THE FLATS — Georgia Tech women’s basketball advanced to the second round of the 2017 WNIT Thursday night, defeating Jacksonville 71-55 in McCamish Pavilion. A balanced offense helped Tech top the Dolphins and improve to 18-14 on the season.
“Overall, I was pleased with the balance we had offensively and defensively,” noted head coach MaChelle Joseph. “I was really pleased with the way the players off the bench stepped up. I thought Antonia Peresson played really strong for us today. There were key times Elo Edeferioka played solid on the defensive end and I thought Imani Tilford, if she wasn’t in foul trouble, had one of her better games. Our depth was a factor. We were able to move people around and play several people double minutes.”
How It Happened
Georgia Tech and Jacksonville traded the lead six times in the first half, but the Jackets started to slowly pull away with a 10-2 run to open the second quarter, grabbing a 32-22 lead with 7:40 left to play in the half. Tech would lead by as many as 13 points in the half despite the Dolphins crawling back to single digits twice in the frame. The Jackets used an 11-of-15 effort at the charity stripe and shot 60.0 percent (15-25) from the field in the first half to lead 44-32 at the halftime break.
The Jackets led by double-figures the entire third quarter with the exception of two Jacksonville possessions and grabbed its largest lead of the game of 16 points after holding the Dolphins scoreless for nearly four minutes. Tech held a comfortable lead in the final 10 minutes and never allowed the Dolphins to come closer than 15 points. Three Jackets finished in double-figures led by Kaylan Pugh with 13 points.
Tech Tidbits
* Georgia Tech moved to 18-14 overall on the season with the win
* The Jackets improved to a 2-0 all-time series record over the Dolphins
* Pugh led three Jackets in double-figure scoring numbers with 13 points — Imani Tilford added 11 points and Antonia Peresson contributed 10 points
* Jacksonville out-rebounded Tech 35-31, including a 16-11 offensive rebounding edge
* Tech finished 21-of-28 from the charity stripe led by Tilford’s 7-for-7 performance
* For the game, Tech shot 45.1 percent (23-51) to Jacksonville’s 36.8 percent (21-57)
Next Up
Georgia Tech is back in action on Sunday, hosting UCF at 5 p.m. in the second round of the WNIT.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTWBB), Instagram (GTWBB), Facebook (Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
