Dec. 3, 2011
By Jon Cooper
Sting Daily
Georgia Tech looks to make it two wins in a row and take a big step toward getting back into the top 25, traveling to Athens to take on rival and No. 15/14 Georgia. Tip-off at Stegeman Coliseum is set for 2:00 p.m.
The Jackets blew out Nebraska, 73-57, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in its last game on Wednesday night at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Ty Marshall had a game-high 28 for Tech, which raced out to a 20-5 lead then cruised home. The Jackets are now 5-0 in the Challenge.
The Bulldogs had a similarly easy time on Wednesday, blasting South Carolina State, 85-48. Georgia scored the game’s first 16 points and never looked back. Jasmine James had a game-high 17 points as well as five rebounds, two assists and four steals, all tied for team-highs.
UGA has a 29-4 edge in the series, but Tech, which dropped the first 24 games in the series, has held its own in the MaChelle Joseph ere. Under Coach Jo, Tech has won three times in eight meetings, including last season’s resounding 69-53 win at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
Today’s game will be televised on CSS, with Matt Stewart calling the play-by-play and Maria Taylor providing the color. Tech fans can listen to the game on WREK, 91.1 FM or online at www.WREK.org with Richard Musterer and Michele Van Gorp on the call. It can be streamed on Ramblinwreck.com, where fans also can get live stats.
Now, the Starting Five for today’s game.
Closing the Gap: Georgia Tech has made inroads against Georgia under Head Coach MaChelle Joseph. Joseph is 3-5, but has won back-to-back games at home, with the wins coming by a combined 31 points. Games in Athens have been closer as well. While Joseph is 0-3 at Stegeman, all three losses have been by seven or fewer points.
Third Time The Charm?: The ’11-12 team has an opportunity to make major history today. With a win, the Yellow Jackets would record their first win at Stegeman Coliseum, where they are 0-13 all-time. A win also would give Tech its first winning streak in the series. This is the third time under Joseph that Tech has come to Athens looking for both. Further incentive comes in knowing that with a victory today, this year’s senior class would be the first with a winning record against Georgia.
Double Duchess: Ty Marshall had one of the most impressive performances of her young collegiate career Wednesday night, She scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Nebraska, recording her first career double-double. Her points and rebounds were game-highs, as were her 12 field goals, six offensive and seven defensive rebounds. Marshall was the only Tech player to score in double-figures and shot a smoking 54.5 percent (12-for-22). The rest of the team shot a combined 38.5 percent (20-for-52). The points, field goals and field goal attempts also were team season-highs. Over the first seven games, Marshall has 24.2 percent of the team’s field goals.
Dawnn Giveth, Taketh Away: Sophomore point Dawnn Maye has been a model two-way player. She’s dishing out 5.2 assists per game (third in the ACC) and has handed out at least six helpers in five of the last six games. Maye also has been positive in assist-to-turnover ratio in five of the six games in which she’s played — one game she was even. While taking care of the ball on offense, she has been a hawk on defense. Maye, who three times shucked the ball from the Cornhuskers, leads the Jackets with 21 steals and her 3.5 steals per game are tied for second in the ACC. She made a career-high seven steals on Nov. 22 against Kennesaw State, and has 10 career games with at least three steals. Five of those have come in her six appearances this season.
‘Quan-tity and Quality: Since being inserted into the starting lineup two games ago, LaQuananisha Adams has given the Jackets a lift on the boards, especially the offensive boards. Adams has been second on the team in rebounding in both games (behind Marshall). Against Nebraska, she matched her season-high with six rebounds and set a season-high by grabbing three offensive boards. The 11 rebounds in two games are the most for Adams in a two-game stretch since last Nov. 19 and 21, when she grabbed eight against Prairie View A&M followed by a six-rebound effort against Connecticut. Adams also had two blocks against the ‘Huskers, giving her three in the last two games and six for the season. That matches her freshman and sophomore seasons and puts her half-way to her career-high total of 12, done in 34 games last season.
The Sixth Man: Mo Bennett’s two points against Nebraska weren’t indicative of her effectiveness. The senior guard did a lot of dirty work for the Yellow Jackets, pulling down five rebounds, a season- and team-high four on the offensive glass. She also led the team with five steals, matching her season-high, set at Marquette on Nov. 19. Bennett is second on the team with 17 thefts, only four behind team-leader Dawnn Maye, despite playing more than seven fewer minutes a game than Maye.
TECH LEADING SCORER: Tyaunna Marshall, 16.7 ppg
TECH LEADING REBOUNDER: Tyaunna Marshall, 7.0 rpg
GEORGIA LEADING SCORER: Khaalidah Miller, 14.7 ppg
GEORGIA LEADING REBOUNDER: Jasmine Hassell/Anne Marie Armstrong, 5.9 rpg
TECH SCORING: 75.3 ppg
OPPONENT: 55.7 ppg
GEORGIA SCORING: 73.3 ppg
OPPONENT: 55.7 ppg
GEORGIA PLAYER TO WATCH: Khaalidah Miller – The sensational sophomore guard has been shooting the lights out all season. She’s fourth in the SEC, scoring 14.7 ppg, and has been devastating from three, where she’s hitting 43.4 percent (fifth in the SEC), and averaging a league-best 3.3 three-pointers per game. Miller has made 23 of the Bulldogs’ 51 threes on the season — 45.1 percent of the team’s total and six more than the entire Georgia Tech team. An Atlanta native, who attended Frederick Douglass High School, she is the only UGA player to score in double figures in every game this season.
