TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A trip to the WNIT quarterfinals came down to the final five seconds in Tuscaloosa as Georgia Tech and Alabama stood tied at 59-59 apiece with less than 30 seconds to play. The Crimson Tide took the lead with 5.5 seconds on the clock hitting a layup and Tech’s final attempt was off the mark, sealing a 61-59 victory for Alabama Thursday night. Tech finished the season at 20-14 overall.
How It Happened
Using a 50.0 percent (7-14) shooting clip in the first quarter, the Jackets led 14-7 at the first break paced by six points from Breanna Brown. The Jackets closed the first quarter hitting back-to-back layups and extended their run into the second frame, outscoring the Crimson Tide 10-0 before Alabama connected on a pair of free throws for its first points of the stanza. Tech led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but Alabama’s free throws ignited an 11-0 Crimson Tide run as Alabama held Tech to five points over the final five minutes to leave the teams in a standstill, 29-29, at halftime.
The Jackets pulled out with a seven point advantage in the third quarter, but Alabama was able to close it to one possession leading into the final frame. Brown would hand Tech a five point edge immediately to start the fourth quarter, but the Crimson Tide took their first lead since the game’s opening minutes using a 7-0 run capped by a trio of free throws from Hannah Cook. Fueled by a pair of three pointers over the next five minutes, Tech grabbed a 56-51 lead with 3:24 on the clock.
Alabama closed the game with a 10-3 run and sealed the win on a Meoshonti Knight layup with 5.5 ticks on the clock. Tech immediately called a timeout for its final possession, but couldn’t execute the play as Alabama pulled down the rebound on Tech’s missed layup to seal the win.
Tech Tidbits
* Alabama led for 2:24 minutes of play in the game and shot 39.6 percent (21-53) from the field
* Tech was 23-for-53 from the field for a 43.4 percent shooting clip for the game led by both Brown and Francesca Pan with 12 points each
* The Jackets narrowly won the rebounding battle, 37-35, paced by Kierra Fletcher’s 11 boards
* Tech converted 14 offensive rebounds into 19 second chance points
* Tech finished 11-of-25 from the free throw line, while Alabama was 19-for-25
* Alabama was 0-for-6 from three point range and was led in scoring by Ashley Williams with 13 points
* The game witnessed nine lead changes and nine tied scores
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