Georgia comes up short in loss to Georgia Tech
Published 1:52 pm Tuesday, December 7, 2021
- Conor Dillon | The Red & BlackGeorgia's Que Morrison (23) drives to the basket against Georgia Tech Sunday at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens. The University of Georgia women’s basketball team was defeated by Georgia Tech 55-54.
ATHENS – Georgia’s undefeated season came to an end as Georgia Tech escaped Stegeman with a narrow 55-54 victory over the Bulldogs on Sunday night. Georgia moved to 7-1 on the season with the loss, while the Yellow Jackets improved to 6-2.
“Number one, Georgia Tech is a really good team,” head coach Joni Taylor said. “ They are very well coached and extremely talented. We knew it was going to be a grind. We are similar in a lot of ways and different in some others, but credit to them for coming in and taking care of their business.”
Georgia went into the half leading Georgia Tech 25-23 and continued its momentum with an 11-0 run early in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs couldn’t close the game out. Despite leading 43-38 at the start of the fourth, the Yellow Jackets swarmed back, outscoring Georgia 17-11 in the quarter and giving the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.
Que Morrison led all scorers with 15 points on the night, shooting 6-for-13 from the field, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Georgia Tech’s production across the lineup. Three Yellow Jackets finished with double-digit points.
Eylia Love and Nerea Hermosa ended the game with 14 points each and Lorela Cubaj with 11. Cubaj added a game-high 15 rebounds to her point tally, giving her a double-double. Sarah Ashlee Barker finished as the Bulldogs’ next-best scorer at nine points.
The disparity in free-throws between these in-state rivals proved to be the difference in Georgia Tech’s one-point win. In such a narrow margin, getting to the line can make all the difference, and the Yellow Jackets did exactly that. Georgia Tech shot 9-for-18 from the line – 12 more attempts and five more successful shots than Georgia’s 4-for-6 tally.
A key matchup for this game came at center between Jenna Staiti and Hermosa. Staiti struggled on the night, tallying only seven points on 3-for-13 from the field and finishing with four personal fouls. Hermosa played a game-high 40 minutes and scored six of her 14 points from free-throws as she shot 6-for-9 from the line – seven more free-throw attempts than the next-best tally.
Next, Georgia will host North Florida Wednesday at noon in Stegeman Coliseum.
Printed with permission from the Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Ga.; redandblack.com/sports
