Dec. 7, 2001
ATLANTA — The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team will look to snap a two-game losing skid on Saturday when it travels to New York City to face Fordham (2-4) in a non-conference match-up. The contest will tip off at 2:00 p.m., and will be played at Rose Hill Gym in Bronx, N.Y.
Following a break-even performance last weekend at the U.S. Cellular Classic in Greenville, N.C., the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 0-1 ACC) opened this week by dropping their ACC opener to Florida State by an 87-78 score. Tech was unable to overcome poor free throw shooting, turnovers and the hot-shooting Seminoles in the contest. Despite the loss, the Jackets recorded a number of solid individual performances in the contest.
Tech had six players finish the game with double-figure point totals, which was the first time the Jackets had accomplished the feat since December 30, 1994 against Fairfield.
Play at the point guard position continued to be steady, as junior Nina B?rlin handed out 13 assists, marking the fourth-straight game she has recorded 10 or more assists. That streak is tops in ACC and school history. B?rlin also had 14 points and four steals in the game.
Senior forward Regina Tate continues to lead Tech in scoring, as she stayed near her 17.3 point-per-game average, netting 17 against the Seminoles. She added a pair of steals and six rebounds in the game as well.
Junior Tamika Boatner recorded one of her top shooting performances against the ‘Noles, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while grabbing eight rebounds to tie for game-high honors.
Saturday’s game will be the fourth in the series between the Rams and Yellow Jackets, with Georgia Tech holding a 3-0 lead in the all-time series. Tech won the last meeting in December of 1992 by a 69-68 score in Philadelphia, Pa. Each of the last two meetings between the schools, have been one-point decisions in favor of the Jackets.
Fordham has opened the 2001-02 season with a 2-4 record, notching wins over St. John’s and Northwestern State. The Rams return three starters from their 2000-01 team, which finished the year 5-23 and finished 11th in the Atlantic 10. Among the returnees to the starting lineup is junior Mobolaji Akiode, who currently leads the team in both scoring and rebounding with 10.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore Lauren Fleischer is second on the team with 8.8 points per game, while sophomore point guard Annie DeRoy is fifth on the team in scoring at 4.7 points per game, but leads the Rams in assists with 3.0 per game, and steals with 2.3 per contest.
Rams’ head coach Jim Lewis is in his second year at Fordham and has a 7-27 record in that time.
Following its trip to New York, Georgia Tech will return to Atlanta for a pair of games in the city, but away from home. Included in that will be a match-up on the road at Georgia State (Dec. 18) and a neutral-site clash with arch-rival Georgia as part of the ACC/SEC Shootout at Philips Arena on December 27.
