Freshman Tonie Morgan flirted with a triple-double and senior Nerea Hermosa continued to shine of late amidst fulfilling an altered role this season, as their Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets secured a huge upset win over the No. 15 NC State Wolfpack Thursday night at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.
The Jackets won 68-62 thanks to key baskets from Hermosa down the stretch. Hermosa averaged 10.6 points in 31.9 minutes per game last year and started all 32 games. This year, she entered Thursday averaging 4.5 points in 19.2 minutes, having started seven of 21 contests. She came off the bench for 14 points and seven boards Thursday; Morgan led the way with 17 points, six boards and 10 assists.
Hermosa’s 14 topped her previous season high of 12, which was set in Tech’s previous game, an 85-74 win over Clemson last Thursday. The Jackets (12-10, 3-8 ACC) have won three of their last four. Thursday marked their first ranked win of the season and was quite impressive considering the Wolfpack (16-6, 6-5 ACC) were coming off a win over now-No. 9 Notre Dame.
Hermosa made back-to-back identical mid-range shots from the left baseline off assists from Morgan to make it 60-55 Tech with 3:45 to play. That’s when it first started feeling real — like the Jackets could pull it off.
A third…
