THE FLATS – Cameron Swartz and Kara Dunn combined for 23 points, helping Georgia Tech women’s basketball to a 69-62 win over Clayton State on Thursday in an exhibition contest. Eylia Love led the Yellow Jackets on the glass, securing 12 rebounds.
Swartz finished with a team-high 12 points, followed closely by Dunn who posted 11 points, guiding Georgia Tech to a 42.6 percent (26-61) shooting clip. Tech won the rebounding battle, 45-33, paced by Love’s 12 rebounds.
The Jackets shot 46.4 percent in the first half to hold a double-digit lead at halftime led by nine points from fifth-year transfer Swartz and five points each from Tonie Morgan and Inés Noguero. Connecting on three free throws at the 2:13 mark in the first quarter, Swartz jumpstarted an 8-0 run fueled by five points from Noguero as Tech opened a 20-9 lead with just under two minutes to play in the first. Clayton State closed it to single digits in the second, but the Jackets used a 7-3 run to end the frame for a 37-26 halftime lead.
Turnovers plagued the Yellow Jackets in the second half, committing 14 miscues allowing the Lakers to climb back within one point in the fourth quarter. Clayton State kept it a one possession game through the final media timeout before Swartz connected on a three-pointer at 4:05 and Dunn followed with an old-fashioned three-point play to return a 65-56 advantage to the Jackets. The Lakers scored four points over the final four minutes as Tech held for the 69-62 win.
Tech committed 25 turnovers to Clayton State’s 24. For the game, the Jackets shot 42.6 percent from the field and 50.0 from the free throw line, going 12-for-24 from the charity stripe.
Laylah Davis led Clayton State with 14 points and was one of three to finish in double-figures. The Lakers went 2-for-11 from the free throw line, including a 0-for-4 effort in the final two minutes.
The Yellow Jackets officially tip-off the season next Thursday, Nov. 10, against cross-town rival, Georgia State. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra.
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
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