Feb. 26, 2004
ATLANTA – Senior Megan Isom led a trio of Yellow Jackets in double figures as Georgia Tech (14-13, 5-10 ACC) defeated NC State, 76-61, on Senior Night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The win ended the Pack’s six-game winning streak in conference play while keeping alive the Jackets’ hopes of moving up in the conference standings.
Isom scored 20 points in a game for the third time this season while pulling down six rebounds and dishing out a game-high five assists for the Yellow Jackets. Seniors Fallon Stokes and Alex Stewart scored 16 points apiece for Tech, playing a total of 71 minutes against the Wolfpack.
The Jackets buckled down with 1:20 remaining on the clock, making both jumpers, including a three-pointer by senior Jasmina Pacariz with 0.7 seconds remaining in the game. Tech also converted on 6-of-8 from the line during that time, helping Tech to a 75.9 percent mark from the charity stripe, its highest percentage since the Virginia contest in the middle of January. The Jackets attempted 29 shots from the free throw line, as compared to State’s 17 in the game, improving to 5-0 in conference games when attempting more free throws than their opponents.
Behind 59-43, NC State went on a 15-4 run with 5:58 remaining in the game to pull within eight points at the final media timeout with 2:45 on the clock. Marquetta Dickens keyed the run with a pair of buckets, including a three pointer at 5:44, while Billie McDowell hit a three with 2:14 on the clock to pull the Pack within five. Alex Stewart hit a pair of free throws at 2:08, making the score 65-58 and, following a State basket by McDowell, Isom banked a jumper off the glass with less than five seconds on the shot clock to give Tech a seven-point lead with 1:20 remaining in the game.
Georgia Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph used her fifth-different starting lineup of the season, inserting Pacariz with regular senior starters Stokes, Stewart and Isom on a night that the Yellow Jackets honored the seniors in the last regular-season home games of their career. Pacariz made the most of her first career start, scoring her first points in two seasons on a three-pointer with 17:22 remaining in the game and hitting her final bucket with under a second to play.
“I’m really happy for our seniors, and I’m very proud of the way that we played today”, said Joseph. “This team has learned to persevere, as it’s been a tough week with April Johnson tearing her ACL, our second ACL injury in the last three weeks. Our senior leadership throughout this season has been tremendous. These seniors have meant so much to Georgia Tech women’s basketball and they will be greatly missed by their teammates and their coaches.”
Tech took a 14-point lead when Megan Harpring hit a pair of free throws with 16:41 remaining in the contest to push her team-leading free throw percentage to .900 on the season. State answered with a pair of buckets by Ashley Key and Kaayla Chones to make the score 46-35 in favor of the Jackets going into the first media timeout of the second half. After each team added another bucket, Georgia Tech went on a 7-0 run, keyed by back-to-back buckets by Jessica Williams, extending its lead to 16 points with 11:52 remaining on the clock.
The Jackets took a 34-25 lead into the locker room at halftime, led by a 12-point performance from Isom in the frame. Tech used an early 8-0 run to go up 12-6 with 12:42 on the clock, as Isom and Stokes each scored a pair of baskets and Kasha Terry and Harpring added one apiece. State stayed in the game, scoring the next six points to make the score 12-12. Overall, there were seven lead changes and five ties in the frame, as the Jackets’ largest lead came on Stokes’ bucket with under 15 seconds remaining on the clock.
“We’re looking forward to going to Wake Forest on Sunday and getting the opportunity to end the season on a winning note”, said Joseph.
Georgia Tech will wrap up the regular season at Wake Forest Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WREK-Radio, 91.1 FM in Atlanta and online at www.wrek.org, while livestats for the game will be available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
–GT-
