Feb. 7, 2003
ATLANTA – Led by 13 second-half points by junior forward Fallon Stokes, the Georgia Tech women’s basketball team held off a late rally to defeat Maryland by a 59-51 score on Friday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Yellow Jackets have now equaled their win total of a year ago.
“This was a huge win for us,” said Tech head coach Agnus Berenato. “All I’ve thought about for the last four days was this game and it was really pivotal for us to defend our home court. To hold a team that shoots the three as well as they do to just 51 points is a great defensive effort.”
The Yellow Jackets (15-7, 4-6 ACC) looked to take early control against the Terrapins (9-12, 3-7 ACC), taking a 32-23 halftime lead in a contest the featured a number of early runs. Tech jumped out to an early 10-1 lead with 14:35 to play on six points from senior center Sonja Mallory. The Jackets increased their advantage to 30-17 with 3:46 remaining on the strength of a 13-5 run that was keyed by five points from rookie guard Mallorie Winn. Maryland answered with a 6-0 run of its own to close within 30-23 at 2:01, as Angel Ross netted a pair of layups in the span.
Mallory led all scorers in the half with 14 points, while Winn added eight for the Jackets. Tech shot a solid 53.6 percent from the floor in the half, while the Terps struggled early on from the field, missing nine of their first 10 shots in the contest to shoot 36 percent in the opening period.
Tech continued to pull ahead in the contest with a 10-4 run to open the second half to take a 42-27 lead with 16:41 remaining. Maryland then mounted a ferocious comeback, staging a 24-8 run over the next 10:56 to take a 51-50 lead with 5:45 to play. Renneika Razor led the Terrapin assault, netting nine points over the span, while Chrissy Fisher capped the spurt with a jumper. That would be the last points of the contest for Maryland, as Tech hit 7-of-9 free throws down the stretch, including a 6-for-7 performance by junior guard Alex Stewart in that time. Stewart hit a pair from the charity stripe to ice the game and ensure the final 59-51 margin.
“I thought that we played really well in the first half and we were only up by nine,” said Berenato. “In the second half, I thought Fallon (Stokes) really took over for us. Sonja (Mallory) held the fort in the in the first half, but they were both huge for us tonight.”
Sonja Mallory led a trio of Yellow Jackets in double figures as she finished with 21 points, netting 20 or more for the tenth time this season. Fallon Stokes scored all 13 of her points in the second half, after sitting on the bench for 18 minutes in the first half, saddled with two early fouls. Stewart was the third Tech player in double digits, netting 10 points and pulling down a game-high nine rebounds to go along with five assists.
Georgia Tech will now have five days off before returning to action with a trip to Durham, N.C., to face second-ranked Duke on Feb. 13, in a game that will tip off at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
