This past week, the Jackets women’s basketball team lost consecutive home games against No. 9-ranked NC State Wolfpack and a highly touted Florida State Seminoles team. Despite falling, both games were nail biters with the opposition pulling away at the end. In the matchup against the Wolfpack, Tech led 53-52 with just over three minutes to go in the third quarter, but then the Wolfpack responded with a 17-0 run to put the game out of reach for the Jackets. Next, against the Seminoles on Senior Day, Tech nearly completed a huge comeback in the fourth but fell short after the team failed to make clutch shots.
After a thrilling loss in Raleigh last year featuring a buzzer-beater from junior guard Kara Dunn to force overtime, many watched the McCamish Pavilion intently to see the outcome between ranked ACC foes. NC State looked to bounce back following a loss to in-state rival North Carolina the previous weekend. From the start, the Wolfpack were on a mission to right the wrongs of the last game. While NC State opened a quick 13-point lead, the Jackets seemed poised and calm for the game ahead. Junior point guard Tonie Morgan led a comeback to get the Jackets within six points heading into the locker rooms. The Wolfpack shot excellently in the opening frames, hitting 53 percent of their shots while Tech struggled to hit 45 percent.
At the start of the third quarter, Tech continued to fight back and eventually took the lead with 3:11 left in the quarter. Then, the Wolfpack went on a run that virtually sealed the game for them. Scoring 17 straight points while shooting nearly 77 percent from the field for the quarter put the Jackets too far behind and led to their 83-68 demise. Heading into the postseason, the Jackets must prevent long scoring runs from their opponents and keep the consistency through four quarters.
Before the Senior Night game against the Seminoles began, Tech honored seniors Zoe Smith and Kayla Blackshear for their hard work and success throughout this year. While the seniors were the ones recognized pre-game, the most valuable player of the game was clearly freshman guard Tianna Thompson. Thompson, a standout from the Galloway School in Atlanta, dropped a career-high 19 points on 8–11 shooting from the floor and 3–5 from deep. When the Jackets found themselves in a hole, they turned to Thompson who made clutch plays on both ends of the floor.
Despite Thompson’s stellar play and a solid performance by the rest of the team, Florida State’s Sydney Bowles dominated the Jackets scoring 32 points. Despite the Seminoles missing their best player in Ta’Niya Latson (who averages 26.2 points per game), FSU proved why Tech will have a difficult time making an extended run in the postseason: the lack of bigs and interior defense on the Jackets. Despite Tech losing 73-70 on Senior Day, the youth of this team will prove to be vital in years to come.
Before concluding the regular season the Jackets head out to California to wrap up ACC play with matchups against both University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University. Then, the Jackets will travel to Greensboro, N.C. to participate in the ACC tournament and hopefully followed by an NCAA Tournament Berth. Following the pair of losses, the Jackets fell out of the AP rankings for the first time since before ACC play but still aim to be a middle seed in the ACC and NCAA tournament.
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