Jan. 12, 2004
Charlottesville, Va. – Latonya Blue hit a pair of free throws with just over five seconds remaining to help Virginia (7-7, 1-2 ACC) to a 60-59 victory over Georgia Tech (10-5, 1-2) Monday evening at University Hall.
Fallon Stokes led Georgia Tech with a season-high 26 points as the only Yellow Jacket to record double-figure points. Following Stokes in the scoring column was freshman Kentrina Wilson, with eight points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Georgia Tech entered the second half with a two-point deficit, 24-22, but used a 13-1 run, keyed by a pair of field goals by both Stokes and Wilson, to go up by a 41-31 mark with 12:31 remaining in the game. The Cavaliers answered with a 9-0 run of their own, including five points by Safiya Grant-Fairley, pulling to within four points at 43-39 with just over nine minutes left in the contest. Georgia Tech would then extend its lead to 49-42 with 7:37 on the clock following a three-pointer by Megan Isom and two more baskets by Stokes before the ‘Hoos pulled within one at 54-53 at 3:24.
With 2:02 remaining on the clock, Stokes collected her fifth foul and the Jackets wouldn’t score another basket in the contest. With under a minute remaining, Grant-Fairley and Blue hit both free throws to put the Cavs ahead by one. Tech drove the lane following Blue’s makes at the charity stripe, but Alex Stewart’s layup spun off the rim at the buzzer.
The game was close in all categories, with the Jackets and Cavaliers each shooting 39 percent from the field in the game, Virginia holding a 35-34 edge in rebounding, Tech turning the ball over just two more times than the Cavs, and the Hoos blocking only one more shot than the Jackets.
Stokes led the Jackets with 13 of Tech’s 22 points in the first half on 6-of-13 shooting while going 1-for-2 from the free-throw line. Stephanie Higgs also contributed four points while Kasha Terry and Ashley Guerrant added two apiece. The Jackets shot under 30 percent from the field, but held the Wahoos to just 35 percent. Virginia outrebounded Tech in the frame, 22-16, but the Jackets turned the ball over just nine times, as compared to the Cavaliers’ 12. The Wahoos were led by Siedah Williams with six points off the bench in the half.
Kate Kreager, Jocelyn Logan-Friend, and Grant-Fairley each scored 11 points to lead Virginia to the win, with Logan-Friend pulling down eight rebounds and Kreager, seven.
The Tech women will return to action when they travel to Maryland to take on the Terrapins Thursday evening, January 15, at 7 p.m. The Yellow Jackets will broadcoast the game on WREK-Radio, 91.1 FM in Atlanta, and online at www.wrek.org, while livestats for the contest are available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
