Tech collapses against Commodores

Over the past week, the Jackets have had two tough contests in a row. Last Thursday, the Jackets lost to No. 2 North Carolina 78-31 in Chapel Hill.

This past Sunday, Tech faced No. 14 Vanderbilt at the Russell Athletic Shootout in Duluth.

Tech lost 72-55 in a game that was closer than the final score suggests. With these two losses, Tech is now 11-8 for the season and 2-3 in ACC play.

"It has been a tremendous stretch for this team. We knew coming into this season that when we got our schedule from the ACC that it would be a difficult start for us that would challenge anybody," said Head Coach MaChelle Joseph.

It appeared that the Jackets were headed for a repeat of the loss to North Carolina against Vanderbilt.

However, Tech responded to the Commodores early run with one of their own. After Vanderbilt jumped out to a 12-3 lead, the Jackets responded with an 11-0 run of their own that was led by forward Chioma Nnamaka's five points in a five minute stretch including a 3 pointer to put the Jackets up 14-12.

"It was definitely a game of runs. The biggest thing is that you have to stay focused for 40 minutes. Right now, we played good basketball for 30 minutes," said Junior guard Chioma Nnamaka.

The Jackets and Commodores battled back and forth with the lead changing several times. Vanderbilt took the edge going into the locker room 30-26. The second half became a battle of runs. The Jackets started the first nine minutes of the half on a 20-7 run to give the team a nine-point lead, their largest margin of the game.

"At halftime, we talked about what we needed to correct from the first half. We did get a spark early, but lost our composure when Vanderbilt got their run," Nnamaka said.

However, the Commodores fired back in a big way. Vanderbilt went on a 26-0 run to end Tech's streak, while retaking the lead and putting the game on ice at the same time.

With 2:56 to play in the second half, the Commodores led 63-46. They would go on to defeat the Jackets 72-55.

"I thought it came in to play in the last seven minutes of the game. They had fresh legs and we didn't," Joseph said, "That's how close we are to being a top 10 team. We are one or two players away from being a top 25 team. When you can go ten deep on a consistent basis, that's when you know you can compete on a very high level night in and night out against the best teams."

Junior forward Janie Mitchell led the Jackets with 14 points, six rebounds and three steals.

It was Mitchell's first game back since Jan. 4th when she injured her knee.

Junior forward Chioma Nnamaka also added 13 points and nine rebounds in a losing effort.

"She makes a tremendous impact. In addition to [her offensive ability] and her leadership, she is a stabilizing influence in the lineup," Joseph said.

Vanderbilt got their best performance from forward Caroline Williams who scored 21 points and picked up seven rebounds.

Center Carla Thomas also made key contributions by scoring 12 points, shooting 4-6 from the field. She also picked up five rebounds, dished out five assists and blocked two shots.

In the North Carolina game, the Jackets were never in the game. The still-undefeated No. 2 Tar Heels were able to hold Tech to their lowest scoring total output of the season winning 78-31.

"We really struggled in our ability to score. We had too many turnovers, and it seemed like we were a little intimidated by their pressure," Joseph said.

The leading scorer for the Jackets was reserve junior guard Jill Ingram off of the bench with 11 points. No starter for Tech scored more than four points.

The Jackets turned the ball over 24 times while the Tar Heels only had 16 turnovers.

North Carolina was led by Alex Miller who came off of the bench to score 15 points, shooting 6-9 from the field.

Starting guard Ivory Latta also scored 14 points, with five assists and a steal.

Tech will play their next game in Winston-Salem, N.C. against Wake Forest this Sunday.