STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team fell just short in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, losing to Mississippi State, 77-73, Thursday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs scored the first six points of the second half to open a 44-33 lead, but Georgia Tech fought back and tied the game at 59 with 8:12 remaining. The Yellow Jackets shot 50 percent from the field and had just four of their 13 turnovers in the second half. Mississippi State, however, also turned in a stellar performance. The Lady Bulldogs shot 47 percent from the field in the game and out-rebounded Georgia Tech, 20-11, in the second stanza. MSU grabbed the last five rebounds of the game and made 11 of 13 free throw attempts in the second half to hold off the Yellow Jackets.
Mississippi State’s All-America forward LaToya Thomas recorded game highs with 34 points and 11 rebounds. She tallied six points and four rebounds in the final two minutes of the game to preserve the victory. Jennifer Fambrough added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs.
Yellow Jacket junior Milli Martinez scored 17 of her team-high 21 points after intermission. She also added seven rebounds and three steals.
Tech sophomore Niesha Butler became just the third player in program history to score 1,000 career points in just her second full year when she scored on a layup with 13:11 to play in the first half. She finished the game with 18 points.
Senior Jaime Kruppa scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in her final game. Sophomore Nina Barlin added 10 points and three steals off the bench for the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech finished the season with a 14-15 record. Mississippi State improved to 16-13 and will play at Illinois on Saturday.
