THE FLATS – A Monday night return to McCamish Pavilion saw Georgia Tech women’s basketball get back on track with a 72-57 victory over Norfolk State, headlined by a double-double from sophomore Talayah Walker.
Walker’s first-career double-double featured career-highs in points (20), rebounds (13) and assists (5) as Tech cruised to its four win of the season. After a 28-point second-quarter, the Jackets led 48-28 at the half and fought through a contentious second half in its first home game in 19 days.
Joining Walker in double-figures was Catherine Alben – who had a season-high 20 points as well – in addition to Savannah Samuel (11) and D’Asia Thomas-Harris (10). Another notable stat line was La’Nya Foster’s season-best eight rebounds, a mark she set in her first start at Georgia Tech Monday. Erica Moon tied Walker for the team-high in assists with five of her own.
Tech shot an efficient 12-for-13 from the free throw line against the Spartans and held them to 13.6% from beyond the arc. The Jacket defense also showed out, allowing just 27 scores on 74 Spartan possessions, and only six offensive rebounds from NSU.
Georgia Tech’s 34 bench points finished ahead of its season average (32.6), a mark that is second in the ACC and top 20 in the country.
Walker and Alben’s 20-point games were the first by any Yellow Jacket this season, under the tutelage of first-year head coach Karen Blair. Walker, a native of Odenton, Md., posted the third-straight game with a Yellow Jacket recording a double-double.
FIRST HALF
Walker added the game’s first points on a tough lay. She added another moments later to give Tech a 4-2 lead early. After NSU evened the game at four, Walker drilled a trey to give GT a 7-4 advantage with seven minutes left. The Spartans took a short lead then Brianna Turnage entered off the bench and made a bucket to put Tech down by one, 16-15. A clutch trey and buzzer-beating two-pointer from Alben saw Georgia Tech roll out of the first quarter up, 20-16.
After a scoreless first minute of the second, Moon sank a jumper to give Tech a 22-16 advantage. Norfolk State managed a couple of scores before Alben hit from beyond the arc again, sending the game into a 6:55 media timeout with the Jackets ahead, 27-20. Four-straight points from Walker pushed the lead to 11 with under six left. A 9-0 run extended the lead to 33-20, followed by a score from NSU, then another 8-0 run to get Tech ahead 41-22. The Spartans broke in with a score of their own before Thomas-Harris made a shot from beyond the arc, making it 44-25 with around two minutes left. Walker then added a layup to push it out to 46-25. She made another shot near the end of the half to get 17 on the night and hand Tech a 48-28 lead at the break.
Alben had 16 first-half points while Walker’s seven rebounds were also a team-high.
SECOND HALF
Samuel posted a corner trey for the first points of the second half. Norfolk State broke through with some points to get to 35 but were answered by a triple from Moon, placing the score at 56-35 at the 4:30 media timeout. The road team went on a short 4-0 run before Thomas-Harris drew a three-point play to get Tech back up by 20, 59-39. The Spartans added one final bucket in the third followed by an and-one play from Walker, securing her career-high in points (20) and sending the game to the fourth with Georgia Tech leading, 62-41.
Norfolk State started the fourth by making a pair of free throws, starting a 6-0 run in the first couple minutes of the quarter. A second-chance basket from Thomas-Harris ended the run and made it 64-47 with seven on the clock. Alben then tied her season-high in points (18) to add to Tech’s lead. She added another moments later to get to 20, with Tech leading 68-51 with four minutes left. Tech got to 70 before NSU went on a 6-0 scoring run to trim its deficit. Thomas-Harris sank a couple of free throws to shut down the run and held on for the 72-57 win.
GAME NOTES
- Georgia Tech out-rebounded Nortfolk State, 49-33, Monday night.
- Georgia Tech shot 19-for-36 (53%) from the floor in the first half.
- Georgia Tech outscored Norfolk State in the paint Monday, 40-20.
- La’Nya Foster made her first start at Georgia Tech Monday night.
- After taking a 16-13 lead in the first half, Tech forced seven NSU turnovers and allowed just five made shots the rest of the half.
- Georgia Tech improves to 4-6 on the season.
- Georgia Tech improves to 4-2 at home this season.
- Georgia Tech improves to 14-0 all-time versus MEAC opponents.
UP NEXT
Tech is back on the road Thursday, Dec. 11 for a 7 p.m. tip-off against West Virginia on ESPN+.
Georgia Tech returns to McCamish Pavilion Sunday, Dec. 28 at 12 p.m. for a clash with Wofford on the ACC Network. Fans can purchase tickets here.
PURCHASE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2025-26 Georgia Tech women’s basketball season remain on sale. Season tickets begin at just $50 for general admission and $65 for reserved seats. Fans won’t want to miss any of the action in McCamish Pavilion this upcoming season, which features a challenging nine-game Atlantic Coast Conference schedule in addition to a competitive non-conference slate. To purchase tickets, or for more information, please visit RamblinWreck.com.
Single-game tickets also remain on sale, as well as a Mini Plan for patrons wishing to attend multiple games this season. A Mini Plan includes tickets to four games, anchored by Tech’s marquee matchup against Notre Dame on Jan. 1 plus the choice of three additional Atlantic Coast Conference games.
Group tickets are also on sale now. For groups interested in purchasing tickets to a Georgia Tech athletics event, please fill out this form linked.
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.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X (@GTWBB), Instagram (GTWBB), Facebook (Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
