Davis, Tech women upend Duke to snap long losing spell

ATLANTA, Ga. - The Georgia Tech womens basketball team finally got the best of Duke.

Kaela Davis scored 24 points to lead four in double figures as the Yellow Jackets upset the Associated Press No. 16 Blue Devils 71-62 Thursday at McCamish Pavilion.

The win snapped a 37-game losing streak in the series for Tech (16-13, 6-9 Atlantic Coast Conference), which won against the Durham, North Carolina school for the first time since February, 1994.

“Especially with a young team…for them to be able to beat a team like Duke with that tradition, I think it’s a huge deal for us,” said Tech coach MaChelle Joseph, who as Tech coach had lost her first 16 games to Duke.

The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 18 points in the second half, then saw their cushion trimmed to six at 60-54 when Rebecca Greenwell knocked down a jumper for Duke (19-9, 10-5) at the 3:16 mark. Zaire O’Neil converted a lay-up and later, Katarina Vuckovic hit one of her three shots from three-point land and Tech led 65-54 with 1:48 to play.

Greenwell, who along with Azura Stevens led the Blue Devils with 16 points, hit a three to make it a 67-60 game with 48 seconds left, but over the next half-minute Duke had a pair of turnovers and a missed 3-pointer, helping Tech end a long series losing streak.

"It’s huge,” Davis said of the win. “We can figure out a way to fight against anybody.”

Duke scored the first four points of the game on lay-ups by Amber Henson and Elizabeth Williams, but starting with O’Neil’s bucket at the 18:12 mark, Tech went on a 21-4 run and held a 21-8 advantage after Aaliyah Whiteside buried a three at the 10:20 mark.

The Yellow Jackets stretched their lead out to 33-19 at halftime, holding Duke to just 21 percent (7-of-34) shooting through the first 20 minutes. O’Neil’s two free throws allowed Tech to build its largest cushion of the night at 37-19, which came 40 seconds into the second half. O’Neil, a 5-11 freshman from Newark, New Jersey, chipped in with 12 points, while Whiteside also added 12, Vuckovic, 11 and Rodreka Rogers grabbed 13 rebounds.

“I’ve never seen a rebounder like Rodreka Rogers,” said Joseph. “She’s undersized every night in this league and she’s able to come through on both ends of the floor.”

Cooper scored 11 points and Williams finished with a double-double (10 points and 14 rebounds), though the senior center hit just 4-of-12 from the field, well below her season shooting percentage of 51%.