Georgia Tech women sting Miami in overtime, 71-66

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Tonie Morgan finished with a double-double and Kayla Blackshear dropped a team-high 18 points as Georgia Tech women’s basketball closed out the regular season with a 71-66 victory in overtime at Miami on Sunday. The Yellow Jackets shot 89 percent at the free throw line to pull out the road victory.

It was a back-and-forth battle in the first half as Georgia Tech (16-14, 7-11 ACC) held the largest lead of the opening 20 minutes, gaining a four-point advantage twice. The teams worked through nine lead changes and stood knotted at 14-apiece after the first quarter. Tied at 21-21 in the second frame, Morgan hit a triple to open a Georgia Tech lead, but the Hurricanes did not go lightly, crawling back to take the lead on a three-point play from Latasha Lattimore with 1:53 to play. Sydney Johnson briefly returned the edge to the Jackets with a three-pointer, but Shayeann Day-Wilson hit her fifth triple of the half to give Miami the 36-35 halftime lead.

After an even third quarter, Tech trailed by one entering the final frame. A pair of triples from Inés Noguero knotted the score at 57-57 with 7:24 to play, but Miami answered with a three-pointer of its own to retake the lead. The Jackets would tie the score twice more from the free throw line as Kara Dunn sank a pair of freebies with 33.0 seconds to play to tie the game at 62-62. A game-winner didn’t fall for the Jackets, forcing overtime in Coral Gables.

Johnson opened the extra period hitting a triple in front of Tech’s bench and the Jackets finished strong at the free throw line, going 6-for-6 over the final minute to capture a 71-66 victory on the road. Miami was held to a 28.6 percent shooting clip from the field in overtime and was 0-for-4 at the free throw line.

For the game, Tech converted 17-of-19 free throw attempts, while Miami went 6-for-16. Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field, while the Hurricanes won the battle on the glass, 46-44.

Morgan finished with a double-double behind 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Blackshear just missed a double-double performance with 18 points and nine rebounds. The Jackets hit eight three-pointers in the game amongst six different players connecting from long distance.

After scoring 21 points in the first half, Day-Wilson was held to six in the final three periods to finish with 27 points for the game. Lazaria Spearman added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Miami.

Georgia Tech returns to action at the 2024 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, which runs March 6-10 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.