UVA women’s basketball falls to Georgia Tech, 68-62

The UVA women’s basketball team (13-7, 3-4) fell 68-62 to Georgia Tech (13-8, 3-4 ACC) on Sunday (Jan. 25) at John Paul Jones Arena.

In a game that featured 15 ties and 12 lead changes, Virginia held a 49-47 lead with 10:24 remaining, but a 10-2 Georgia Tech run proved to be the tipping point, putting the Yellow Jackets up 57-51 with 5:01remaining. The Cavaliers pulled to within three, 59-56, on a layup from senior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria) with four minutes left in the game. The game remained a two-point contest with both teams trading stops until an and-one by Georgia Tech’s Aaliyah Whiteside gave the Yellow Jackets a 62-56 lead heading into the final minute. The two teams traded baskets and free throws down the stretch as Georgia Tech held on for the victory, with the Cavaliers suffering their third-straight loss.

Junior guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) scored 23 points with seven rebounds, her ninth 20-point game of the season. Sophomore guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) scored 14 points with five assists and three rebounds.

Georgia Tech’s Kaela Davis scored 31 points, going 12-of-29 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line, part of a 14-of-14 free throw shooting performance by the Yellow Jackets. Zaire O’Neill scored 16 points with 11 rebounds.

After trailing 14-13 early in the game, Virginia went on a 10-0 run, capped by a fastbreak layup from freshman guard Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) to take a 24-14 lead with 7:27 left in the first half. Georgia Tech took advantage of a 4:38 UVa scoring drought to mount a 12-0 scoring run, taking a 26-24 lead with 3:07 remaining before the break. After three more ties in the game, Randolph hit a pull-up jumper right before the buzzer to give the Cavaliers a 32-30 lead at halftime.

Neither team led by more than four points in the second half before Georgia Tech built its 57-51 advantage.

The Yellow Jackets held a 40-35 edge in rebounding and outscored Virginia 40-28 in in the paint. Virginia was 3-of-7 from the free throw line while Georgia Tech was a perfect 14-of-14. UVa was 28-of-63 (44.4 percent) overall shooting in the game and 3-of-15 (20.0 percent) from three-point range. Georgia Tech was 26-of-65 (40.0 percent) overall and 2-of-15 (13.3 percent) from long range.

Virginia closes out its current home stand by hosting NC State (12-8, 3-4 ACC) on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.

Single-game ticket prices for all home games are $10 for Reserved seating, $8 for adult General Admission and $6 for youth (18 & under), senior (60 & over) and UVa faculty/staff General Admission. Fans may purchase home game tickets through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office online at VirginiaSports.com, by phone and in person. The Virginia Athletics Ticket Office is located in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium and openMonday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).