Nov. 27, 2003
St. Thomas, USVI – Senior Alex Stewart had nine points in the second half, including a pair of free-throws with 26 seconds remaining to lead Georgia Tech (2-0) to a 60-53 victory over James Madison (1-1) Thursday evening at Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
The Jackets went without the benefit of field goal over the last four minutes of the game, but converted on 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, including six from redshirt freshman April Johnson, to stay in the contest. Sophomore Kasha Terry, playing in her first game of the season, added three blocks in the second half on the defensive end of the floor, and also pulled down four rebounds.
The first half went back and forth, with no team earning over a four-point lead until the Jackets went up 13-8 with 11:21 remaining. Four lead changed later, the Jackets went into the locker room with a 26-22 advantage, led by Stewart, who hit two key threes, and Megan Harpring, with five points.
Tech held the lead until, with 14:55 remaining in the game, JMU’s Meredith Alexis hit a layup from the paint to put the Dukes up by one. They would hold the lead until Kasha Terry hit a free throw to give the Jackets a 38-37 edge at 10:22. James Madison rattled off six unanswered points, finishing with a fast-break layup by Shirley McCall at 8:51 before Georgia Tech then had a 15-0 run, ending with a free throw shot by Johnson to put the Jackets ahead for good. The Jackets were led in the half by Stewart and Fallon Stokes, who had three field goals.
Stokes contributed 12 points and two assists in the game, while Johnson added 11 and had three rebounds.
Lesley Dickinson led James Madison with 16 points in the contest while Krystal Brooks added 10.
Georgia Tech will play game two of the Paradise Jam tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. ET against West Virginia. The game will be broadcast on WREK Radio, 91.1 FM in Atlanta, and online at www.ramblinwreck.com.
