March 4, 2005
GREENSBORO, NC – Tamara James hit a jumper as time expired to give ninth-seeded Miami (13-15) its first ACC Tournament victory over No. 8 Georgia Tech (13-14), 60-58, Friday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum.
After Janie Mitchell hit a jump shot to tie the game at 58-58 with under five seconds remaining, Miami coach Ferne Labati called a timeout with 1.8 seconds on the clock to set up the winning play. Yalonda McCormick passed the ball the length of the floor, where James tipped the ball and then threw it up as the buzzer sounded to give the Hurricanes their 13th win of the season.
“It was a great player making a great play,” said Georgia Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph. “She just stepped up and made a great play. I’m proud of our team’s effort and fight, the way that they came back in the second half and the defensive stops they were able to make. I’m proud of the play of these young kids, Janie Mitchell in particular, and of how much perseverance this team showed throughout the course of the year.”
The Yellow Jackets outscored Miami, 34-24, in the second half, led by Mitchell’s 11 points in the frame. Down 50-38 with 10 minutes remaining on the clock, the Yellow Jackets went on a 14-2 run to pull within 54-52 at 3:19. Mitchell converted on a three-point play at 9:51 and Chioma Nnamaka then hit back-to-back three pointers before Jill Ingram hit the final of three consecutive treys for the Jackets during the run.
Mitchell scored a season-high 21 points off the bench against the Hurricanes while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds in the game. Nnamaka scored 11 points for the Yellow Jackets while junior Jessica Williams added 10.
Williams hit a layup with 11:34 remaining in the first half to give the Yellow Jackets a 12-10 lead in the game, but then were held scoreless for the next six-and-a-half minutes as the Hurricanes went on a 13-0 run, with seven of the points coming from Miami’s top three-point shooting threat Katie Hayek. The Hurricanes took a 36-24 lead into the locker room at halftime, led by Hayek’s 13 points in the frame, while James added 10. Tech was led by Mitchell, who came off the bench to score 10 points in 14 minutes of play.
James and Hayek paced Miami with 15 points in the game, while McCormick and Tatjana Marincic scored 11 apiece.
The loss to the Hurricanes ends the Yellow Jackets’ season with a 13-14 record.
