After losing seven in a row, the Tech women’s basketball team (10-12, 3-8 ACC) has a new streak going. The Tech women have a two-game winning streak after an 89-82 win in overtime against Wake Forest (10-11, 3-7 ACC) on Jan. 31, and a 65-62 win against Virginia (14-7, 6-4 ACC) on Feb. 3.
Against Wake Forest, The Jackets were led by junior Tyaunna Marshall’s double-double. Marshall tied a career high of 28 points and set new career bests with seven assists and 17 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive end. Freshman Roddreka Rogers also had a double-double, the first of her career, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Tech also got 23 points from sophomore guard Sydney Wallace.
The Jackets won for the first time after losing seven straight.
It was a tightly contested game, with 11 ties and 17 lead changes. The Deacons took a one point lead into the half, but Tech took a lead early in the second half.
The Jackets held the lead until the 11:47 mark of the half, and the score remained close until the end. Wake Forest hit two free throws with just 6.1 seconds left on the clock to tie the game and send the game to overtime.
The Jackets would burst out of the gate in overtime, scoring 12 straight points to build up an 81-69 lead. The Deacons dug into Tech’s lead but it was not enough, and the Jackets won for the first time after losing seven straight.
Tech followed up that win with another against Virginia, once again thanks to the strong outings of Marshall and Wallace. Marshall had 25 points and 10 rebounds for her third straight double-double, while Wallace had 22 points off of six three-pointers. Wallace is now one three pointer away from being in the all-time top 10 at Tech for most three pointers made.
The Jackets started off slow, as Virginia started the game off on a dominating 15-2 run. However, solid defense by Tech’s women held the Cavaliers to just two field goals in the final eight minutes of the first half to keep the Jackets in contention.
Tech cut the Cavalier’s lead to single digits, but that deficit was extended to double digits with 12:37 to play. A 12-3 run in under three minutes pulled the Jackets to within one, and later tied the game for the first time at 51 with 8:32 to play.
Wallace hit a three pointer with 6:04 left to make the score 56-51 and to give Tech its largest lead of the day. A field goal by Virigina with 3:56 left drew the Cavaliers closer, but that would prove to be their final field goal of the day.
Another Wallace three pointer tied the game with 52 seconds left, and a layup following a steal would give Tech a 63-62 lead with 15.3 seconds to play. Two final free throws by Wallace would seal the game as a 65-62 win.
The women’s basketball team will play their next two games at McCamish Pavilion as they look to continue their winning streak. The Jackets will play Virginia Tech on Friday, Feb. 8, at 8:30 p.m., followed by a game against North Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 11:30 a.m.