Nov. 25, 2002
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team will look to rebound from an 83-59 road loss at fifth-ranked Kansas State in the second round of the Preseason WNIT when it hosts Long Island to begin a four-game homestand on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
The Yellow Jackets (1-1) went nose-to-nose with the Wildcats in Manhattan, Kan., just over a week ago, before KSU pulled away for the 24-point victory, en route to the eventual tournament title. Tech will be able to continue to build on that performance as it once again received solid play from its post players in the contest.
As was the case a year ago, the Jackets have been one of the ACC’s top rebounding teams, averaging 47.5 boards per game through two games in 2003. The Jackets also boast a + 9.5 rebound margin on the young season.
Tech’s post players have been the key early in the year, as the Jackets forwards and centers have accounted for 77 percent of the team’s scoring thus far.
That effort has been led by senior center Sonja Mallory, who is averaging team highs of 19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest to go along with 3.0 blocks per game. Joining her in the scoring mix has been junior forward Fallon Stokes, who is hitting for 17.5 points and shares the team lead with 10.5 rebounds per game. The Jackets’ third-leading scorer is freshman forward April Johnson, who opened the year with 14 points against Charlotte and followed that with six points against Kansas State, to reach her 10.0 average on the season.
Tuesday’s game will mark the second-consecutive year that Tech and Long Island (0-1) will have met, with the Jackets claiming an 80-49 win in Brooklyn, N.Y., a year ago. In that contest, the Yellow Jackets placed four players in double figures, led by Mallory with 18. Tamika Boatner added 16 points, while Stokes and Regina Tate each chipped in 10. Along with the victory against the Blackbirds, Tech is 8-0 all-time against teams from the Northeast Conference.
Following the game with LIU, the Jackets will host the Atlanta Marriott NW Classic on Friday and Saturday, opening the tournament with East Tennessee State at 1 p.m. That game will be followed by a match-up between Miami (Ohio) and Arkansas State at 3 p.m., with the winners facing off at 3 p.m. on Saturday. All of Tech’s games can be heard at 91.1 WREK-FM and online at www.ramblinwreck.com. Live statistics from each of the games will also be available at ramblinwreck.com.
-GT-
