Tech To Face Virginia In Second Round of ACC Tournament

March 5, 2014

The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team (19-10, 9-7 ACC) has been slated as the number seven seed in the 2014 ACC Tournament and will face #10-seed Virginia on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.

As the number seven seed in the tournament, the Yellow Jackets received a first round bye. Virginia defeated Boston College, 74-59, to advance to the second round to face the Jackets. The Jackets defeated Virginia, 95-76, at home earlier this season on Feb. 14, 2014.

The game will be shown on the ACC Digital Sports Network (Fox Sports South in Atlanta) and fans can also listen to Richard Musterer and LaQuananisha Adams on WREK 91.1.

The Jackets are just one win short of recording the seventh 20 win season under head coach MaChelle Joseph in the past eight seasons. Senior Tyaunna Marshall has been the leader for Tech this season, leading the Jackets in points (19.6 ppg.), rebounds (7.6 rpg), steals (2.6 spg) and assists (3.2 apg). Freshman Kaela Davis leads all ACC rookies with her 18.4 ppg and leads the Jackets with 2.6 made 3-pointers a game.

TECH TIDBITS
– Senior Tyaunna Marshall became Georgia Tech’s all-time leading scorer against #13/11 UNC on Feb. 6, 2014 after scoring 32 against the Tar Heels to break Kisha Ford’s record of 1,955 points. Marshall scored 20 points against Virginia to become the first Yellow Jacket and 24th ACC player to reach the 2,000 point mark. She currently has 2,066 career points.
– Marshall leads all active ACC players in career 20 point games with 39. She has 15 this season.
– Out of the Jackets’ 19 wins so far this season, 10 games have been won by 20 or more points with its biggest margin of victory being 50 points against Portland State.
– In 15 out of 28 games, the Jackets have scored at least 80 points. Tech is averaging 80.8 ppg.
– In 24 out of Tech’s 29 games, at least one Jacket has scored 20 points or more. Davis has scored 20+ in 13 games while Marshall has scored at least 20 in 15. Both Marshall and Davis scored more than 20 against UTEP, Clemson, #6 Maryland, #13 UNC, Virginia and Boston College. Wallace hit the 20-point mark against Miami and Florida State and Whiteside scored 21 at Notre Dame and against Boston College
-The Jackets were on a 15-game streak of outrebounding their opponents, until Virginia Tech edged the Jackets by one rebound. Tech has won the rebounding battle in 23 out of 29 games this season and average 45.0 rpg. The Jackets are 16-7 when they outrebound their opponent.
– The Yellow Jackets averaged an impressive 92 points per game at home during its non-conference portion of its schedule on its way to a 7-0 record at McCamish.

ALL-ACC
Georgia Tech senior Tyaunna Marshall has been selected to the All-ACC First Team and freshman Kaela Davis has been selected to both the All-ACC Second Team and All-Freshman Team by the ACC’s Blue Ribbon Panel, which consists of media and school representatives.

Marshall is the first Yellow Jacket to be named to the All-ACC First Team twice in her career. The 5′ 9″ guard was honored as a junior on the All-ACC First Team and was the first Jacket to be named to the All-ACC First Team since Sonja Mallory was selected to the team in 2003. Marshall is just the fourth Jacket to earn All-ACC First Team accolades.

After a stellar freshman season, Davis has been named to both the All-ACC Second Team and All-Freshman Team. Davis leads all ACC rookies with her 18.4 ppg and leads the Jackets with 2.6 made 3-pointers a game. In her freshman season, Davis has recorded 13 20 point games and led the team in scoring in 14 games. Davis was named the Rookie of the Week four times this season.

GEORGIA TECH IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT
The Yellow Jackets are 13-34 overall in the ACC Tournament and 8-10 under Coach Joseph. With an expanded conference, this year’s ACC Tournament will feature first and second rounds, quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship. Under Coach Joseph, the Jackets are 4-4 in the first round.

The Yellow Jackets are 0-8 against Virginia in the ACC Tournament and have never faced Boston College in the postseason tournament. Georgia Tech won both games against Virginia (95-76) and Boston College (84-74).

Last year, the Yellow Jackets fell to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament, 86-67. In 2012, the Jackets made only their second appearance in the ACC Championships game, but fell short to Maryland, 68-65.

A WIN WOULD…
– Make this the seventh 20 win season out of the past eight seasons for Coach Joseph
– Make Coach Joseph 213-132 overall in her career
– Be the first win in the ACC Tournament for the Jackets since the defeated NC State, 81-67, in 2012
– Make Tech 14-34 overall in the ACC Tournament
– Put the Jackets at 9-10 under Coach Jo in the ACC Tournament

BY THE NUMBERS
An inside look at the statistical differences in the Yellow Jackets’ wins and losses:
– In wins, Tech is averaging 87.7 ppg. In losses, the Jackets have averaged 67.6 ppg.
– In wins, Tech allows only 66.5 ppg. In losses, opponents have tallied 77.6 ppg.
– In wins, opponents are shooting only 37.7 percent from the field. In losses, opponents are shooting at 44.8 percent.
– In wins, Tech is out-rebounding opponents by 10.1 boards per game. In losses, Tech is being out-rebounded by 0.4 per game.
– In wins, Tech is averaging 28 free throw attempts per game. In losses, the Jackets are only getting 18 attempts from the stripe.
– In wins, Marshall is averaging 20.7 ppg and Davis is averaging 19.3 ppg. Marshall averages 17.4 ppg and Davis averages 16.8 ppg in losses.

GEORGIA TECH’S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER
Senior Tyaunna Marshall became Georgia Tech’s all-time leading scorer against #13/11 North Carolina on Feb. 6, 2014 after scoring 32 points against the Tar Heels to break Kisha Ford’s record of 1,955 points. She hit two free throws with 4.3 seconds left to break the record and secure the Jackets’ first win against a ranked opponent since 2012. Marshall is one of just five Yellow Jackets all-time with at least 1,500 career points and 600 career rebounds. WIth 534 points this season, Marshall is the first Jacket to score 500 points in three-straight seasons.

Marshall became the first Yellow Jacket and 24th ACC player to score 2,000 career points after she scored 20 points against Virginia on Feb. 14. What is more remarkable is that Marshall has only made 20 3-pointers in her entire career – meaning that her 853 field goals and 340 made free throw shots.

Marshall currently ranks 20th all-time in the ACC record book, needing only 12 points to tie Kristi Toliver of Maryland (2005-09) for 19th. Marshall leads all active ACC players in career 20 point games with 39. She has 15 this season.

CLOSING IN ON THE RECORD
Freshman Kaela Davis became just the third freshman to score 500 points in their first season on the Flats. Davis has 534 points so far this season, putting her six points away from breaking Karen Lounsbury’s (1988-89) record of 539 points.

20-20-20
Against Boston College, three Jackets scored at least 20 points – Davis (22), Marshall (22) and Whiteside (21). The three 20-point performances by Davis, Marshall and Whiteside marks the first time three Jackets have each scored at least 20 points since Alex Montgomery (26), Janie Mitchell (20) and Iasia Hemingway (20) accomplished the feat against Maryland on Jan. 20, 2008.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
The Tech individual season record for most points scored in a season is 596 (Joyce Pierce 1991-92), putting Marshall just 51 points away from breaking it and Davis 63 points away from breaking it. Marshall’s 546 points this season has her in fourth in GT history for points in an individual season, while Davis checks in at 7th with 534.

The 2013-14 Jackets also have a shot at breaking the record for most total points scored in a season for GT. The Jackets have scored 2,342 points which is fourth in Tech’s single season record book. They need 210 points to break the record of 2,551 points which was set in the 1991-92 season over 33 games.

4X ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman Kaela Davis was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season on March 3 after averaging 20.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 1.5 apg as the Jackets captured two against Florida State and Boston College. Her four Rookie of the Week awards were a conference high for all freshman this season. She was named the ROW on Jan. 20 after averaging 25.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 3.5 made 3-pointers a game as the Jackets went 1-1 against Wake Forest and at #6 Maryland.

She was awarded her second ACC Rookie of the Week award on Dec. 9. The award came after Davis averaged 22.5 points and 1.0 rebounds against Illinois and Alabama A&M. She also recorded a double-double, 29 points and 14 rebounds against the Bulldogs. Following a dynamic back-to-back double-double performance in her opening weekend, Davis was also named the ACC Rookie of the Week on Nov. 11, 2013.

WIRE-TO-WIRE WINS
The Yellow Jackets recorded their fifth wire-to-wire victory this season against Florida State, never letting the Seminoles take the lead or tie up the game. The Jackets lead the whole game in their victories against Alabama A&M, UTEP, Alabama State and Virginia.

NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Marshall was named espnW’s National Player of the Week after having one of the most successful weeks of her career on Feb. 10. Marshall became Georgia Tech’s all-time leading scorer after leading the Jackets to its first win against a ranked opponent since 2012 by scoring 32 points against #13/11 North Carolina. Marshall entered the game against the Tar Heels needing just 32 points to break Kisha Ford’s record of 1,955 points that was set in 1997. Marshall hit the 32-point mark in the contest after sinking two foul shots with 4.3 seconds left to not only break the career scoring record, but secure the Jackets’ victory.

The Upper Marlboro, Md., native followed her record-breaking performance by scoring 24 points at Miami and setting a career-high in steals with seven. Marshall led the Jackets in every category in points (24), rebounds (9), assists (3) and steals (7) against the Hurricanes. Marshall’s 1,980 career points has her just 20 points shy of becoming the first Yellow Jacket to reach 2,000 career points and is in 24th on the ACC career points list.

Marshall started off the memorable week by leading the Jackets to a road win at Pittsburgh, tallying 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds against the Panthers. She led the Jackets in scoring in all three wins this past week.

TEAM LEADER
Marshall leads the Jackets in scoring, rebounding, steals and assists. Her 19.5 ppg ranks third in the ACC and 46th in the nation. Marshall is 10th in the ACC with her 7.6 rpg and her 3.2 apg has her in 14th. Marshall is in second in the conference with 2.6 steals per game and ranks 21st in the nation in steals.

HIGH SCORING JACKETS
The Yellow Jackets are averaging 80.8 ppg during the 2013-14 season. They have scored at least 80 points in 15 games, at least 90 in seven games and hit the 100 point mark twice this season. Tech’s 80.8 ppg ranks fifth in the ACC and checks in at 18th in the nation. This is the highest average of points for a Tech team since the 1990-91 season when the Jackets averaged 84.3 ppg. The Jackets have outscored their opponents by a +10.4 margin so far, which is seventh in the ACC and 45th in the NCAA.

HITTING THE 30 MARK
Marshall has hit the 30-point mark twice this season while Davis had a season-high 31 points against Clemson. Marshall scored 32 points against #13 UNC, leading the Jackets to victory and breaking the career points record. Davis’ 31 points led Tech in the overtime loss against Clemson, 80-79. Davis scored six of the Jackets eight points in overtime.

Marshall led the Jackets against Virginia Tech, scoring 30 points against the Hokies. The first time Marshall scored 30 points in her career was against Miami last season, where she scored a career-high 37. Marshall has led the Jackets in points, rebounds and assists in three games this season, with the most recent being at Miami, where she also led the Jackets in steals.

WATCH OUT FOR WHITESIDE
Sophomore Aaliyah Whiteside has emerged over the past few games as a key player for the Jackets. She scored a career-high 21 points at #2/#2 Notre Dame while grabbing nine rebounds. Whiteside scored 18 points at Pittsburgh. She followed up her impressive offensive output with her first career double-double (10 pts, 11 reb.) against #13 UNC. Her 11 rebounds were a career-high. She most recently matched her career-high against Boston College with 21 points.

During the first eight ACC games, Whiteside only averaged 4.0 ppg. Over the past eight conference games, she has averaged 13.5 ppg and has scored in double figures in six of the last eight games.