Talayah Walker and D’Asia Thomas-Harris split a 40-piece to lead the Yellow Jackets to a convincing 72-57 win over Norfolk State.
Both teams looked a bit stiff early in the first, settling for three-point shots rather than driving to the paint. Ugly Christmas sweater night may have affected their vision.
The Lady Spartans took their only lead of the game (16-13) at the 1:16 minute mark on a triple by Jenesis Hill. Hill finished the night with seven points and three steals.
“You know, I think they started the game really going in early on us, and we had to kind of respect their three-point shooting, so we weren’t digging down as much off of their guards on the post,” said Head Coach Karen Blair. The Spartans’ play prompted a timeout from Blair. When the Yellow Jackets returned to the court, things were different. “You know, in any game, you try and change the tempo defensively, change the things that you’re doing. I do think that had a little bit to do with kind of keeping them out of their rhythm as well.”
New quarter, Same Energy
Georgia Tech took advantage of Norfolk State’s poor shooting and turnovers to expand the lead to 20 points by the half. The Yellow Jackets were able to exploit the Spartans’ transition defense and improved their shot selection in the half-court set. Talayah Walker and Catherine Alben led the Yellow Jackets with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
“I can’t say enough about Talaya Walker today,” remarked the first-year coach. “She ended up playing 40 minutes. Her first career double, career highs and points, rebounds, and assists. The one thing I will tell you is Talaya knows I have full confidence in her. Her job is to let it fly. She impacted us in so many ways today.”
Blair’s bench outscored its opponents’ bench 34-14, nearly the same as the lead the Yellow Jackets played with until late in the final period.
Inconsistency continued to plague the Spartans in the second half. At times, they made it look easy, but those moments were too far and few in between.
Shooting a low percentage from the field is a big problem for teams that have the kind of scoring lulls that Norfolk State experienced. The Spartans’ shooting dropped from a high of 46.7% in the first period to a low of 25% in the second. As a team, they shot 22 three-pointers while making only three.
Despite their troubles, the Spartans held the line in the third period and outscored the Yellow Jackets 16-10 in the final period. Jasha Clinton led the Spartans’ scoring effort with a team high of 18 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Center LeAire Nicks was the only other Norfolk State player in double figures with 10 points.
The win ends the Yellow Jackets’ four-game skid that began Nov 23 against in-state rival Georgia.