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.

“First of all, I just want to say congratulations to Virginia Tech,” said Georgia Tech head coach Karen Blair after the game. “You just talk about what a gritty, hardworking team they are. Today was a really physical game that demanded a lot, I think, out of both sides. So congrats to them.”

“As far as our team and our fans, this was really special, you guys, to be here in Georgia, to have so many of our fans turn out, our band, our cheer. It was excellent. If there’s one thing you’ve known about this group is they have been phenomenal at home, and this felt like a home away from home. What a great experience. This tournament has been run wonderfully, the facility is great.”

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.

“I think it came down to it, we all know this was — every quarter it just kind of switched, the momentum. We started the first, they were good in the second, and then we came out with unbelievable fight and resolve in that third,” said Blair. “And then that fourth quarter, I think, playing back-to-back games with
seven players, we just couldn’t get those rebounds when we really needed it…When you give a team a chance to shoot three times. And what can I say about Mackenzie Nelson, almost had a freaking double-double tonight, but that’s what happens in March. You’ve got to have…players have got to step up
for your team, and I thought she did that for them.”

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.

” I’m proud of our group. I’m proud of the fight,” said Blair. “They have established this culture as a hardworking, gritty, resilient team, and for them and for that, I am always eternally grateful.”

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.

“Yeah, I think that came down to the rebounds. We were giving up like three offensive rebounds on every possession, and some of those were the long rebounds,” said Blair. “So I think that ended up being the part of the game, and then I think Wenzel ended up hitting a really big 3, and it was just a dagger at that point. Basketball is a game of momentum. That’s what you’re always trying to do. I thought we just used a lot of energy to get it that close, and then she hits that 3 and it kind of takes the wind out of your sails a little bit. But yeah, it came down to rebounding.”

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.

After the game, Virginia Tech head coach Megan Duffy described Georgia Tech as a gritty, tough team that is hard to play against, and Blair said her program being identified that way is a big deal and something she hopes becomes a staple in the years to come.

“It’s everything (to be described that way),” said Blair. “The first thing I want for these women is it starts with I want them to have self-belief in themselves, and the second thing is my job is to give them confidence. I want them every single time they step on the court to believe in themselves and be confident. It’s like, even when we came out at halftime, I was like, ‘heads are held high, chest up.’ We’ve got to be proud of who we are and what we’ve done, and that’s all this group has done. That’s what you want. That’s what I say. We have been in almost every single game, and you guys look at our schedule. Our schedule was tough. Our non-conference schedule was tough, and there’s a lot of teams that would
quit, and we didn’t. We trusted the process; they put their head down, and we went to work.”

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.

“Listen, I would be with this group every single day,” said Blair of a possible chance to play in the postseason. “They probably don’t want to practice that much, but we got in one of those time-outs, and I’m like, just their resolve and their fight, it was a war today. It was a battle. They just grind it out. So I hope so. Like I said, you look at our non-conference schedule, but the amount of teams that we played that are going to end up in March Madness, there’s a lot. This group has earned it. They’ve gotten better. We’ve gone through this ACC, which is a gauntlet every single night, and they deserve it. They deserve that opportunity to get a postseason experience. I hope that we can.”

Walker, who took her game to another level this season in her first year at Georgia Tech after transferring from Penn State, said she really loved her first year on The Flats playing for Blair and is looking forward to continuing to grow along with the program next year.

“It’s been a great experience,” Walker described her first year at GT as after Thursday’s game. “We’ve known each other for a while. She recruited me when I was in high school. So just getting to come and
play with her meant a lot. And then I know how much belief she had in this group, so I’m really excited to see how we can keep evolving and being better. And like she said, we have a lot of underclassmen. So the
experience is there, so I think as we keep going in the years further, we’ll be able to know mistakes early and know what to do in certain situations, so I’m very confident with this program.”