The Georgia Gwinnett College women's basketball team found its shooting touch down the stretch and pulled away for a 64-53 victory Saturday afternoon against Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, Tennessee, in the Grizzlies first road game of the season.
GGC (4-2) made four of its last five shots to score the final nine points, turning a 55-53 lead into an 11-point victory that broke a two-game losing streak.
Sophomore
Christen Collins started the hot streak with a 3-point field goal from an assist by senior
Nylaa Fuller, giving the visitors a 58-53 advantage with 3:18 remaining. Collins followed with a jump shot nearly a minute later to increase the lead to 60-53 and then junior
Jamya Griffin scored back-to-back layups in the 1:17 of the game to seal the victory.
The Grizzlies made 43.8 percent of their shots in the decisive fourth quarter, and also had 11 of their 32 rebounds in that period. Meanwhile, the team's defensive pressure held TWU to 28.6 percent shooting (4-of-14) and 16.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (1-of-6) over the final 10 minutes.
GGC outscored the Bulldogs (4-2) in each of the final three quarters after trailing 17-14 after the opening 10 minutes. Things flipped early in the second quarter and the team enjoyed a 32-30 halftime edge and increased the lead to a three-point margin, at 47-44, by the end of the third quarter.
Collins led the team's offensive attack with 18 points, while Griffin had 13 points. Both guards had five steals in the game.
The team had two other double-figure scorers, with junior
Bri Adams and junior
Christina Collins each having 12 points, along with each collecting six rebounds. Fuller added seven points and six rebounds to assist the winning effort.
The Grizzlies forced TWU into making 16 turnovers, which were turned into 20 points for the victors.
Coach's Corner
"Today was a true testament to our team's resiliency and ability to bounce back and earn a road win against a tough opponent. We did an outstanding job taking care of the basketball (having only five turnovers). We also came up with some key defensive stops down the stretch that helped us seal the win. I'm proud of the way our team responded and continued to compete together. We'll continue to build on this performance and take the necessary steps to keep growing as a team," said Head Coach
Tory Wooley, who is 24-9 in two seasons with the Grizzlies.
Turning Point
The Grizzlies dominated the final 3:18, turning a slim 55-53 advantage into the final 11-point victory by scoring the last nine points of the contest. Sophomore
Christen Collins started things off with a 3-point field goal and jump shot and then junior
Jamya Griffin closed things out with consecutive layups.
Inside The Numbers
- Returning All-American Christen Collins had a team-high 18 points – her fourth double-figure game of the season
- The Grizzlies had four double-figure scorers, with Jamya Griffin at 13 points and Bri Adams and Christina Collins both having a dozen in a balance offensive attack
- GGC only committed five turnovers in the game
- The team scored 30 of its 64 points in the paint
News & Notes
- GGC broke a two-game losing streak and is now 4-2 for the season; Tennessee Wesleyan lost for the first time in five games and falls to 4-2
- The game was the Grizzlies' first road game of the season
- This was the first game ever game between the two programs
- The program has posted victories in its last six road or neutral-site games
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College will continue its road trip with a game at Lindsey Wilson University (Kentucky) on Saturday, November 14, in Columbia, Kentucky, at 3 p.m.
