Georgia women’s basketball controlled most of the game Wednesday night, but a late Virginia Tech surge pushed the Hokies ahead for the nine-point victory.Sophomore forward Fatima Diakhate was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs, putting up a 16-point double-double, her first of the season. The ACC/SEC Challenge tipped off in Athens to a vibrant atmosphere, as the Bulldogs tried to bounce back from a heartbreaker to Hampton a few days prior.
Georgia got out to a hot start offensively, making 9 of 15 shots from the field in the first period. Freshman guard Summer Davis got her second straight start for the Bulldogs and capitalized on it quickly, going three-of-three from 3-point range in the first quarter.
The Hokies weren’t nearly as efficient from deep as they went three-of-nine in the same period, but their aggression from outside the arc would be a sign of things to come. After the Hokies took their first lead of the game on back-to-back buckets from senior guard Matilda Ekh, the Bulldogs closed the quarter on a 7-2 run that gave them a 21-18 lead heading into the second quarter.
Freshman guard Trinity Turner took on much of the offensive load for the Bulldogs in the second period, scoring eight points on four-of-six shooting. The freshman from Orlando has certainly made her presence felt in her short time in Athens, leading the Bulldogs in scoring thus far this season (13 points per game).
Ekh continued to be a spark plug for Virginia Tech, hitting two 3-pointers in the middle of the period to put the Hokies back in the lead. However, a 6-0 run to end the half led by Turner and Diakhate put the Bulldogs back on top 33-30.
The Bulldogs continued to be efficient on the offensive end out of the break, but the Hokies wouldn’t go away. Senior forward Rose Micheaux led the way for Virginia Tech in a back-and-forth third quarter, contributing ten points in the period.
Georgia finally got to the free throw line for the first time all night with a Miyah Verse and-one with 3:37 left in the third quarter. Up only one after another a Micheaux layup, the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run to conclude the third period. Senior guard De’Mauri Flournoy capped the run off with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs up 53-46 going into the fourth.
With their largest lead of the game, Georgia had all the momentum going into the final quarter of play. Through three quarters, the Bulldogs shot over 51% from the field and were 5/12 from deep.
The Hokies had tried to exploit Georgia’s zone with quick catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, but they had been mostly ineffective, hitting five of their 18 attempts from 3-point range going into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs were ten minutes away from their biggest win of the season.
Georgia was simply a different team in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs shot 3/17 from the field in the fourth and could not get a single 3-pointer to fall. On the other end, the Hokies came alive. After playing only seven minutes in the first three quarters, junior guard Lani White went on a 6-0 run all by herself to bring the Hokies within one in the opening minutes of the quarter. White finished with 14 points, 11 of which came during the fourth.
Fatima Diakhate was the only Bulldog to contribute any points in the last quarter of play. After a perfect trip to the line from Diakhate halfway through the quarter, the Hokies finished the game on a 15-2 run spearheaded by back-to-back 3-pointers from White and Ekh. In all, the Bulldogs were outscored 24-8 in the fourth quarter.
When asked postgame about her team’s weak finish down the stretch, head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson simply said, “We got some great shots, we just missed them.”
Georgia women’s basketball takes a twelve-day break before its next contest against UNC-Greensboro at home on December 16. The game will tip-off at 11 AM and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
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