Nov. 22, 2008
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team tied the 15-year school mark of 27 steals on its way to a 72-37 win over Mississippi Valley State (0-1) at Alexander Memorial Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
Senior Jacqua Williams recorded four steals including the 279th of her career to become the Yellow Jackets all-time record holder. Williams moved past former Tech standouts Kisha Ford and Tiffany Martin, who each have held the record since 1997.
“Jacqua has been focused for four years to break the steals record,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “She set this goal as a freshman and now that she has achieved it, I expect she will go out and try to shatter it.”
Williams led the Yellow Jackets (3-1) with 14 points. Sophomore Iasia Hemingway finished with 11 points and a career-high seven steals.
“Iasia was playing really hard on the perimeter,” Joseph said. “We usually play her on the inside but today we used her outside. I think she did a great job on rotations and just played with a lot of tenacity, going after loose balls and making tips. It was good to see her do what she did.”
Tech scored the first 10 points of the second half capped by a Sasha Goodlett field goal with 17:54 on the clock to put the game away. The Jackets forced the Devilettes into 35 turnovers on the day and scored 34 points off the mishaps.
After opening the game with her usual starting lineup, Joseph quickly went to the bench, and the group responded by opening an 8-4 lead over the Devilettes. Mississippi Valley State would get within two points at 11-9 with 9:31 remaining in half, but Tech would go on a 20-8 run over the final nine minutes to enter the locker room with a 31-17 halftime advantage.
The Yellow Jackets close out their three-game homestand Wednesday evening against cross-town rivals Georgia State. Tipoff at Alexander Memorial Coliseum is scheduled for 5 p.m.
– RamblinWreck.com –
