Another complete game by Nell Fortner’s undefeated squad
McCAMISH PAVILION — “We’ve haven’t earned anything yet. We’ve done nothing yet,” said #17 Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball head coach Nell Fortner amidst a flurry of praises she gave her team after defeating #23 Nebraska 72-61 to move to 13-0 (1-0 ACC) on the season. The undefeated Jackets still consider themselves underdogs in every game as freshman Dani Carnegie put it, and so far this mentality that they have much to prove still has worked to a record level. The win extends the program record undefeated streak to start a season for Tech, plus they are still the only undefeated team in the ACC.
Dani Carnegie, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Week, again was a powerful force off the bench, scoring the game high for Tech with 20 points along with eight rebounds.
The win streak is no accident to her. “I always had it in my mind that we’ll be one of the best teams in the nation,” as she put it.
This game was one where the quality of depth showed out. Chit Chat Wright had a career high 15 points and played with boisterous confidence despite being undersized compared to Nebraska. Ari Termis was back from a one-game absence and contributed with five rebounds, four assists, and two blocks while dealing with Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski, a super talented big who Tech held to just 20 points. “She could’ve scored 30 or 40 against us” according to Fortner.
It wasn’t a perfect night for Kayla Blackshear or Ines Noguero who combined for six points on 3-9 shooting, but the weapons were there across the board for Tech where they didn’t need their best games. Both of them settled into primarily defensive roles and did a great job doing their jobs.
And then Tech’s leader, Tonie Morgan, scored a casual 10 points with three rebounds and four assists, but provided the level headed, confident play this team has done repeatedly in all 13 games.
While the box score will tell the story of a game very even, Tech led for 34:52 and by as uch as 18 points in the third quarter. At the end when Nebraska needed to trade threes for two’s down 10, Tech’s approach changed to let them get easier baskets as long as they were hitting their free throws, which they did hitting 90% of them.
The win is the third against Nebraska in their all time series, moving to 3-1 against the Huskers. Tech’s last win in the series came in November 2011.
In the advanced stats world, Tech according to Bart Torvik has yet to play a game with a game score under 91, today’s registering at a 99.0. They have the 10th best offensive efficiency rating at 113.3, second best of ACC teams behind Notre Dame. Tech came in 16th in NET and now have five wins over top 50 NET ranked teams.
How It Happened
1Q
Morgan took the early tone set with a strong driving layup and doing the same to get the free throw line for a 4-2 lead. Both were cold shooting for a bit before Carnegie entered the game, putting in a three to regain the lead at 7-6. Nebraska took the lead on a Markowski layup at 10-9 before Blackshear and Carnegie buckets won the quarter 14-10.
2Q (14-10 GT)
Nebraska struggled to finish anything in the first part of the quarter, missing eight shots in a row. Threes were shot with the quick and abundant frequency we have come to expect from the Jackets. Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright and Dani Carnegie notched two threes each. Both teams played fast, to the point of near chaos occasionally. Great pressure on defense from the Jackets, combined with an inferior scoring performance from the Huskers, led to a 13-point lead going into the third.
Halftime stats via Georgia Tech
3Q (32-19 GT)
Tech’s defense did not have any lapses to start the half, holding Nebraska to 1 of 7 shooting. Meanwhile Termis, Morgan, Dunn, and Carnegie either got to the line or hit jumpers to pad onto the lead, stretching the lead to 16 at the 4:58 mark. Nebraska’s offense came to life for the first time a couple of minutes later with buckets from Nissley and Markowski to shrink Tech’s lead to 10. Smith and Morgan buckets for Tech reestablished the larger lead, closing the quarter with a 14-point lead.
4Q (49-35 GT)
As outside shooting began to cool, second and third-chance points kept the lead for Tech. The Jackets committed some early fouls in the fourth that cost some points but easily adjusted to allowing the Huskers to take out-of-control shots. As time ticked down, Nebraska began pressing and fouling, but again, the Jackets capitalized, sinking 12 of 13 shots from the charity stripe. Tech maintained control through the end to secure the win.
Stats and Game Leaders
Stats via Georgia Tech
Points: Dani Carnegie (GT)/Alexis Markowski (NEB) – 20
Assists: Tonie Morgan (GT)/Ari Termis (GT) – 4
Rebounds: Kara Dunn (GT) – 14
3PM: Dani Carnegie (GT) – 4
Turnovers: Britt Prince (NEB) – 5
Georgia Tech next plays December 29th at McCamish Pavilion at 2pm against Pitt to kick off the body of their ACC schedule.