A shame that Georgia Tech had lost its first game of the season two days earlier. The University of Louisville women’s basketball team would probably have defeated the Yellow Jackets either way. Virginia Tech had defeated the Georgia team in double overtime for its first loss in 16 games.
Nevertheless, Georgia Tech is still a good basketball team, worthy of its No. 13 ranking in the Associated Press poll. UofL defeated the Yellow Jackets by a score of 69-60 in front of 8,917 fans at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday. Georgia Tech may have destined for a fall no matter what happened earlier in the week at Blacksburg, Virginia.
This UofL team, which includes nine freshman, seems to have matured rapidly since a 30-point loss at home to North Carolina State a month ago. They have won six straight games, improving their overall record to 12-6 and to 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They don’t play NC State again during the regular season so the true measure of their progress may not occur until the ACC tournament in March.
Not the best of starts for the Cardinals, quickly falling behind 5-0. However, they would score on their next four field goal attempts, to grab the lead, only to have the Yellow Jackets respond to grab a 13-9 lead. UofL would close out the first quarter on a 9-0 run for an 18-13 edge. Louisville would dominate the second quarter, holding Georgia Tech to just one point in the final four and a half minutes to take a 37-23 lead into the break. The Yellow Jackets would chip away in the second half, cutting the lead to five points with less than two minutes on the clock. A 15-foot jump shot by Ja’Leah Williams and a Georgia Tech turnover would seal the win.
Tajianna Roberts and Williams would lead Louisville in scoring with 22 and 16 points, respectively. Nyla Harris was the third Cardinal in double figures, scoring 11 points on a perfect 5-5 from the field. As a team, Louisville forced 16 turnovers and outrebounded Georgia Tech 31-24.
Up next is a game at Syracuse on Tuesday evening.
