The five games mark a season-high streak for consecutive multi-assist games. Her longest this season had been two. The senior center will be looking to be a little more careful with the ball, however, as against Wake Forest she committed six turnovers, giving her 15 in that span.
The Sixth Man: A win today or in any of the following two regular season games would give Georgia Tech it’s sixth straight 20-win season under Head Coach MaChelle Joseph. Georgia Tech had two 20-win seasons in its history prior to Joseph’s being promoted to head coach in May 2003, both under Joseph’s predecessor Agnus Berenato (20-13 in 1991-92, and a 20-11 season in 2002-03). The Jackets also have made a strong case for making their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
GEORGIA TECH LEADING SCORER: Sasha Goodlett, 15.4 ppg
LEADING SCORER (ACC): Sasha Goodlett, 17.2 ppg
GEORGIA TECH LEADING REBOUNDER: Sasha Goodlett, 7.5 rpg
LEADING REBOUNDER (ACC): Sasha Goodlett, 8.6 rpg
BOSTON COLLEGE LEADING SCORER: Katie Zenevitch, 10.6 ppg
LEADING SCORER (ACC): Kristen Doherty, 10.5 ppg
BOSTON COLLEGE LEADING REBOUNDER: Katie Zenevitch, 6.3 rpg
LEADING REBOUNDER (ACC): Kristen Doherty, 5.6 rpg
GEORGIA TECH SCORING/ACC: 70.5/67.3
OPPONENT/ACC: 59.3/63.4
BOSTON COLLEGE SCORING/ACC: 57.9/54.8
OPPONENT/ACC: 66.8/70.8
Boston College Player to Watch: Katie Zenevitch – A solid complement to Kristen Doherty up front, the 6-3 sophomore forward/center can get it done in the paint as well as step out and hit the three (she’s hitting .324 from behind the arc). The team’s leading rebounder (6.3 rpg), Zenevitch does some of her best work on the offensive glass, where she leads the team with 52 offensive rebounds. She’s also the team’s leading shot blocker with 18 and is money at the foul line, draining better than 80 percent of her free throws.
