March 16, 2003
ATLANTA – Earning its fourth-straight post-season berth and its first NCAA bid since 1993, the Georgia Tech women’s basketball team is the 10th seed in the East Region and will face seventh-seeded Virginia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. Game times for the first and second rounds will be announced later in the week.
“This is a great statement for our program and where we are at right now,” said Tech head coach Agnus Berenato. “I think it’s great for the players and our staff. Getting to the NCAA Tournament has been our number one goal all year and now I told the team that we get to reset our goals as we head into the tournament. We’re just very excited for this opportunity.”
The Yellow Jackets (20-10, 8-8 ACC) will be participating in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history and the first time since the 1993 season. In Tech’s only previous appearance in the NCAAs, the Jackets dropped a 90-62 decision to Northwestern in the first round in Evanston, Ill. The Hokies (21-9, 10-6 Big East), coached by Bonnie Henrickson, finished the year with a loss to top-ranked Connecticut in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament and had won four straight prior to that game
“We’re also excited to be playing Virginia Tech,” said Berenato. “This will be a great challenge for our team and I know that they have a great program and we are really looking forward to playing them.”
Tech finished the regular season as one of the ACC’s hottest teams, winning five of its last six to tie for fourth place with Florida State in the league standings with a school-best-tying 8-8 record. The Jackets have matched the highest win total since the program joined the Division I ranks with their 20-10 mark, following a loss in the ACC semifinals to eventual champion and second-ranked Duke. Prior to this year’s NCAA bid, Tech had been invited to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament in each of the past three seasons, falling to Miami, Fla., in the first round a year ago.
The Jackets success in 2003 was highlighted by Tech placing a trio of players on All-ACC teams, led by senior center Sonja Mallory, who was named to the first team and also to the ACC’s All-Defensive team for the first time in her career. Mallory, a WBCA All-District selection in 2003 as well, became the first Yellow Jacket to earn first-team all-conference honors since Kisha Ford in 1997. She also led the team in scoring (16.5 ppg), rebounding (9.1 rpg) and blocked shots (1.83 bpg), and her rebounding and blocked shot totals were tops in the ACC, while her scoring average rates third. Joining Mallory on the All-ACC team was both junior forward Fallon Stokes and junior guard Alex Stewart, each of who was named to the third team. Stokes followed that honor by earning second-team ACC All-Tournament recognition after scoring in double figures in both of the Jackets’ games in Greensboro, N.C. Tech rookie forward Kasha Terry was also an honorable mention ACC All-Rookie pick.
The meeting between the Yellow Jackets and Hokies will be the first all-time between the two schools.
The winner of that game will face the winner of the game between second-seeded Purdue (26-5) and 15th-seeded Valparaiso (18-12) on Monday.
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