Clemson "Lady Tigers vs Georgia Tech "Lady Yellow Jackets"

Clemson upsets Georgia Tech

Pauldo drops 23

Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC

Greensboro, NC – Former 4SHOT Hoops and Luella H.S. star Shanigua Pauldo was feeling it Thursday scoring a game high 23 points as the 12th seeded Lady Tigers from Clemson upended the 5th seeded Georgia Tech “Lady Yellow Jacket” in the first round of the AAC Tournament, which got underway at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.

Not only did Georgia Tech loose the game but also with less than a minute to play they loss Alex Montgomery, one of the best young players in the ACC. Montgomery went down in agony with some type of leg or ankle injury; with tears flowing heavily down her face the former high school All-American had to be carried off the floor. The seriousness of the injury was unknown at this time.  

It was a strange kind of a game; Georgia Tech actually got off to a quick 8-0 start as Montgomery stuck a three-pointer and hit a pair of free-throws but even though they led, the Lady Yellow Jackets didn’t appear to have that intensity that I’ve seen them play with this season.

Clemson played with a lot more intensity, with Pauldo and another former 4SHOT Hoops All-Star April Parker (Shiloh H.S.) along with Lele Hardy they pounded the glass, which allowed the Lady Tigers to claw their way back into the game.

Former 4SHOT Hoops All-Stars were all over the Clemson roster, Tasha Taylor (Columbus H.S., Columbus, GA) and Kirstyn Wright (Stephenson H.S.) among them; both played big rolls in the win.

Taylor’s three-pointer cut the lead to 21-16 midway through the half and Wright came off the bench and scored five big points; her three-point play closed the gap to one, 28-27.

Clemson would take a 31-28 lead as Pauldo and Parker both scored with 4:30 left in the half.

You could sense the frustration and concern on the face of Georgia Tech Head Coach MaChelle Joseph as her team squandered the lead.

Georgia Tech would regroup and the two teams would trade baskets back and forth the rest of the way. At the half the score was tied at 37-37.

Montgomery started the second half the way she did the first, drilling a three-pointer. Clemson would strike right back as Taylor and yet another former 4SHOT Hoops All-Star and two-time state 100 and 200 meter champion Christy Brown (Holy Innocents’) scored to put the Lady Tigers back in front 43-40.

Hardy was also a big factor for Clemson, sometimes running the point, playing defense and scoring when needed; her back-to-back baskets would put the Lady Tigers up 47-42.

As the Clemson lead reached twelve 58-46 with 10:12 left in the game, you could see that Georgia Tech was slowly started to fade.

Behind Iasia Hemingway and Brigette Ardossi the Lady Yellow Jackets would mount one last charge cutting the lead to seven, 67-60; unfortunately it was only 1:36 left to play.

A Clemson 6-0 run would all but spell the end of the Georgia Tech hopes of moving on to the second round, as they would end up falling by twelve.

The Final Score:

Clemson 81 – Georgia Tech 69

Box Score