Jackets fall in second round of ACC Tourney to No. 6 seed Hokies
DULUTH — After an impressive start that saw Georgia Tech build a 17-3 lead in the first quarter, Virginia Tech bounced back with a huge run, including a 22-6 advantage in the second quarter, to turn the game around and hold off a second-half charge by the Jackets to secure a 62-54 win in the ACC Tournament second round on Thursday night at Gas South Arena.
Virginia Tech (23-8) surged to a 29-23 halftime lead and went up by as many as 11 in the third quarter before Georgia Tech cut the deficit back to 50-46 at the end of the period. The Jackets (14-18) got within two early in the final quarter, but Virginia Tech was able to string together some big stops and clutch buckets to pull away and secure the victory down the stretch.
Carleigh Wenzel led the way for Virginia Tech with 15 points while Mackenzie Nelson had a big night in the winning effort with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Carys Baker added nine points for the Hokies to go with seven rebounds, and Kilah Freelon, Leila Wells and Samyha Suffren each scored eight apiece. Freelon also had seven rebounds as Virginia Tech won the rebounding battle overall 41-36.
Georgia Tech was led by All-ACC guard Talayah Walker with a game-high 20 points, including 16 of those coming in the second half to keep her team in the game. She also had eight rebounds.
La’Nya Foster was the only other Jacket in double figures with 12 points despite battling foul trouble for much of the game and eventually fouling out in the fourth quarter. Erica Moon added nine points, and Brianna Turnage scored six to go with 10 rebounds.
The Jackets got off to a fast start, using defense and efficient offensive basketball to take an 11-3 out of the gates before the media timeout in the first quarter at the 4:55 mark. Moon then made it 12-3 with a free throw just out of the timeout.
Georgia Tech went on to lead 17-7 going to the second quarter with Virginia Tech scoring the final four points of the opening period to cut the deficit to after its very slow offensive start.
After Virginia Tech’s slow offensive start in the first quarter, it was Georgia Tech that struggled over the first portion of the second quarter as the Jackets were limited to two points over the first five-plus minutes of the period with the Hokies cutting the deficit to 19-16 at the media timeout with 4:51 left in the half.
The Hokies continued to turn the game around, completing a 15-0 run to lead 27-19 at the 1:33 mark before Georgia Tech scored its next basket. Virginia Tech went on to outscore the Jackets 22-6 in the period to take a 29-23 lead to the half.
Virginia Tech built as much as a 10-point lead early in the third quarter before Georgia Tech fought back a bit and cut it to 44-37 at the media timeout with 4:32 left in the period.
After going down by 10 again at 50-40, Georgia Tech made a nice run in the closing moments of the third, cutting the deficit to 50-46 at the end of the period.
Georgia Tech got a bucket to open the fourth to get within two at 50-48, but Virginia Tech quickly stretched the lead back out to seven at 55-48 when the Jackets used a timeout with 5:52 remaining and the deficit never got any closer than seven from that point on.
Georgia Tech was forced into 17 turnovers which led to 24 Virginia Tech points while the Hokies also held advantages in paint points (28-24), second-chance points (9-8), fast-break points (11-3) and bench points (8-4).
Virginia Tech will advance to the tournament quarterfinals on Friday night to take on No. 3 seed North Carolina at 7:30 p.m.
Georgia Tech’s season and Blair’s first year at the helm likely ends with the loss, but Blair said her team would definitely be interested in a postseason opportunity if it presents itself.
