ATLANTA (Dec. 22) ? Georgia Tech finished strong to edge Georgia State, 79-67, on Saturday afternoon at the Georgia State Sports Arena.
The nip-and-tuck first half ended with visiting Tech clinging to a 37-35 halftime advantage. At the start of the second half, upset-minded Georgia State got a basket by Brittany Hollins and an assist from Hollins to Shay Rawls for a layup to take the lead at 39-38. After the first media time out and Tech having a 45-43 lead, the Yellow Jackets used an 8-0 run to gain a little breathing room at 54-43.
When Tech gained its biggest lead of the game at 68-52 with 6:44 to play, determined host Georgia State made another charge and closed to 70-63 with just four minutes to play.
Tech's trio of leading scorers answered with key free throws to help the Jackets continue their fast season start of 10-1 and votes in the national rankings.
Georgia State actually made more field goals (29-27) than Tech, but Tech got to the free throw line for 36 attempts and State shot just 15 free throws. Another key stat was the 40-to-23 rebound advantage Tech held, that included 18 offensive boards.
Georgia State (2-7) got 15 points from junior guard Brittany Hollins and freshman guard Traci Haltiwanger, as well as 11 points from junior forward Stacie Young. Junior Notre Dame transfer, Chandrica Smith, played in her first game in nearly a year and a half and responded with 4-of-8 field goals for 8 points to go with four rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Georgia State shot 52.7 percent for the game and 57.7 percent in the second half.
Georgia Tech was led by guard Chioma Nnamaka's 19 points, forward Alex Montgomery's 19 points and 10 rebounds and forward Janie Mitchell's 16 points.
“We got them out of their transition game by forcing the 17 turnovers in the first half and 25 in the game, but we had that one five-minute stretch in the second half where our defense let down and that may have been the difference today,” said Coach Lea Henry. “It was good to see some of our new folks like Traci (Haltiwanger), Chandra (Harris), and Stacie (Young) give us more production. And, we didn't see all that Chandrica Smith will bring to us this season. Chandrica has great basketball instincts and come February could be one of the best players in the CAA. The team is getting better and now we need to start getting some wins next week to get some confidence.”
Atlanta Thrashers General Manager Don Waddell was among the 824 in attendance today as his daughter is a student at Georgia State.
The Panthers will stay home for the holidays and play host to the 14th annual Georgia State tournament on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 28 and 29, at the Sports Arena with Alcorn State, Campbell and Mississippi Valley State participating.
