THE FLATS – Despite a career night on the defensive side and a near double-double from Brianna Turnage, Georgia Tech women’s basketball was dealt a 54-46 defeat by No. 21 North Carolina Thursday inside McCamish Pavilion.
Turnage posted a career-high nine blocks, collecting five in the first 15 minutes – a mark that by itself was the most by a Yellow Jacket this season. That mark tied the Tech program record and was the most since Allison Echols vs. ETSU on Nov. 24, 1990. It was also the most by an ACC player since March 20, 2015. She finished with 11 rebounds and seven points, nearing her second double-double of the season and second without tallying 10 points. Turnage is the only ACC player this season to have a double-double without scoring in double figures.
‘Snoop’s’ nine blocks also marked the most ever recorded against North Carolina in a single game, breaking a mark set by Genia Beasley (NC State) on Jan. 24, 1979.
Tech (8-12, 3-5 ACC) fought a back-and-forth opening half against the 21st-ranked Tar Heels (16-5, 5-3 ACC) but a strong third quarter from the opposition allowed them to pull away for the win. Talayah Walker led Tech offensively with 14 points while Erica Moon and Ariadna Termis tied for the team lead with three assists. Moon’s three steals were also a team-best Thursday.
FIRST HALF
After a scoreless 90 seconds to open the game, Turnage added a layup for the game’s first points that UNC evened on its next possession. Turnage added a skillful jumper to beat the shot clock two minutes later, giving Tech a 4-2 lead. The Tar Heels tied the game again on a couple free throws before Walker added her first points of the night, putting the Jackets in front 6-4. Savannah Samuel made a layup to get Tech ahead by four, 8-4, followed by a score from UNC moments later to make it 8-6. Walker and Turnage each added another score to send the game to the second at 12-12.
Jada Crawshaw scored the first basket of the second quarter then UNC managed to take a 22-14 lead. UNC’s run ended on a free throw from Turnage. Walker scored a minute later to get the Jackets back within five, 22-17. Down 24-17, Termis drilled a wide-open triple to get the Jackets down four, 24-20. Seconds later, back-to-back steal-and-scores from Catherine Alben and La’Nya Foster tied the game at 24 going into the intermission. Tech closed the second quarter on a 7-0 run forcing five turnovers in six minutes and holding UNC to 1-for-8 from the floor and scoreless for almost the final three minutes.
SECOND HALF
Walker made a free throw to open the third to put Tech ahead again, 25-24. After UNC managed to get ahead 26-25, Walker hit a clutch trey to once again give Tech the lead, 28-26. UNC went on another run to take a 35-28 lead. With under four left in the period, Samuel added another basket to make it 35-30. The Tar Heels led 37-30 going into the fourth.
UNC cashed in on a pair of free throws to start the fourth, giving the road team a 39-30 advantage. The Jackets gained momentum through the middle of the quarter, shaking off a UNC trey to get down six, 42-36, with six minutes left. The Tar Heels then broke through with five-straight but were cut off from more by a jumper from Walker. Two free throws from Samuel then cut the deficit to seven, 47-40, with two minutes on the clock. Down 49-40, Alben made a tough jumper to get Tech back within seven, 49-42. Four more points were added by Moon and Walker but UNC was able to hold on for the 54-46 decision.
UP NEXT
Tech escapes the cold weather and travels to Tallahassee, Fla. For a matchup with Florida State Sunday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m. on the ACC Network.
The Jackets are back home Sunday, Feb. 1 for a 2 p.m. tip with Boston College on the ACC Network. Fans can purchase tickets here.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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