KENNESAW, Ga. — Fueled by five players scoring in double-figures, the Georgia Tech women’s basketball team dominated Kennesaw State on the road Wednesday night, coming away with an 86-49 victory. Tech remained undefeated with the win, improving to 3-0 on the young season.
“I was really impressed with the defensive play of Chanin Scott,” commented head coach MaChelle Joseph. “I thought she gave us a huge lift in the second half with her deflections and I thought she really picked us up getting rebounds and run-outs. I was also really impressed with our post play. I thought Zaire O’Neil and Elo Edeferioka were able to score inside and use their size to their advantage. I’m really proud of the fact that we had 16 assists and we shot a much better percentage from the free throw line tonight, so that was good to see.”
How It Happened
After the teams remained tied at 19-19 at the end of the first quarter, Tech came out of the break with a 10-0 run to take a 29-19 lead in the second quarter and held the advantage the remainder of the contest. The Owls cut the score to six points with just over three minutes left in the first half, but Cha’Ron Sweeney would put the Yellow Jackets back up by nine hitting a triple with 1:18 to play. Tech carried a 38-31 lead into intermission on a 57.1 percent shooting effort and Zaire O’Neil leading offensively with 10 points.
The Italian duo of Francesca Pan and Antonia Peresson opened the third quarter scoring five straight as the Yellow Jackets took a 43-31 lead with just over a minute expired into the quarter. Tech extended its spurt to 7-0 to take a 15-point advantage and would never relinquish a double-digit lead, pushing its advantage out to 20 points on a free throw from Elo Edeferioka at 1:56. Chanin Scott and Edeferioka combined to score Tech’s final 11 points of the quarter as GT led 63-42 heading into the final frame.
Tech surpassed 80 points for the first time this season on a Scott layup with 4:45 to play in the game. The Yellow Jackets held its largest lead of the contest at 37 points with 4:07 left in the fourth quarter.
Pitching in Double Figures
Five players scored in double figures on the evening led by Francesca Pan and Zaire O’Neil with 14 points each. Chanin Scott finished with 12 points, followed by Elo Edeferioka with 11 points and Cha’Ron Sweeney with 10. Scott’s 12 points marked a season-best thus far for the freshman.
Lending a Hand
Tech recorded a season-best 16 assists on the night led by Chelsea Guimaraes with four assists to mark a career-best. Pan finished the night with three assists, while Antonia Peresson and Katarina Vuckovic each added two.
Tech Tidbits
* Tech improved its all-time record versus Kennesaw State to 10-0
* Five players scored in double-digits for the first time this season
* With the win, Tech moved to 3-0 on the season, marking the eighth time under MaChelle Joseph the Yellow Jackets have opened the season 3-0
* Tech scored 45 points off the bench and 52 points in the paint, outscoring the Owls 52-10 in the paint
* The Yellow Jackets won the rebounding battle 41-30 and converted 18 offensive boards into 23 second chance points
* For the game, Tech shot 83.3 percent from the free throw line, connecting on 10-of-12 attempts
Next Up
Georgia Tech returns home to McCamish Pavilion on Sunday, Nov. 20 to host in-state rival Georgia at 2 p.m. Kids 18 and under receive free admission and fans are asked to donate a new, unwrapped toy for the Michael Isenhour Toy Drive.
