GTWB: Tech drops 91 on Furman

ATLANTA – Georgia Tech women’s basketball advances to 2-0 on the season with a 91-56 blowout victory over Furman on Saturday afternoon.

Georgia Tech sophomore guard Tonie Morgan recorded a team-high 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 24 minutes of action. Through two games, she is averaging 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists on 53.1% shooting from the field.

The Yellow Jackets were without sophomore wing Kara Dunn who sustained an injury in the opening minutes of its victory over Coastal Carolina on Monday, Nov. 6. Dunn’s status is day-to-day, according to head coach Nell Fortner.

Let’s unload the notebook from the Yellow Jackets’ convincing 35-point win.

Georgia Tech has needed to lean on its quartet of freshmen with Dunn sidelined and Cincinnati transfer Caitlyn Wilson limited coming off a leg injury.

On Saturday, the Yellow Jackets’ four freshmen combined for 32 points on an efficient 14 of 23 shooting from the field.

“They’ve really stepped up,” Morgan said postgame. “I’m really proud of them because they’ve come a long way, especially D’Asia [Thomas-Harris]. We love her, but we’ve been hard on her.”

Lithuanian guard Rusne Augustinaite led all freshmen with 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting from the field and 3 of 5 shooting from 3.

Augustinaite is a sniper from distance and her floor spacing ability has opened everything up for the Yellow Jackets on offense. So far this season, the 6-foot guard has shot 63.6% from beyond the arc on a team-high 5.5 attempts per game.

“She’s got a really good offensive nose for the ball,” Fortner said. “She’s just a kid that loves basketball and plays every possession so hard. She has a great basketball spirit about her that’s really fun to coach.”

Ariadna Termis, a 6-foot-6 freshman center from Spain, recorded eight points and three rebounds on 4 of 4 shooting from the field. Her unteachable size is a massive add to a team that is undersized in the frontcourt.

Georgia Tech has ranked in the 30th percentile or lower in pace of play in each of her first four seasons under Fortner, according to HerHoopStats. But this season, the Yellow Jackets have the personnel and comfortability to play fast, led by Morgan’s explosive point guard play.

“We’ve always talked about wanting to play fast, but if you don’t have fast players, you can’t play fast,” Fortner said. “We’ve got some fast players, [such as] Kayla Blackshear, Morgan, [Augustinaite], Dunn.”

Georgia Tech scored 80 or more points in just two games a season ago, but as crazy as it sounds, the Yellow Jackets have already matched that number through two games.

“If you come to practice, you’ll hear ‘fast’ at least 10 times,” Morgan said. “[Coach] wants us to move the ball and get up the floor because we weren’t playing as fast as we should’ve been last year.”

It’s not just about playing as fast as possible, it’s how you balance playing under control and with tempo. Georgia Tech had a superb 22 assists to 10 turnovers in the win.

– Georgia Tech starting lineup: Tonie Morgan, Inés Noguero, Rusne Augustinaite, Kayla Blackshear and Aixa Wone Aranaz. Augustinaite started in place of Kara Dunn who exited the game in the first quarter of the Yellow Jackets’ blowout win on Monday over Coastal Carolina.

– the Yellow Jackets led 13-4 at the first media timeout, backed by the downhill driving of Morgan and the shot-making of Augustinaite.

– Georgia Tech's offense stalled to end the quarter with the Yellow Jackets leading 19-6 entering the second quarter.

– Boston graduate transfer Sydney Johnson received a ball screen and knocked down a pull-up 3 with 3:42 remaining in the second quarter for Georgia Tech.

– Georgia Tech outscored Furman by four points in the second quarter to extend the lead to 36-19 at the half. Furman junior forward Kate Johnson led all scorers in the second quarter, adding 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the field. Georgia Tech’s Avyonce Carter scored seven points of her own, including a spot-up corner 3 in the final minute.

– Noguero used a euro step to create separation from the defender and finish at the rim, followed by blocking Furman’s Niveyaa Henley in transition to lead to an easy scoring opportunity for Morgan, sparking an 8-0 scoring run to open the third quarter.

– 6-foot-6 freshman center Ariadna Termis hit a pair of mid-range jumpers for the Yellow Jackets in the third quarter, helping stretch the lead to 66-39 at the end of the quarter. Georgia Tech shot 61.9% from the field in the quarter to outscore the Paladins by 10 points.

– The Yellow Jackets’ defense was inconsistent in the second half, but Georgia Tech stayed in control of the game throughout en route to a 91-56 victory.

Georgia Tech travels to Houston, Texas for a road matchup against Rice (2-0) on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. ET.