Seniors Gia Cooke and Skylar Forbes scored 20 and 23 points to lead a senior-laden West Virginia squad to a convincing 81-63 win over host Georgia Tech.
The experience of the reigning Big 12 Champions was on display off the tip. Head Coach Mark Kellogg’s five seniors wasted no time getting right to work, dominating the inside for rebounds and putbacks. As usual, Kellogg employed a pressing defense against the relatively young and smaller Yellow Jackets. West Virginia’s pressure cut down on the amount of time Georgia Tech had to set up the offense in the half court. On more than one trip, you could hear the crowd and the bench counting down the seconds on the shot clock while the Yellow Jackets worked to find a good shot. Comparatively, the Mountaineers outshot the Yellow Jackets 19-13, making four more baskets to win the quarter by 11 points, 27-16.
What the Mountaineers didn’t knock down from the perimeter, the post cleaned up. Forbes, senior center Khyala Ngodu, and redshirt freshman Divine Tumba snagged high-percentage layups or kick-outs to the perimeter. West Virginia outscored the Yellow Jackets 42-26 in the paint, with an 18-point margin in second-chance points.
Junior Talayah Walker paced the Yellow Jackets with 21 points. Senior center Ariadna Termis was the only other Yellow Jacket to score in double figures, with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including two big three-point baskets.
It was the center’s best performance of the season, hitting season highs in seven statistical categories.
The play by Walker and Termis lifted the rest of the nest. Tech played the visitors shot-for-shot in the second quarter. Georgia Tech Head Coach Karen Blair went deep into her bench often. Four reserves played eight or more minutes. Put a pin in that for later in the season. The Yellow Jackets’ mostly sophomore bench nearly matched the production of the Mountaineers’ bench 12-13.
Despite the outcome, Coach Kellogg wants more from his team on the defensive side. “I haven’t liked us defensively all year,” said Kellogg. “I think that is our biggest gap right now. We need to get a little better on the defensive end. It’s our identity, but it’s not quite the standard that we expect yet. And some of that is we get the big lead and let off the gas a little bit.”
Georgia Tech Head Coach Karen Blair acknowledged the impact of the Mountaineers’ experience and size in contributing to the outcome. “I’m proud of the way we handled the press,” said Blair. “I think the difference in this game was their post play inside.” Blair went on to add, “I think the rebounding is the thing that sticks out the most. We knew coming in they were pretty big. You can look at 35 (Zahirah Walton, 6’0, 5 offensive rebs. and 5 pts) and say she’s a wing, but they are playing four forwards. It’s a really big lineup.”
The Yellow Jackets get back to business on Thursday when they welcome the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (1-1) of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) to McCamish Pavilion. The Hawks finished 20-15 last season, earning a bid to the Women’s NIT. They defeated Wake Forest 59-48 on the road in the first round before falling to Youngstown State in the second. Tip-off is at 7:00 pm