After holding the title of ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year and making All-ACC First Team, senior Lorela Cubaj was drafted 18th overall in the WNBA Draft on Monday, April 11. She originally was selected by the Seattle Storm, but her trade rights were sent to the New York Liberty in exchange for a future second round pick. She joins 2020’s No. 1 overall pick from Oregon, Sabrina Ionescu, at the Barclays Center where the Liberty play home games.

The Liberty finished third in the Eastern Conference during the 2021 season, going 12–20 in a conference that the Connecticut Sun ran away with. New York lost to the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs. She adds size to New York’s forward position as one of two big forwards drafted by the Liberty, who also selected Nyara Sabally from Oregon.

Cubaj is the ninth Jacket drafted in the WNBA, and the first since Tyaunna Marshall in 2014, according to the GTAA press release. She comes off a year where she started in every game along with junior center Nerea Hermosa, who together formed a powerful high-low game offensively. Sophomore guard Eylia Love also appeared in all 32 games.

Lorela was considered draft worthy in 2021 before she decided to use her extra year of NCAA eligibility to stay at Tech for a fifth season. The WNBA Draft though only has 36 selections over three rounds, meaning a good fifth year as Cubaj would assuredly get her in a better spot to be selected.

She ended up being an even more crucial part of Tech’s roster than originally planned. Three games in, guard Loyal McQueen transferred to Alabama, and then fellow backcourt starter Kierra Fletcher had foot surgery that kept her out the entire year. This placed the point guard duties largely in senior Lotta-Maj Lahtinen’s hands as the main distributor. It further put Cubaj in a position to stretch her game beyond the paint with more of the offensive load naturally shifting to her.

Cubaj flourished in the adjusted role. Her assists went up from 74 in 2020-21 to the team leading 136 this season, as she averaged a double-double. She dropped from 12.5 to 10.0 points per game, but Tech’s offense spread throughout the team more evenly with four starters finishing with more than 10 points per game in what was largely a six man rotation.

All of those assists and the extra year were certainly helpful in her becoming Tech’s all-time leading rebound record with 395 rebounds, regular and postseason combined. She crossed the 1,000 career point threshold as well early in the season.

Defensively, she led the Jackets with 41 blocks and 44 steals this season, just one more steal than Lahtinen. Cubaj also finished with 11.1 rebounds per game, 5.5 rebounds clear of anyone else on Tech’s roster. 

Without her distribution and prowess on the glass, who knows what Tech would have figured out. Much of Tech’s interior defense came from her, and the offense was better when it effectively went through her to open up the perimeter shooting that seniors Sarah Bates, Digna Strautmane, and Lahtinen provided. Her leading the team in minutes at 1074:03 was a need far more than a luxury for Nell Fortner’s team.

Replacing her size and interior presence will not automatically happen. Tech’s four 2022 signing day recruits all are 5’9’’ to 5’11’’ guards, possibly allowing junior Aixa Wone Aranaz to step into Cubaj’s role in the starting five alongside returning starters Hermosa and Love.

On April 12, Tech announced that senior guard Bianca Jackson had committed to joining Fortner’s squad from Florida State. She played 26 games last year for the Seminoles, starting seven and recording 6.7 points per game on 30.9% shooting. She does boast an 80% free throw rate, which would have been the best rate for the Institute this past season.

The term dominance is not one that’s been thrown around in the recent spell of Tech sports. Other teams dominate in football. Baseball and basketball come down to earth against high level teams. Softball and swimming are on the up and up. If not for the existence of the Louisville Cardinals in volleyball and basketball, Tech’s seasons in those sports could be very different.

Instead, Tech’s sole piece of truly consistent dominance has been in the track realm. Nicole Fegans, a senior from Douglasville, Georgia, has done nothing short of remarkable, elite running in the 2021-2022 season. On the track, she set career bests in the 800m, 1000m, 1500m, mile, 3000m, 5000m, and 6k cross country race all this year. In her first attempt at the 10k this year, she set the school record at 32:45.30.

“The 10k was really cool. Definitely a highlight,” said Fegans in an interview with The Technique. “I only went to go for a PR, but it was so cool nonetheless to run a faster 10k than I thought I could run.”

It was part of a season that, according to Nicole, has plenty of room still for her to improve her times.

“For outdoor, I would just rate it 10/10 on fun and maybe a 5/10 in regards to how I’ve done so far…well actually I’ll move that to a 7.5 because I’ve only raced once and then I’ve paced two races. The pacing was actually really really fun. I got to pace my sister and then got to pace the 1500m which was cool. But obviously getting to race is always the best part and since I’ve only raced once this season I’m just itching to get to race again soon,” Fegans said.

Nicole’s sister, Erin, is a sophomore psychology major and hasn’t appeared in a meet this season for Tech, but the two have made excellent training partners.

“We started running together as much as we could throughout the week depending on our mileage. It’s so awesome just to be not just on a team with her but getting to do this stage of life with her is really cool. Just because I know how hard freshman year can be and adjusting and everything like that. It’s been awesome to be with her along the way and give her advice and enjoy this stage of life together,” Fegans said.

Fegans sits alongside many female athletes on campus that have been incredibly successful in the last year (basketball’s starting five, the Killer B’s, Blake Neleman, Jin Sileo, McKenzie Campbell) and helped Tech gain notoriety in their respective sports. 

“Mentally, all the women at Tech just want to show out to show women can do it as good if not better than men can. Obviously our men’s sports are great, no disrespect to them. I feel our women are just like, ‘We’re here, we’re at a hard school, we’re doing hard sports and doing all the hard things people say women can’t do.’ Doing that at a predominantly male school is pretty cool too,” Fegans said.

At Tech, a historically football dominant school with decades of success under coaches like John Heisman, Bobby Dodd, and Paul Johnson, the last three years have been abysmal. While football brings in millions of dollars for the Athletic Association, wins have been coming from other teams on campus, with Fegans being one of the best The Flats has to offer.

“15:30 would be cool to run for a 5k, 4:15 is what I would love for a 1500. We’ll see depending on my race plan and who’s in the race and stuff like that. It’d be cool to get 5-6 seconds on all the stuff I’ve run this year,” Fegans said.

Of course, like many of us on campus, Fegans takes classes and has a student life to balance with being a top-tier runner.

 “Obviously if you’re a student athlete and going to class and stuff like that, you’re as hard of a worker as anyone else at any other school, but I do know that Georgia Tech has that difficulty that comes with being as good of a school as we are…I think it gives us a little more pride that we are able to do this hard school, we are able to go to all the practices, and then continue to run well and do school well,” said Fegans.

Fegans has opportunities at home during the Georgia Tech Invitational and the historic Penn Relays before the outdoor ACC Championships from May 12-14 to aim for her targeted times, which comes not long after she will graduate with a degree in Business Administration.

“Don’t be afraid to take a study break,” Fegans said in regards to what future athletes coming to Tech should know. “I feel like all the time everyone feels so overwhelmed by school and I understand it can be a lot. But when you look back on college, you don’t remember the tests you took or anything like that. You remember the memories you made. Get out there and do stuff.”

I knew the day I got accepted to Tech, which technically was a day early (thanks Rick), a hell of a ride in the next four that turned into five was coming. Tech did a lot of what it promised to do, and sometimes it fell short, but that is part of doing anything in this version of life. Many forever friends were made. 

I had some close calls at times. Two months ago, I even had an outright breakup from what had been the main focal point of my social life on campus for more than four years. Thankfully, it brought me into a much healthier and psychologically safe space afterward. It is crazy how life can change in a five minute span.

I am from a family that had extraordinary college experiences in New Jersey and Alabama. Knowing their stories and how they found so much community and lifelong friends was a huge motivator for me to keep investing in Tech and be with the people as much as I could. It took me time in 2017 to get acclimated even though I only moved 30 minutes from my parents house, but once I was settled around December 2017, I was off to the races. 

I do not think I could recall every memory I have of Tech in one sitting. Tech is a place I have never felt the need to leave. I never studied abroad. There was always someone here who needed a friend or needed to feel involved in the slow times. I wanted to be there for them. The density of incredible people Tech has in such a small radius truly is unique. It’s no wonder I have friends that have been working here for more than 15 years. Why leave when there are life-changing people around you every day? No, this is not a recommendation to never graduate…

A beautiful thing about the people on campus, which is likely you the person reading, is that improving one’s own life or some part of someone’s life is always a focal point. We get stuff done at Tech. We try to get so much stuff done that we are fighting for our own attention span. I was lucky to not have many things fall off the wayside while I was here. 

Day after day, I would talk to people on campus who truly had more than they should’ve had to carry. More often than not, it was because of the class load weighing against family or life obligations. 

I was one of the few that rarely had this problem, but I think a huge part of Tech’s day-to-day rhythm is untenable in the long run, sustaining a burnout culture that is quickly being discouraged in the job world. 

The moment Tech takes the student body’s mental health and workload into serious consideration and makes real changes, the rest of the college world will follow suit and be better for it. 

My call for you is one I’ve tried my best to emulate: just show up. You wanna be in the room where it happens? Show up. Be available. That may mean redefining what “available” means for you. I gained consistent people in my life because I showed up. But also, when it was time to leave, I did. There is a practical boundary for everything. You will know when it is coming. 

To conclude, these are my random nuggets of what has come to mind while writing this: 1) The Campanile is quite inviting after 11 p.m. 2) The roof on the roof of Crosland is an excellent place for lunar eclipses. 3) Our women’s sports are far greater than our men’s in both experience and national ranking. They deserve more love than we give them. 4) Discover Atlanta if you haven’t because Atlanta wants you. 5) Sleep. Feed yourself. Go wild with the youthful energy you have only now. 6) I am always available for my Tech friends. I hope I become one of yours one day.

In case you haven’t heard, baseball will not be returning on the originally scheduled Opening Day for the second time in three years. On Dec. 2, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and MLB’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expired, forcing a lockout that, without a new CBA, would result in no baseball until resolved. Three months later, there was still no agreement, and reports from meetings showed that both sides are incredibly far apart on core issues. It was a completely unnecessary situation caused by owner greed and feeble attempts to get close to what the players union sees to be a fair deal. Finally, on March 10, the players and owners came to an agreement to enable the full schedule to still be played. The lockout lasted 99 days.

Why did the lockout happen? For one, revenues have grown over the last decade in baseball, but on average, player salaries have decreased. Player mobility compared to the other four main American sports leagues us far less player friendly than baseball and has even resulted in MLB ready players being held back from playing big league games, notably including Ronald Acuña Jr. for Atlanta in 2018, just so teams could exert more control over their youngest players, and not pay them their market worth despite often being the most talented on their teams. For the players, continuing with the same terms the previous CBA had was not an acceptable way forward.

The main negotiating points were over how to properly compensate both the young players while expanding the money available for players to better match the revenue dollars teams had been seeing. This meant talks about the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) threshold and penalty tiers, the minimum salary, and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. 

The players sought increases in all of these, which would mean current players would be eligible for more money in new contracts, and players under rookie contracts would have more money available to them if they were of the league’s best.

Because negotiations took so long, Spring Training only officially began on March 14, and the first regular season games will not take place until April 7. The league did not come forward with a proposal to the MLBPA until Jan. 13, six weeks after the lockout was instigated. Talking points on the multiple economic issues that existed were many, 

The next two months, multiple rounds of bargaining and negotiating occurred, often resulting in little progress and finger pointing coming from both the Union and league. Multiple deadlines were set by the league and promptly passed. The deal struck in the late afternoon on March 10 was just about as late as a deal could get done without the real cancellation of games, despite MLB saying the first two series would be canceled earlier in negotiations.

What resulted was a deal which included multiple aspects that both sides sought. The CBT threshold will be $230 million for 2023, climbing annually to $244 million at the end of the five-year deal. The pre-arbitration pool is $50 million. The minimum salary goes from $570,500 to $700,000, and will also grow every year up to $780,000 at the end of this CBA. The amateur draft now is 20 rounds long and includes a draft lottery for the first six picks. 

The playoffs will be expanded to 12 teams from the current 10 team format, making only half of the playoff participants division champions. The designated hitter position, only used at American League stadiums since its introduction to major league games in 1973, of which Atlantan Ron Blomberg was the first ever in MLB, will now be used by all 30 teams in every game. It will be the first full length season the National League will implement the designated hitter.

Extra innings return to pure baseball with no ghost runner starting at second base. Reports have said this may be revisited and reverted back, though.

A notable negotiating point that was tabled for later was the implementation of an international draft. Up until this point, international players were signed directly to teams that had interest in them and were not part of a draft pool like U.S. based players.

The Tech women’s basketball team earned the sixth seed in last week’s ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. after beating Wake Forest on the road in their season finale. Tech’s seeding earned them a bye through the first round, and the team wound up playing the Demon Deacons on March 3 for the second straight game after beating Virginia in their first round game.

That second round game was far more of a slugfest than either team would have liked, and also a game marred by minutes off the floor by both the Jackets’ and Deacons’ notable players. After Tech took a first quarter lead, fifth-year Lorela Cubaj got tripped after going for a defensive rebound, falling face first and slamming her chin on the floor. She did not play the rest of the game, and required stitches to close the laceration.

The second and third quarters were about as weak an offensive showing as the Jackets have had all year. The second quarter was the second time in a month they scored only four points, coming from fifth-year Digna Strautmane and junior Nerea Hermosa. Tech had seven turnovers by halftime. The third was a little better with senior Sarah Bates hitting a three and junior Aixa Wone Aranaz filling in productively for Cubaj, scoring two buckets. Between the two quarters, Tech scored 13 points and got heavily outrebounded without Cubaj.

“She’s so important [on] both ends of the floor that it changed the game,” senior guard Lotta-Maj Lahtinen had to say of Cubaj’s absence when talking with the Technique after the game.

Even with the rebounding disadvantage, Wake Forest was having an even worse offensive evening, never getting the lead. Notably, their best player, Jewel Spear, was having ankle issues and was off the floor for a fair amount of the middle of the game. The Deacons did tie the game at 31 early in the fourth quarter on a Malaya Cowles three point play courtesy of a defensive miscommunication between Hermosa and Lahtinen. Spear then tied it again at 34 with her only three-pointer of the game.

Lahtinen hit a critical three with a minute left to give Tech a four point lead. Wake began fouling, but still was in it as Tech only made 2-of-8 free throws within the final minute, finishing with a 39% free throw shooting percentage. Tech stayed on top at the final buzzer, 45–40. It was the second-fewest total points ever scored in any ACC Tournament game.

The win earned them a spot in the quarterfinals the following evening against Notre Dame, who Tech fell to earlier in the year at McCamish in overtime. Cubaj was back in the starting lineup, but in a 71–53 loss would post a -18 in plus/minus.

Tech had a lead in the second quarter after Bates hit a three pointer, but was quickly countered by Notre Dame star Olivia Miles, whose three to put the Irish up five was part of a 10–4 run that effectively put Tech away for the rest of the game.

Strautmane, who statistically was the most efficient Jacket in the second round matchup, had to sit early in the second half with three fouls, but had the second made attempt in a 2–13 FG stretch that brought them to the fourth quarter.

Tech was down 54–43 going into the fourth quarter, which was not an impossible lead to come back from, and had already come back down 10 earlier in the season against Notre Dame. Offensively though, Tech was generating very little inside the arc, having made nine threes by the fourth, but only six shots from two. Hermosa and Cubaj were the only Jackets to make any field goals in the fourth quarter. Tech finished with nine two-point and three-point makes for the game.

Tech’s nine triples did add up to a 50% 3-point percentage. Strautmane had two threes with her 12 point performance, leading the Jackets in that category. Irish guard Sonia Citron was a +20 in plus/minus. Miles shot 50% FG with a 34% usage rate. The advanced offensive analytics showed Lahtinen’s struggles, as she recorded a 53.8 offensive rating.

The loss put Tech at a 21–11 record for the season. The Jackets are awaiting Selection Sunday to see where they get slotted into the NCAA Tournament. ESPN projections have them as a seven seed. The ACC is projected to have eight teams qualify for the tournament, second behind the SEC. The Jackets fell out of the AP Rankings after the week, receiving only nine votes after spending most of the season ranked.

The Jacket women’s basketball team finished their regular season with two inter-conference road games, their second matchups against Florida State and Wake Forest. Tech visited the Seminoles on Feb. 24 after losing four of their last five, of which their only win was in overtime against Clemson. 

The first quarter started well, with Tech leading 12-8 after ten minutes, which included seven points from junior Nerea Hermosa. Tech finished the quarter 2-of-11 shooting, and proceeded to have a seven minute scoring drought in the second quarter that gave Florida State room to take the lead 28-21 at halftime. The critical difference maker in that half was FSU’s ability to get to the line, making ten free throws.

Tech went on a 15-0 run in the third quarter largely led by fifth-year Digna Strautmane, who had returned to the starting lineup only a couple games prior. Notably, sophomore Avyonce Carter was getting key guard minutes during that stretch over fellow sophomore Eylia Love, and contributed some scoring in the 15-0 run. FSU was able to gather and get a couple late buckets to keep Tech’s lead at one going into the fourth quarter.

Midway through the fourth, Hermosa picked up her fifth foul, which eliminated the best part of Tech’s offense in their high-low sets. 

Tied 54-54, FSU had the chance to take the last shot, but left 11 seconds for Tech to tie after senior Sarah Bates fouled Sara Bejedi. Love made a layup to send the game to overtime, Tech’s third trip in four games. With nine seconds to tie in OT, Love lost control on a driving layup attempt and turned it over, securing the 65-63 win for the Seminoles. Senior Lorela Cubaj finished with only one point, and two of her nine rebounds came in the second half. Stratumane and senior Lotta-Maj Lahtinen both finished with
16 points.

Tech’s trip to Winston-Salem fared far better, a must-win going into the NCAA tournament with the team projected as a 7-seed. Like many of Tech’s recent games, it stayed close for a large portion of the game, with Wake up 33-32 at halftime and defensively adjusting well after an offensive explosion by Carter that gave Tech a 28-19 lead in the second quarter.

The rest of the Wake game showed an offensive consistency that had been missing in Tech’s recent games, which included a long stretch where Hermosa had to sit out due to foul trouble. Tech was up 48-41 going into the fourth quarter. 

Tech’s lead did shrink to one at multiple points before head coach Nell Fortner felt good about putting Hermosa back in with four fouls. The Demon Deacons critically had no fouls to give with half the quarter left to go, allowing Tech to drive to the basket more aggressively, giving Hermosa and Lahtinen the opportunity to get layups that stretched Tech’s lead to their winning margin, 64-56. 

Cubaj finished with a historic line of 18/16/6, becoming the first ACC player to finish with a 15/15/5 line since 2015.

Tech finishes the regular season 20-9 (11-7 ACC), placing sixth in the ACC. While they will have played at least one game by the time of publishing, Tech’s route to the ACC championship likely runs through Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Louisville, and North Carolina State, three of whom are top-four seeds.

On the morning of March 1, Lahtinen was named an honorable mention for the All-ACC team. Cubaj was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year, and was also named First Team All-ACC.

On the men’s side, they also split their last two games, which included their second to last home game against Virginia Tech where they led for just over half the game and got lots of output from seniors Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher, who scored 18 and 11 points respectively. 

The Jackets were up four points after a half, but struggled getting three point shots to land, going 1-of-8 in the second half. Usher and freshmen Deebo Coleman and Jalon Moore all recorded one triple apiece. The Hokies took advantage of Tech’s slow half, winning 62-58.

Tech’s following game was in South Bend, Indiana to face Notre Dame. It was dismal from the start, with Tech out of it well before the first half was even over, losing 90-56, dropping their record to 11-18. 

Earlier this semester, members of the Technique staff sat down for an exclusive in-person interview with the Institute’s beloved mascot and manager of mischief, Buzz. 

To see a video of the interview, visit the Technique’s website, nique.net. 

This is the second portion of that interview, with more in-depth questions about our favorite Jacket, answered by Buzz himself. 

Buzz is the playful cornerstone of Tech’s campus, and can be seen at most Tech sporting events or prancing around campus doing his famous walk. 

If Buzz is nearby, everybody knows. 

The identity of those inside the costume is kept secret until those who play the character graduate. 

The first ever Buzz was debuted by Judy McNair in 1972, who would don the character at football games in a homemade costume. 

In 1980, Buzz officially became part of the cheerleading squad at Tech, and ever since has been a pure delight for those on campus. 

The interview was the  most talkative the Tech  student body has ever seen Buzz. 

Given that he is an insect, the Technique was very impressed by Buzz’s willingness to discuss a variety of pressing issues about Tech’s campus. 

Before the in-person interview began, Buzz said the few minutes of preparation were already the longest he had ever sat down in a single place.

Buzz’s responses give students insight into the mind of a mascot.

Technique: Buzz, the floor is yours.
Imagine someone did not know who you were (impossible, we know), how would you explain who you are?

Buzz: I’m the brand ambassador of awesomeness. The embodiment of school spirit. I am legend.

Technique: It is no secret you sometimes get up to some mischief. Any comment?

Buzz: No comment without my attorney present.

Technique: Do you have an alter ego? Is it George P. Burdell? 

Buzz: No, but no one has seen us in the same room together.

Technique: What does it take to be Buzz?

Buzz: Strong wings, killer thighs and a winning personality.

Technique: How much time do you spend improving your physique?

Buzz: Every waking moment … and Yellow Jackets don’t sleep.

Technique: What is your major?

Buzz: Underwater Basket Weaving.

Technique: Do you read the Technique? What is your favorite section?

Buzz: Yes, sports.

Technique: Was it you who stole the T in 1969? 

Buzz: No comment.

Technique: Can you fly?

Buzz: Duh.

Technique: What happens if someone calls you a “bee”?

Buzz: Natural selection.

Technique: If you and Hairy Dawg wrestled, what would you do to win?

Buzz: There are a lot of ways to use a stinger.

Technique: Are y’all friends?

Buzz: THWg

Technique: Did you ever get a concussion when you ran into the goal post at football games?

Buzz: Only if you do it right.

Technique: Can you do the splits?

Buzz: Depends on the day.

Technique: Have you gone down the water slide in the CRC?

Buzz: I am not allowed in there anymore.

Technique: How heavy are the flags you wave at games?

Buzz: Somewhere between four … 500 lbs. Really engages the glutes.

Technique: Should we have a Buzz signal on the top of Tech Tower for whenever enemy mascots are sighted?

Buzz: As long as it’s not on Fridays; I’m off on Fridays.

Technique: What do you think of the oncoming powerhouse that is Blooper in the sports mascot power rankings?

Buzz: I love the Braves, but I cannot condone Blooper’s actions in Athens.

Technique: Which celebrity do you most want to meet?

Buzz: Zendaya

Technique: Who should play you in the biopic about Buzz?

Buzz: Barry Bee Benson

Technique: In order to maintain air-speed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second. Is
that true?

Buzz: According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don’t care what humans think is impossible.

The Tech women’s basketball team finished their four-game road trip at Virginia Tech on Feb. 10, in a game that gave the Jackets a rare two-game losing streak. 

Senior Sarah Bates entered the starting lineup for injured fifth-year Digna Stratumane, who is still day-to-day on when she will return. Bates scored the first bucket for the Jackets on a three, but at no point was it enough for Tech to pull out the road win. 

Bates, along with seniors Lorela Cubaj and Lotta-Maj Lahtinen, played all 40 minutes of gametime. Lahtinen recorded a season high 21 points after going scoreless in the first half. She single-handedly kept the Jackets in the game during the second half, scoring 13 in the third, It included eight quick points to force a Hokies timeout halfway through the third quarter.

Lahtinen, Bates and Cubaj then led a fourth quarter charge to try and take the lead, getting as close to five points from tying with three minutes left after a Bates three. Virginia Tech responded well after that, putting the game away with a couple three pointers of their own,
winning 73-63.

Tech’s first home game in a couple weeks featured the gold uniforms both basketball teams are wearing this month as part of honoring Black excellence at the Institute during Black History Month.

The uniforms may be what changed the tempo for the Jackets, as they played like their normal selves at the start against Clemson. Bates got her second straight start and nailed a three on Tech’s first offensive possession. 

The entire first half was offensively dominated by Tech, led by Bates and Eylia Love. Back and forth the two of them led the team in scoring, and combined for 28 of the 40 first half points. Bates shot 5-11, all of her made shots being three pointers. Love worked the baseline jumper well, scoring 13 in the half.

Things shifted dramatically in the third quarter. It was as if Clemson was shooting at a pool sized basket. In a quarter where Tech still put up 19 points, the Tigers shot 71% from the field, and 85% from three point range. Delicia Washington put up 12 of the points, missing only once on five attempts. Hermosa put up seven straight points that kept Tech in the game at all. By the fourth quarter, Tech was down three 62-59.

The fourth was back and forth the whole way, which included three missed free throws by the Tigers. Those became a difference maker, as Lahtinen was able to hit a layup with four seconds left to give Tech a two point lead, 77-75. Clemson raced immediately back down, and Washington hit another bucket at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

The extra period was of near no stress for Tech. Lahtinen and Cubaj quickly put up some layups to give Tech a seven point lead. Cubaj doubled her scoring total in overtime, with 11 of her 22 coming in the period. Washington had a three point play to shrink Tech’s lead to four, but a triple possession for Tech afterwards helped drain enough clock for the Jackets to put it away, 92-84.

Of Washington’s performance postgame, Jacket head coach Nell Fortner said “Delicia Washington is a hard player to guard. She’s a pro. She showed every tool in her toolbelt today…we didn’t have an answer for her.” Washington tied the most points scored by any ACC women’s player this season, finishing with 40 in the game.

On the men’s side, things have not gone as well, losing two straight to Miami and Virginia on the road. Senior Michael Devoe led the Jackets in scoring with 20 points against Miami. Freshman Deebo Coleman scored 15 on the bench, including a trio of three pointers. Tech had the lead at the end of the first half, and got the lead to as much as four in the second half before Miami went on an 11-0 scoring run. The Hurricanes would win by nine, completing a season sweep of Tech. 

Devoe again led in scoring in the Jacket’s loss to Virginia, putting up 17 on 6-of-15 shooting. Jayden Gardener scored 26 for the Cavaliers. All of the Virginia bench players registered at least ten minutes of playing time. Tech lost by ten, 63-53, dropping their record to 10-13 and adding their tenth conference loss, dropping the Jackets to the bottom of the ACC standings.

Tech continued their road trip of the Carolinas and Virginia last Tuesday at Duke, for what became the team’s fifth consecutive win, three of which came on the road. It was Tech’s first game ranked No. 12 by the AP this season, and they easily showed why at Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

Sophomore Eylia Love continued off her career night against Boston College by scoring 12 first half points. At no point did Duke lead during the entire game, with the Jackets breaking out early 13-2 before the first quarter ended.

After putting up 34 first half points on 36 shots, the Jackets slipped a little bit in the third quarter, only scoring four buckets while the Blue Devils slowly chipped away at Tech’s lead. When needed though, fifth year Lorela Cubaj came through with a couple clutch layups to stem Duke’s momentum, stopping them from gaining too much on Tech’s lead. Duke had an 11-2 run, which included a 4-of-6 shooting run to finish the third quarter.

Tech only scored nine points in the third, becoming the first quarter since the second quarter at home against North Carolina that they were held to single digit scoring.

Senior Sarah Bates hit a couple three-pointers in the game, including one that helped keep Tech ahead during Duke’s run. She ended up playing more minutes this game than senior Digna Strautmane, who only scored a couple free throws in this game.

Tech would win 59-46, which included a program record low of four offensive turnovers the entire game. On Duke’s side, they also had a season low, giving the ball away only 11 times. Cubaj’s 15 points lead the Jackets, and were paired with seven assists. It was the first win for the Institute at Duke since 2016, and only the fourth in the women’s program history.

The next test for the Jackets was set up to be the biggest game of the season, a road game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. After the Feb. 6 AP rankings were released, Tech gained a spot to No. 11, and the Wolfpack dropped two spots to No. 5 after losing to Notre Dame. 

This game was a highlight on the NC State home schedule, as it was the annual Play4Kay game, a game dedicated to celebrating cancer survivors in remembrance of the legendary NC State coach, Kay Yow, who died of breast cancer in 2009, and had become active in raising awareness in concert with the V Foundation before her passing. Tech coach Tasha Butts, who is currently fighting breast cancer, was featured and spoke during the halftime ceremony.

To mark the occasion, NC State wore pink uniforms, and Tech wore their classic white uniforms, but with the gold lettering swapped out for pink. 

For Tech, a win would vault them into the top ten nationally, and certainly in a prime spot to host NCAA Tournament games. After an early first quarter lead though, this proved to not be the kind of night Tech was headed for.

Tech went on an 8-0 run early that gave them a 10-2 lead, which included a couple three point efforts just barely lipping out. The Wolfpack quickly responded with their own 10-2 run, ending the first quarter tied at 14.

NC State continued their run of dominance into the second quarter, going on what amounted to a 26-8 run after Tech was up 10-2.

It was the perimeter defense from the Wolfpack that caused Tech serious problems. With center Elissa Cunane there to challenge any attempts in the paint by Cubaj or junior Nerea Hermosa, open shots were at a minimum and layups did not come easy on high-low plays. Tech only shot one-of-seven to end the first half.

The Jackets started the second half with a couple turnovers, contributing to NC State’s 10-0 start to expand on their eight point halftime lead. Freshman Elizabete Bulane was given some minutes in the third after senior Lotta-Maj Lahtinen had airballed and clearly was rattled trying to distribute the ball around the tight Wolfpack defense.

Tech would only put up seven 3rd quarter points, allowing NC State to pull away to a 49-29 lead to start the fourth quarter, which essentially was a whole quarter of garbage time. Tech did come back a little, notably while sophomore Avyonce Carter was on the floor at the end, being the only Jacket with a positive plus/minus at +10.

The Wolfpack would win 59-48. They moved to 21-3 on the season, and gave Tech their fifth loss of the season and third in conference play. 

The No. 14 Jackets were back at it in McCamish Pavilion on January 27 for the next round of ACC play against Boston College.

Sophomore Eylia Love led the charge in the first half, scoring 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including one three pointer.

By no means was it a clean half, as the Jackets did struggle with turnovers, ending the first half with eight, three of which by fifth-year Digna Strautmane. She was the only starter to play the entire half.

Senior Lotta-Maj Lahtinen was given more rest time in the first half, allowing freshman Elizabete Bulane to get some home court minutes, recording two assists and a three pointer.

Tech was up 35-20 at halftime, which all but effectively for the Jackets was enough to win. It was just a matter of how large they would expand the lead in the second half, and possibly even lower their scoring defense number.

Senior Lorela Cubaj reached 10 rebounds before the third quarter was half over. A Lahtinen three pushed the lead to 15 after the Eagles had made a couple buckets to bite into the Jackets’ lead. 

The Jackets had a slight scoring drought during the third quarter that was quenched with a Cubaj layup. Tech finished the third quarter with a 52-34 lead, and comfortably held through the rest of the game. 

Coach Fortner brought in the second unit with five minutes left in the game, which allowed the Eagles to climb back enough to where the first team came back in to put the final stamp down on the game. Tech won 68-49.

“We really stuck to the scouting report, and our coaches do a good job preparing us for the games,” said Love after her career night, scoring 20 points.

About the defense, Fortner said post game “I think Boston College is really good about getting downhill with the ball. We were really concerned about that…At the end of the day I think our size was something that had a wall kind of feature as [Boston College] tried to attack the basket.”

The Jackets then began a four-game road trip at the Littlejohn Coliseum to visit Clemson on January 30, the first of two games Tech plays against the Tigers within a month-long span.

This game was heavily led by senior sixth man Sarah Bates, who put up 16 points to lead the Jackets, 12 of which came in the first half. All of her jumpers came from three point buckets. Her only non-three point attempt came at the free throw line in the second half. 

The game ended up being an offensive shootout, a kind of game the Jackets tend to not try to play with Fortner’s defensive strategy. Tech shot at least 50% in three of four quarters, the only off quarter being the second when they shot 36%. The Jackets only missed three field goals in the entire second half. 

While Clemson only held the lead for five minutes in the first half, they kept it close throughout the whole game. Tech was up seven at halftime, and both teams scored 40 points in the second half. The Tigers did cut the lead to one during the third quarter, but Cubaj again came through with a clutch layup near the end of the quarter to keep Clemson at bay. 

Tech pulled away with a 69-62 win. Cubaj finished with a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double. No other Jacket had more than three rebounds. Both squads also scored 32 points in the paint. 

It was not a great night defensively for the Jackets, as this game increased their scoring defense average to 47.2 points per game. They still hold the top spot in the NCAA for that ranking, but Albany (NY) has closed the gap to within two points.