Terps steal a second win against Ga. Tech

Twice this season, Georgia Tech has given the Terrapins women's basketball team all it could handle.

The Yellow Jackets built double-digit leads, pressured the Terps to near-season-high turnover totals and even held the lead with less than four minutes to play.

In both meetings, it wasn't enough.

Just like it did in the teams' Jan. 6 meeting in College Park, Georgia Tech walked off the court in defeat yesterday. Pitted in a physical battle against their ACC foe, again the No. 8 Terps held on in the end, staving off the No. 22 Yellow Jackets late to secure a 64-56 victory in Duluth, Ga.

"We knew that coming here, they were going to give us their best game because we stole one at our place," forward Alyssa Thomas said, referring to the Terps' 77-74 comeback win. "Coming into it, we knew we had to come out with a lot of energy from the start."

Thomas was the star in their first meeting, but it was forward Tianna Hawkins who stole the show last night. After watching Thomas score 18 second-half points — including a game-winning three-point play with 17 seconds to play — in the Terps' (20-3, 7-3 ACC) January victory, Hawkins took control inside Gwinnett Center in the second half yesterday.

The talented junior scored 15 of her career-high 23 points after halftime last night, shooting 11-of-13 from the field while grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.

"I think the main thing was shooting the ball with confidence," Hawkins said. "Taking my time when my teammates found me in different scenarios."

The victory was far from perfect, though. The Terps shot just 40 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers as Georgia Tech's (17-7, 7-4) defense pestered them throughout the night, especially early in the game.

The Terps made just three of their first 17 shots, falling behind by as many as 10 in the opening 16 minutes. Though a 10-0 Terps' run tied the game at the break, their 24 first-half points were the lowest they scored in a game this season.

"In the first half, we didn't feel like we played very well," coach Brenda Frese said. "Credit Georgia Tech's defense; they had a lot to do with that,"

But just as they did on Jan. 6, the Yellow Jackets faded late. Paced by 28 combined second-half points from Hawkins and Thomas, the Terps proved to be too much to handle.

After a Tyaunna Marshall-layup gave Georgia Tech a two-point lead with just more than three minutes remaining, the Terps shut the door, ending the game on a 12-2 run to secure an eight-point win.

"The adversity we faced in this game — I'm very proud that we kept our poise and composure," Frese said. "We really made some nice plays late [in the] game."

A road trip to face ACC bottom-feeder Clemson is next for the Terps, followed by a home date with No. 6 Miami on Sunday. But after what happened two weeks ago, Thomas has her sights set solely on the Tigers.

"Every game is a big game for us. We got to come out and play our best game every night," Thomas said. "Because if we don't, it will be similar to what happened with Virginia Tech."

vitale@umdbk.com