DALLAS – Another masterclass on the court from Talayah Walker saw Georgia Tech women’s basketball cruise to a 67-59 victory at SMU Sunday inside Moody Coliseum.
Walker did not miss a first half shot and scored 11 in the final frame, en route to a third-straight victory and second-straight in ACC action for the Yellow Jackets (7-9, 2-2 ACC). The Mustangs (7-9, 0-4 ACC) led 4-2 in the early seconds but would not lead again, as Tech scored 21 second-quarter points and outscored SMU 18-11 in the fourth. The Odenton, Md. native finished with her fourth-straight game scoring at least 20, and second straight scoring 30 (30). On top of that, she added 11 rebounds and a career-high seven steals.
Behind her was Catherine Alben’s 12 points, including three triples in the second frame. Brianna Turnage joined Walker with 10 rebounds of her own. Jada Crawshaw entered off the bench and provided valuable minutes with nine points, five rebounds and half of Tech’s blocks (4). La’Nya Foster had eight in both the points and rebounds category, continuing an impressive stretch of games for the Austin Peay transfer.
Tech shot 54.5% from the floor in the final 10 minutes and 83.3% from the charity stripe, the team’s second-straight fourth quarter shooting above 50%. The victory marked the first road win under first-year head coach Karen Blair.
FIRST HALF
A second-chance bucket from Foster marked the game’s first points. After a quick four points from SMU, Walker made a driving layup to even the game at four. Both teams were held scoreless for nearly two minutes before Walker added another basket, giving Tech a 6-4 lead. Turnage added a layup moments later to push it to 8-4. SMU interrupted the 6-0 run with a trey, causing just a one-point Tech lead with under four left. Alben made her first score out of the media timeout, giving the Jackets a 10-7 lead. Foster added a second-chance bucket on the next possession before the Mustangs collected five quick points, tying the game at 12. Crawshaw broke the tie with her first score then Walker drilled a buzzer-beating jumper to close out the first with a 16-12 lead.
Ariadna Termis scored the first points of the second quarter, extending the lead to 18-12. Alben then rattled off three-straight triples to get Tech up by 11, 27-16. SMU was able to get on a 6-0 run to trail 27-22 going into the media timeout. Crawshaw broke the scoring run with her second score of the game, just over three left in the half – now 29-22 in favor of the Ramblin’ Wreck. Back-to-back defensive takeaways turned into Jacket points, making it 35-23. SMU managed another 6-0 run before Foster closed out the half with a layup, sending Tech into the locker room ahead by eight, 37-29.
SECOND HALF
SMU scored first in the third, answered by a Walker free throw that gave her 11 on the day and a 38-31 lead for Tech. The Mustangs added a quick 7-0 run to even the game at 38 with 7:14 on the clock. Walker scored out of a timeout to break the tie, 40-38. Crawshaw took advantage of an offensive charge from SMU moments later to bring it back up to four, 42-38. SMU added a trey to make 42-41 going into the 4:55 media timeout. Out of that break in action, Walker struck again to make it 44-41. Five-straight free throws gave Tech a 49-43 lead with under two minutes left. The Jackets led 49-48 after three.
Georgia Tech forced a takeaway on SMU’s first possession of the fourth, leading to a driving layup from Erica Moon. Another steal followed by a score from Walker forced an SMU timeout with 8:19 left and Tech ahead, 55-48. Tech started the quarter on a vicious 13-0 run forcing seven turnovers, capped by a triple from Walker, getting her to 28 on the day. SMU finally scored on free throws with 4:14 on the clock and Tech leading 62-50. Walker added two free throws to get to 30 on the day, leading 65-50. SMU managed another trey, slicing the deficit to 12, 65-53, with 3:20 remaining. Out of a timeout, Savannah Samuel collected a score in the paint to put the Jackets ahead 67-53. Tech held on in the closing seconds for the 67-59 win.
GAME NOTES
- Georgia Tech improved to 7-9 this season.
- Georgia Tech improved to 2-2 in ACC action.
- The victory marked Tech’s first road win of the season.
- In the fourth quarter, Walker shot 3-for-4 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, scoring 11.
- Georgia Tech outscored SMU in the paint, 14-0, in the first quarter. Tech’s advantage in the category was 24-8 at halftime.
- Walker did not miss a shot in the first half, going 4-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
- Head coach Karen Blair was honored pregame ahead of her return to her alma mater (SMU point guard – 1996-99).
UP NEXT
Tech is back home Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. against Virginia on ACC Network Extra. 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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