Tech picks up decisive 69-54 win over Boston College

ATLANTA – Georgia Tech women’s basketball picked up a decisive 69-54 home win over ACC foe Boston College, even in the absence of head coach Nell Fortner on the sideline due to illness.

In her place, associate head coach Blanche Alverson handled the head coaching duties for a second-straight game.

“Great win today, I’m really proud of our team for fighting through adversity this week with Nell [Fortner] out,” Alverson told the media postgame. “I thought they handled their business and preparation for Boston College this week.”

In the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets came out with a ton of intensity on defense, holding the Eagles to 10 points on 17.6% shooting from the field (3-of-17), including a 6-minute drought without a field goal to end the quarter.

“That’s something we’ve been emphasizing in practice,” Alverson said of her team’s defensive intensity today. “Good things happen for us on offense when our defense is solid… we came out with a lot of focus today and it really made a difference.”

Georgia Tech went scoreless through the first 5:07 of the second quarter, but held onto a double-digit lead at the break.

In the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets found some success offensively by scoring 19 points on 46.7% shooting from the field and only two turnovers.

Despite holding Georgia Tech’s offense at bay in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Boston College couldn’t trim the Yellow Jackets’ lead lower than 12.

After a slow start, sophomore wing Kara Dunn and freshman guard Rusne Augustinaite combined for 12 points in the fourth quarter to make the lead out of reach for the Eagles.

Four players scored at least 10 points for Georgia Tech today with junior forward Kayla Blackshear leading the way with a team-high 16 points.

The Yellow Jackets also assisted on 17 of its 27 field-goals in the win.

“We knew Boston College was going to come in and play some zone, so ball movement was going to be important and that’s something we talked about with our preparation,” Alverson said. “Really proud of those 17 assists.”

Georgia Tech sophomore Tonie Morgan recorded her first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 assists. The 5-foot-9 guard was also three rebounds shy of a triple-double.

“We’re kinda waiting for her to have one,” Alverson on Morgan flirting with triple-doubles. “She’s a phenomenal rebounder and I think that’s something that sets her apart from other point guards in our league. That [also] helps us out tremendously with our transition game.”

The Yellow Jackets advance to 13-6 on the season and 4-3 in ACC play with 11 games remaining in the regular season.

– Georgia Tech starting lineup: Tonie Morgan, Ines Noguero, Kara Dunn, Kayla Blackshear and Aixa Wone Aranaz. The Yellow Jackets have rolled out this starting lineup in back-to-back games.

— Georgia Tech opened the afternoon on a 7-0 run before Boston College scored on three straight possessions to take an 8-7 lead.

– After checking in off the bench, Rusne Augustinaite hit a catch-and-shoot corner 3 to extend the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 10 with 3:57 remaining in the first quarter. On the next two possessions, Blackshear scored in the post to extend the lead to 14 points.

– Georgia Tech led 24-10 at the end of the first quarter with good effort on both ends. It held Boston College to 3-of-17 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 on layups. The Eagles also didn’t record a field goal over the last six minutes of the first quarter.

– Georgia Tech only scored two points through the first 5:07 of the second quarter, causing Boston College to trim the lead to eight.

– The Yellow Jackets took a 32-22 lead at the half after a rough offensive showing in the second quarter. Blackshear led Georgia Tech with 10 points and five rebounds on 5-of-5 shooting from the field. Morgan also recorded eight points, five assists and four rebounds.

– In the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets converted on five of its first nine field goal attempts to stretch the lead to 14 points at the 4:35 mark.

– Georgia Tech’s defense tailed off in the third quarter with Boston College shooting 57.1% from the field in the quarter. Despite that, the Yellow Jackets maintained a double-digit lead (11) entering the fourth quarter.

– Georgia Tech’s ball control, aggressiveness and shot selection weren’t up to par early in the fourth quarter, causing Alverson to call a timeout with the Yellow Jackets up 12 at the 4:47 mark.

– Georgia Tech held on to win 69-54, outscoring the Eagles in three of four quarters.

Georgia Tech is back in action on Thursday, Jan. 25 for a tough matchup at No. 14 Virginia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets haven’t beat the Hokies on the road since Feb. 2, 2016, dropping the last three games.