TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Another high-scoring outing from Talayah Walker and strong defensive effort from Brianna Turnage helped Georgia Tech women’s basketball to an 80-69 victory on the road at Florida State Sunday afternoon.
Trailing by two after the first quarter, Tech (9-12, 4-5 ACC) put together strong second and fourth quarters, snapping a six-game losing skid to the Seminoles (7-14, 2-7 ACC). Walker led the Jackets with 24 points, her eighth game scoring at least 20 this season. She finished with eight rebounds and just shy of her fourth double-double.
Turnage, who returned to FSU after playing there from 2022-25, erupted again for 18 rebounds, tying her career high. She had seven points as well and played every minute.
Savannah Samuel finished right behind Walker with 15 points, tying her season-high. Catherine Alben and Erica Moon each had 11 points of their own.
Florida State entered the game leading the ACC with 8.6 three-pointers made per game and were held to just six on 28.6% shooting.
FIRST HALF
The first points came via free throws from Walker, giving the Jackets an early 2-0 lead in the first minute. The Seminoles managed to get ahead 4-2 before more Walker free throws evened the game at four apiece. La’Nya Foster’s first points came moments later to answer an FSU bucket and get the score to 6-6. Turnage then scored her first points of the game to answer an FSU triple, making it 9-8. Now down 11-9, Moon drilled a triple to put the Jackets in front again, 12-11. The home team got out to a 19-14 lead before Foster made her first three-pointer, getting Tech within two. Each team managed one more basket each with FSU leading 21-19 after one.
D’Asia Thomas-Harris’ first score of the afternoon evened the game in the early part of the second quarter, 21-21. A steal-and-score from Alben seconds later gave Tech a 23-21 lead. Four more points from Alben – including a three-pointer – made it 27-23 for Tech. Two free throws from Moon then extended that lead to 29-23. The Snellville, Ga. native struck again to answer an FSU bucket about a minute later, adding another three for Tech – 32-25. FSU managed four in a row to make it 32-29 at the 4:58 media timeout. Coming out of the break, Moon secured two more points at the charity stripe to make it 34-29. Samuel added her first points less than a minute later and made it seven-straight points by herself to extend the Jackets’ lead to 10, 41-31. Walker continued the hot streak for the Jackets, adding her first trey to make it 44-31. FSU managed to end the quarter on a 4-0 but the Ramblin’ Wreck held a 44-35 lead at the intermission.
SECOND HALF
FSU scored on a pair of shots from the free throw line to open the third. Turnage drew a foul in the paint on the next possession to answer the Seminoles, 45-37. After four-straight from FSU, Ariadna Termis hit a jumper to get Tech back up by six, 47-41. Each side added one more score each to make it 49-43 at the 4:49 media timeout. FSU got back within four before an assist from Turnage to Samuel got the Jackets over 50 on the day. Samuel added another score on the next possession to push the lead to 53-45. After an FSU triple, Walker grabbed her own rebound in the paint and made a second-chance basket, now 55-48. Turnage added two free throws with under two minutes remaining to give Tech a nine-point lead. Walker added her second trey of the game about a minute later to make it 60-50, following a single free throw make from FSU. The Seminoles added two free throws to get within eight going to the fourth, 60-52.
Florida State struck first in the final frame on a make from beyond the arc to make it a five-point game, 60-55. The Seminoles inched closer moments later to 60-57 before Samuel made it a two-possession game again, 62-57. The free throws continued as Turnage and Walker added three combined to make it 65-59. Two makes from Moon then extended it to 67-59 with 6:40 left. The streak continued via two good shots from Alben, now a 10-point lead, 69-59. Tech’s first field goal make of the fourth came with about five minutes on the clock in the form of her third triple to give Tech a 72-59 lead. Samuel then added a quick layup before the 4:46 media timeout, 74-59. FSU added a trey with under four left to cut into the lead but were quickly answered on a driving lay from Walker, 76-62. Moon shut down a quick 4-0 run from Florida State with a pair of free throws with Tech ahead 78-66. Walker then added two more free throws, getting Tech to 80 and sealing the victory.
GAME NOTES
- Sunday marked Georgia Tech’s first win over FSU since Jan. 13, 2022.
- Georgia Tech played a clean opening frame and was not fouled in the first 10 minutes.
- Tech outscored FSU 25-14 in the second quarter and held the Seminoles to just one make on their final nine field goal attempts in the first half.
- Turnage had six offensive rebounds by herself compared to Florida State’s 10 for the game.
UP NEXT
The Jackets head north to face Syracuse Thursday, Jan. 29. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
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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