The women’s hoops team extended their winning streak to two with a victory over Florida State last Sunday at the AMC, 83-73. Earlier in the week, the Jackets were able to shutdown Clemson, 77-59.
“I’m just really proud of how our team is playing on the offensive end. I think we have to get better defensive stops…but it seems like, that on the offensive end, we’re really [clicking] as a team. We had double-players stepping it up [on Sunday] and I’m just really happy to just be able to get this win and be 18-4, one of the best starts in the history of our program,“ said Head Coach MaChelle Joseph.
While the main reason Tech was victorious was the offense, they were also able to stop the teams defensively. In the game against Florida State, Tech established an inside presence, outscoring the Seminoles 38-22. Against Clemson, Tech forced 28 turnovers.
The seniors were also able to contribute to the modest winning streak. Chioma Nnamaka and Janie Mitchell led the squad by scoring 20+ points in both games. Nnamka had eight steals from both games. She is only one three-point field goal away from owning the school record of three-point shots and would also become seventh on the all-time ACC list.
“Anytime you get players hitting double figures, then good things are going to happen. Our two seniors have led the way all year for us and that has paved the way down the stretch. Our two freshmen played pretty tough. I thought they were really aggressive offensively and they did some really good things,“ Joseph said.
The Jackets began the second half of the FSU game, starting the period with a 17-2 run. They held on to the strong lead to the end of the game.
“We just really attacked, played aggressive plays at the rim, tried to get a defensive rebound and we really tried to get on a good run. We’re really good at getting the ball off the glass and getting into a good transition. I really thought that that spurt we had in the second half, where we got several defensive stops, just that good things really happen for us when you have good defensive stops because we were really able to go on a run,“ Joseph said.
Junior Jacqua Williams paved the way for the Jackets’ defense throughout the week. The guard from Seattle garnered a total of eight steals and five rebounds.
The freshmen Iasia Williams and Alex Montgomery also had a significant impact on the court. Montgomery scored 17 points and had 5 steals to contribute to the Jackets’ big 77-59 win over Clemson.
“We recruited [freshmen] to be impact players and difference makers and there’s no doubt that they play beyond their years and their experience. I really thought Iasia [Hemingway] went out of her way [on Sunday]; she was guarding a kid who was 6’5“ and you could tell the toughness and the tenacity that she played on the defensive end,“ Joseph said.
The Jackets are coming to the closing stages of a historic season. Last night the Lady Jackets played on the road at Miami. Those results were unavailable at press time. The next home game will be this Saturday, when they host nationally ranked North Carolina for another conference match-up and another shot at avenging its first ACC loss of the season. Tip-off is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday’s game will also feature the Lady Jackets wearing pink jerseys to support breast cancer research.