It was close, but the Tech women’s basketball team finally got their first ACC road win. The Jackets had lost their first three ACC road games by an average of 13 points, but Tech won their game at Maryland (16-7, 3-5 ACC) on Friday Feb. 5 by a single point, 61-60.
The Jackets had a big lead going into half time at 37-25. Senior forward Brigette Ardossi had ten first half points for the Jackets, and she played a huge part in the Jackets’ control of the low post. Tech scored 18 points in the paint compared to Maryland’s eight.
Ardossi finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds.
In the second half, Maryland outscored the Jackets in the paint 18-8 and had 14 second-chance points. Maryland used their strong inside game to mount a comeback, and pulled ahead 55-54 with 4:50 left in the game.
With the game tied at 59, junior guard Alex Montgomery shot a three-pointer with only seven seconds left on the clock. Her shot was off, but she was able to draw a foul to go to the line for three free throw attempts. Montgomery missed her first free throw, but she hit the last two to give the Jackets the lead, 61-59.
Tech had a two-point advantage, but the Terrapins had a chance to win, or at least tie the game.
Maryland’s Anjale Barrett e drove hard towards the basket. She tried for a lay-up with one second on the clock, but she was fouled on her way to the hoop.
With virtually no time left on the clock, Barrett went to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game. Her first attempt went in, but her second attempt did not and Tech held on to win.
Montgomery finished the game with a team-high 20 points.
Tech used the momentum from their first ACC road win to propel them to a second road victory at Clemson, 68-53.
Ardossi led the team with 17 points. She also recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 13 rebounds.
Sophomore center Sasha Goodlett scored 14 points, junior guard Deja Foster had 16 points, and Montgomery added 10.
Metra Walthour also had seven steals off of the bench to help the Jackets win their sixth ACC game.
Tech started the game off strong with a 20 to 8 scoring run. Ardossi was a big factor in the run, scoring eight of the 20 points.
Clemson (11-14, 2-7 ACC) made a number of mistakes to aid the Jackets, with 25 turnovers and a 31.7 percent field goal rate.
Meanwhile, the Jackets (20-5, 6-3 ACC) shot 51 percent from the field and controlled the paint. 40 of Tech’s 63 points came in the paint, and the Jackets only allowed Clemson to score 26 points down low.