DULUTH, Ga. – Three scored at least 16 points Wednesday to propel 11-seed Georgia Tech women’s basketball past 14-seed Florida State, 72-60, in the first round of the 2026 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament at Gas South Arena.
The Yellow Jackets (14-17, 8-10 ACC) scored 22 in the opening frame on 61.5% shooting to get ahead early and kept the pressure on for the remaining three quarters to earn the first ACC Tournament win under head coach Karen Blair.
La’Nya Foster led the team with 18 points with eight rebounds while Erica Moon (17 points on 5-for-7 shooting) and Talayah Walker (16 points and seven rebounds) added to the offensive production against the Seminoles (10-21, 5-13 ACC). Brianna Turnage had a team-high nine rebounds.
Tech shot an efficient 22-for-26 from the free throw line and 46.9% from the floor through the 40 minutes. The Jackets had six players score at least five points and four had at least five rebounds. Ariadna Termis tied her season-high with eight points in the win.
FIRST HALF
Walker connected on a couple free throws to even the game at two after the opening minute. A quick strike from Foster moments later and two free throws from Moon put Tech up for the first time Wednesday, 6-4. Tech’s run increased to 10-0 before FSU ended a scoring drought of almost three minutes. Foster, Moon and Walker had four points apiece at the 4:20 media timeout. Tech scored five-straight out of the break including a triple from Termis, 19-8. After a 6-0 run from the Seminoles, Foster connected on a trey to get Tech to 22 points and a six-point lead after one.
Foster scored Tech’s first five points of the second quarter to get into double figures with the Jackets in front, 27-21. Tech answered two-straight FSU buckets with five points after each, getting back up by 10, 33-23, with six minutes left. The Seminoles added one more basket before the 4:52 media timeout but the Jackets led 33-25 at the stoppage. Moon made a long jumper out of the break, extending Tech’s lead back to double-digits, 35-25. The Yellow Jackets went to the free throw line two times in the final 17 seconds and scored three more points to lead 39-29 at the intermission.
SECOND HALF
The Seminoles added four quick points to open the third before Tech took advantage of back-to-back and-one plays to get its lead to its largest of the day, 45-33. FSU went on a 7-2 run until back-to-back makes from Tech including Termis’ second triple to make it 52-40 at the 3:45 media timeout. Thomas-Harris scored four after the break to keep pace with a pair of FSU treys, 56-46. Florida State added two more free throws as Tech led 56-48 going into the final quarter.
Three Tech free throws in the first couple minutes gave the Jackets 19 makes from the charity stripe on the day and a 59-50 lead. A low-scoring start to the fourth and almost four minutes without a GT field goal were interrupted by a tough driving layup from Walker to extend the advantage to 11, 61-50. FSU added one more score to make it 61-52 at the 4:43 media timeout. Six-straight Tech points after that break forced FSU to use a timeout with the Jackets now up 13, 67-54. After the Seminoles managed their first bucket in almost two minutes, Turnage drew an and-one play to get the Ramblin’ Wreck to 70, up 14. Each team scored one more time as Georgia Tech advanced to the second round, 72-60.
GAME NOTES
- Wednesday marked the 18th season in the last 23 that Georgia Tech has won at least one game in the ACC Tournament.
- Walker has now scored in double figures in 12-straight games and at least five points in 20-straight games.
- Tech improved to 2-1 against Florida State in the ACC Tournament.
- Tech secured multiple wins against Florida State in a single season for the first time since 2020-21.
- Wednesday marked Georgia Tech’s 10th win in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The Jackets now hold a 10-7 record in the round.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech competes in ACC Tournament Second Round action Thursday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. against 6-seed Virginia Tech. Fans can purchase tickets to the tournament here.The game will be broadcast live on ACC Network.
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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