Dec. 5, 2002
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team will look to extend its current win streak to four games when it hosts Mercer on Thursday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The game will mark the 18th meeting between the Yellow Jackets (4-1) and Bears (0-3) in school history, with Tech holding an 11-6 advantage in the all-time series. The two schools have not met on the hardwood since the 1998-99 season, when the Jackets claimed a 78-50 victory in Atlanta. Tech has won 10 of the last 11 match-ups in the series.
The Yellow Jackets turned in three solid performances last week and ran their current win streak to three by defeating Long Island and both East Tennessee and Miami (Ohio) to capture the Atlanta Marriott NW Classic team title.
For the second-straight season, Tech has established itself as the ACC’s top rebounding team, leading the league in total rebounding (50.6), rebounding margin (+13.2), offensive rebounds (20.4) and defensive rebounds (30.2). The Jackets have out-rebounded all five of their opponents on the season.
Senior center Sonja Mallory continued her dominance in the paint on the week, earning MVP honors at the Atlanta Marriott NW Classic by scoring 55 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in two games. Mallory capped the weekend by netting a career-high-tying 33 points against Miami (Ohio), while also pulling down 12 boards for her second double-double of the season.
Mallory was joined by two other Yellow Jackets on the all-tournament team as junior forward Fallon Stokes and junior guard Alex Stewart were named to the team. Stokes averaged 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two games, while Stewart netted 5.5 points and dished out 4.0 assists in the tourney.
Junior guard Megan Isom did not garner all-tournament honors, but was stellar nonetheless, scoring nine points in both games and handing out a career-best 10 assists against Miami (Ohio), after having four helpers and five steals against ETSU.
Radio coverage of the game can be heard locally on 91.1 WREK-FM and on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com.
