Tech Travels to #4/3 Tennessee for First Road Test

Nov. 16, 2013

The rv/rv Georgia Tech women’s basketball (2-0) team heads to #4/3 Tennessee (3-0) on Sunday for a key non-conference matchup that will be broadcasted live on FOX Sports South/Fox Sports Tennessee at Thompson-Boiling Arena. Fans can tune into WREK 91.1 to listen to the action or follow along with live stats on GameTracker.

The Yellow Jackets opened up the 2013-14 season recording back-to-back victories at home against Coppin State, 79-57, and Western Carolina, 87-47. Freshman Kaela Davishad a stellar debut performance, tallying back-to-back double-doubles and leading the Tech scoring effort, scoring 20 points in each game. Davis was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for her efforts and is the only ACC rookie that ranks in the top-10 in both scoring (20 ppg) and rebounding (10.5 rpg) in the conference.

TECH TIDBITS
The Jackets set a new school record, making 13 3-pointers against Western Carolina … Prior to the game against Western Carolina, the Jackets’ school record was 12 3-point baskets made, which was against Mercer exactly 7 years prior, on Nov. 10, 2006 … Tech leads the ACC in 3-pointers made, with 22, and in 3-point field percentage (22-for-51, 43.1 percent) … Sophomore Roddreka Rogers recorded her second career double-double against Western Carolina, leading Tech in rebounding with 11 boards and notching 10 points … Sophomore Nariah Taylorscored a career 14 points against Coppin State

A WIN WOULD…
– Put the Jackets at 3-0 for the fifth time under Coach Joseph
– Be the 196th win of Coach Joseph’s career, putting her four wins shy of becoming only the second Yellow Jacket coach to reach the 200 milestone
– Be the first win against Tennessee in program-history
– Give the Jackets its first win against a top-5 opponent since a 66-62 win against #2/3 North Carolina on Jan. 22, 2009
– Give the Jackets its first win against a top-10 opponent since a 71-70 win against #8/8 North Carolina on Jan. 6, 2011
– Give the Jackets its first win against a top-25 opponent since a 76-64 win against #17/16 Georgetown on March 20, 2012
– Give the Jackets its first win against a top-25 opponent on the road since a 56-64 win against #25/RV North Carolina on Feb. 12, 2012

DYNAMIC DEBUT
Freshman Kaela Davis’opening weekend for the Jackets was nothing short of spectacular. Davis, a native of Suwanee, Ga., led the team in scoring in both opening season games, recording back-to-back double-doubles in her first two career games. Against Coppin State, Davis scored 20 points, and grabbed a team-high 11 boards. Just two days later, Davis scored 20 points yet again and had 10 rebounds against Western Carolina.

Davis’ back-to-back double-doubles marked the first time a Tech player has had a double-double in consecutive games since senior Tyaunna Marshall accomplished the feat against NC State on Jan. 27, 2013 (16 pts., 11 rebs.) and Wake Forest on Jan. 31, 2013 (28 pts., 17 reb.). Her 20 points against Coppin State were the most by a freshman in her first career game at Georgia Tech under head coach MaChelle Joseph.

Davis’ 20.0 ppg leads all ACC rookies and ranks fifth in the conference. She ranks sixth in rebounding with her 10.5 rpg, which makes her the only ACC rookie that ranks in the top-10 of both scoring and rebounding.

DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Both freshman Kaela Davis and sophomore Roddreka Rogerseach recorded double-doubles against Western Carolina. While Davis had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Rogers scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. It was Rogers first double-double of the season and only second of her career. Rogers’ 10.0 rpg is tied for seventh in the conference.

The double-figure rebounding effort of both Davis and Rogers marked the first time two Jackets had pulled down double-figure rebounds since Rogers (11) and senior Tyaunna Marshall(10) did just that at Wake Forest on Feb. 21, 2013.

A NEW SCHOOL RECORD
The Yellow Jackets set a new school record this on Nov. 10, 2013, making 13 3-point baskets against Western Carolina. Prior to today’s game, the Jackets’ school record was 12 3-point baskets made, which was against Mercer exactly 7 years prior, on Nov. 10, 2006. Overall the Jackets shot 13-of-24 (54.3%) from behind the arc against the Catamounts.

LEADERS FROM BEHIND THE ARC
The Jackets’ 22 3-pointers rank first in the ACC. Tech’s 3-point shooting percentage (22-for 51, .431) also ranks first in the conference. The Yellow Jackets are averaging 11.0 3-pointers made per game.

DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORING
Georgia Tech has four players that are averaging double-figures in scoring. Freshman Kaela Davis leads the way with 20.0 ppg. Both sophomore Aaliyah Whiteside and junior Sydney Wallace are averaging 11.5 ppg. Sophomore Nariah Tayloraveraged 11.0 ppg during the opening weekend.

TAYLOR’S CAREER NIGHT
Sophomore Nariah Taylorscored a career-high 14 points against Coppin State. Her previous career-high was eight points in a single game. Taylor went 6-of-7 from the field for a shooting percentage of 85.7. Her .900 shooting percentage currently ranks first in the ACC.

CHASING 200
As she enters her 11th season at the helm of the Yellow Jackets, head coach MaChelle Josephhas a chance to become only the second Georgia Tech head coach to win 200 games on the Flats.

Joseph currently has 195 wins, needing just six more to eclipse the mark. Her predecessor, Agnus Berenato, is the only women’s basketball coach at Tech to finish with at least 200 wins. Berenato finished her 15-year tenure leading the Yellow Jackets with a 223-209 record.

IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Davis is the daughter of 17-year NBA veteran Antonio Davis and godsister of WNBA star Candace Parker. Davis’ twin brother, AJ, plays basketball at Tennessee. Sophomore Roddreka Rogersis the daughter of Rodney Rogers who played basketball at Wake Forest from 1990-93 and in the NBA for 10 years.

RECORD BOOK WATCH
Tyaunna Marshall enters her senior season with 1,524 career points, which ranks eighth on Georgia Tech’s all-time list. Marshall needs 432 points to become Tech’s all-time leading scorer. Kisha Ford(1994-97) holds the record with 1,955 points. Marshall is one of just five Yellow Jackets all-time with at least 1,500 career points and 600 career rebounds.

JACKETS SIGN TOP-15 CLASS
Georgia Tech women’s basketball head coach MaChelle Josephhas announced that Zaire O’Neil, Erin Garner and Imani Tilford have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Yellow Jacket program beginning in the 2014-15 season.

Coach Joseph has shown her strengths in recruiting yet again, signing Prospect Nation’s 11th-rated class. The trio gives Georgia Tech a top-20 recruiting class for the fourth straight year. Blue Star Basketball tabs the Jackets’ 2014 recruiting class at No. 30 in the country.

O’Neil is ranked as the #12 recruit in ELITE Prospect’s top 100 players for the class of 2014 and the #5 forward in the country. She was tabbed as the 10th best forward in the nation by ESPN Hoopgurlz and has been ranked as the 39th overall recruit.

The Newark, NJ native averaged 14.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game as a junior for Shabazz high school and led them to a 33-1 record. O’Neil had a large part in helping Shabazz win the NJSIAA Group Two State Title and aided the squad to a Tournament of Champions title.

Garner is ranked at number 68 in ELITE Prospect’s top 100 players for the class of 2014 and the 10th best forward in the recruiting class. She is listed as the #127 recruit by the Blue Star Basketball Report and the #149 recruit by the ASGR.

The 6′ 4″ forward played a critical part in Trenton Catholic’s run to the Non-Public B championship during the 2012-13 season. During the run to the state title, Garner averaged 10.8 ppg, was second on the team in rebounding and led the team in blocks

Tilford is ranked at number 67 in ELITE Prospect’s top 100 players for the class of 2014 and 17th at the point position by Prospects Nation. She is ranked as the 24th highest point guard recruit in the class of 2014 by ESPN Hoopgurlz, also earning a scouts grade of 90 and three stars.

During the 2012-13 season, Tilford averaged 25.3 points, 3.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons of Woodlands High School. She has over 1,000 career points heading into her senior season.

Next Up
The Jackets travel to the University of Georgia on Sunday, Nov. 24, for a 2 p.m. tilt.

–RamblinWreck.com–