ATLANTA – Georgia Tech fell to Florida on Wednesday night by a final score of 68-58, picking up its second loss of the season. The Gators' length and defensive activity overwhelmed the Yellow Jackets leading to multiple lengthy scoreless stretches, which became too much for it to overcome.

Georgia Tech led by as many as seven points in the first half but struggled to pull away while the iron was hot. In the second quarter, the Yellow Jackets only scored 11 points and shot 0 of 8 from the field over the last five minutes, trailing by one point at the break.

“We got a little complacent and Florida came back to take advantage of that,” Georgia Tech point guard Tonie Morgan said postgame.

Georgia Tech’s offensive woes continued into the third quarter. Florida forced seven turnovers and held the Yellow Jackets scoreless from the 6:30 mark to the 3:03 mark, sparking a 10-0 run for the Gators.

“We made some poor decisions tonight,” Fortner said. “We talked about places we weren’t going to be able to make passes and we continued to try pass it there. I believe that’s a sign of youth and young players trying to make plays that just aren’t there… As coaches, we have to understand that and teach, but we can’t make the same mistakes over and over again.”

Georgia Tech was unable to mount a comeback, despite an 11-point effort from Lithuanian freshman guard Rusne Augustinaite in the fourth quarter.

In the loss, Augustinaite recorded a season-high 30 points on 10 of 20 shooting from the field and 6 of 10 shooting from beyond the arc, becoming the first Georgia Tech freshman to score 30 points since Elizabeth Balogun in 2019, according to HerHoopStats.

“She’s a scorer, but she has some natural instincts in her that make it easy to coach,” Fortner said. “It’s going to keep getting harder and harder for her because teams will try to take that away, so we need to have other people step up.”

Morgan was the only other player in double-digits for the Yellow Jackets, adding 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 9 of 18 shooting from the field. Morgan and Augustinaite combined to score 82 percent of Georgia Tech’s 58 points. Kayla Blackshear and Aixa Wone Aranaz were the only other players in the score column for the Yellow Jackets.

For the Gators, five-star freshman forward Laila Reynolds finished with a team-high 18 points, five rebounds and two steals. Florida center Shaya Ra Kyle gave Georgia Tech fits in the paint, recording 14 points and 14 rebounds, in addition to a game-high 17 plus-minus.

“Florida is tough, they have a ton of long, lengthy athletes,” Fortner said. “I thought [Laila] Reynolds played really, really well.”

– Georgia Tech starting lineup: Tonie Morgan, Inés Noguero, Kara Dunn, Kayla Blackshear and Aixa Wone Aranaz. The Yellow Jackets rolled out this starting lineup for the third time this season and the second straight game upon Dunn’s return from a knee injury.

– Georgia Tech got on the board for the first time of the evening on a Kayla Blackshear free-throw line jumper with 7:44 remaining in the first quarter.

– Both teams were tied 7-7 at the first media timeout. Laila Reynolds, a Top-20 prospect from the 2023 recruiting class, scored all seven points for the Gators on 3 of 5 shooting from the field.

– Freshman guard Rusne Augustinaite hit a tough mid-range jumper off a baseline out-of-bounds action, followed by a pull-up 3 on the next offensive possession to extend the Yellow Jackets' lead to 17-14 at the end of the first quarter. Georgia Tech’s defense was incredibly active in the first quarter, forcing five turnovers and holding Florida to 31.6% shooting from the field.

– Morgan scored the first four points of the second quarter for the Yellow Jackets before Augustinaite knocked down her third 3-pointer, forcing the Gators to call a timeout at the 7:20 mark in the second quarter.

– From there, Georgia Tech’s offense went ice cold. The Yellow Jackets went scoreless over the last five minutes of the first half, allowing the Gators to cut a 28-21 lead to one point at the break. Morgan (six points), Augustinaite (three points) and Blackshear (two points) were the only Yellow Jackets in the score column in the quarter.

– It only took the Yellow Jackets three minutes into the third quarter to match its scoring total (11) from the second quarter, led by a six-point effort from Morgan on a trio of tough drives. Wone Aranaz also added her first points of the game on a short mid-range jumper.

– Florida sparked a 10-0 scoring run to take a five-point lead with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter. The Gators scored all 10 points off Georgia Tech turnovers.

– Despite a pair of buckets from Augustinaite, the Yellow Jackets were unable to build rhythm on both ends of the floor and trailed 53-44 at the end of the third quarter.

– Augustinaite scored 11 of 14 points for the Yellow Jackets in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough. Florida edged past Georgia Tech by a final score of 68-58.

Georgia Tech travels to Lincoln, Nebraska for a road matchup against Nebraska (4-2) on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. ET.