ATLANTA, Ga. — Behind a trio of players in double figures, Georgia Tech captured a thrilling victory Wednesday night, defeating Mississippi State in McCamish Pavilion, 78-75.
It all came down to the final 10 minutes as the Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs worked through 17 lead changes and five tied scores in the 2024 edition of the SEC/ACC Challenge. Kara Dunn led Georgia Tech with 23 points as Tech remained undefeated on the season, improving to 8-0.
Mississippi State, who suffered its first loss of the season, dominated in the paint in the first half, outscoring the Yellow Jackets, 26-16, and used the advantage to lead at halftime, 39-34. But Tech hit five three-pointers in the first 20 minutes to keep a close watch on the Bulldogs. Dunn led Tech with 11 points at halftime, all coming in the first quarter, while Tonie Morgan added eight at the break, hitting all four buckets in the second frame.
Georgia Tech came out of halftime on fire and Dunn quickly knotted the game in less than a minute. Tech would gain its largest lead of the game off a Dunn three-pointer with 4:33 on the clock in the third quarter, but MSU’s Jerkaila Jordan posted an 8-2 personal run to erase the deficit. The teams stood knotted at 57-57 entering the final quarter.
After scoring just four points in the first half, freshman Dani Carnegie came alive in the final 10 minutes, dropping 10 points to help Georgia Tech seal the victory. Tech would post a 13-5 run spanning two-and-a-half minutes, capped by back-to-back buckets from Carnegie, to force MSU to call a timeout with Tech owning the momentum, 72-67, with 4:12 remaining. The Bulldogs came out of the break and answered with an 8-2 spurt to regain the edge, 75-74, as the clock wound down to 1:21 to go. But Kayla Blackshear converted layup off a Morgan feed and Carnegie drained two free throws in the final seconds to seal the three-point victory.
Dunn finished with 23 points, including four three-pointers, for her second 20-plus point game this season. Morgan added 15 points to the board, while Carnegie tallied 14 in the win. The Jackets recorded 14 assists on the night, paced by eight from Morgan, and recorded 12 steals on the night, led by Morgan’s four. For the first time this season, Tech dropped the rebounding battle, 35-38.
Mississippi State was led in scoring by Jordan with a game-high 25 points, followed by Eniya Russell with 18 and Chandler Prater with 10.
Georgia Tech plays its only true road game of the non-conference schedule on Sunday, Dec. 8, traveling to Mercer. Tip in Macon is slated for 2 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
