In her first season back in coaching since 2012, Nell Fortner is trying to appreciate the highs. The Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach still knows the pain that losses will inflict, and that the work is unending, but that’s all the more reason to relish winning.
“So you really have to appreciate the highs, because you get both,” Fortner told the AJC. “You’re not just going to have one. The whole time, you’re going to experience both, so enjoy (the wins). Because you’re going to have to suffer through the lows, man. They hurt. They stink.”
The Yellow Jackets begin ACC tournament play Thursday in Greensboro, N.C. Fortner, whose team will face Pitt in a second-round game, will endeavor to guide Tech to a high that did not seem at all a likelihood when the season began – an NCAA tournament berth. The Jackets’ last NCAA tournament visit was in 2014 under the leadership of then-coach MaChelle Joseph.
“None of these kids have played in the NCAA tournament,” Fortner said. “For me personally, as a coach, in this first year, I want probably more than they do for them to be able to experience that. Because I’ve experienced it.”
Said All-ACC guard Francesca Pan, “It would be a dream come true.”
Going into the ACC tournament, Tech’s record stands at 19-10. The Jackets finished seventh in the ACC at 10-8. Going into Wednesday’s games, the Jackets were No. 72 in RPI.
The resume has its strengths – a sweep of Florida State (39 in RPI) and a win at N.C. State (21), then ranked fourth in the AP poll. It was Tech's first-ever road win over a top-10 opponent.
However, Tech is a pedestrian 3-3 against teams rated 100-200 in RPI and its non-conference schedule strength won’t help. In ESPN’s bracket projection released Wednesday morning, Tech was among the “last four in” as a No. 12 seed.
However, in the past three years, the lowest RPI to receive an at-large bid is 66. In that span, only four teams in the 60’s and only 13 in the 50’s or lower earned at-large bid. In the past seven years, as she worked as an ESPN analyst, Fortner was dissecting teams’ tournament resumes. Now she’s back on the other side, sweating it out, in her words.
Asked what she believed her team needed to do in Greensboro to secure a berth, Fortner responded, “I have no idea. All I know is we’ve got to win.”
That Tech is having to worry about its bubble-team status was not expected at the season’s start. The Jackets finished last season at 17-13 overall and ninth in the ACC at 7-9, then lost their leading scorer (Elizabeth Balogun) and third leading scorer and second leading rebounder (Elizabeth Dixon) to transfer in the wake of Joseph’s tumultuous dismissal. Prior to the season, Tech was picked to finish in the bottom third of the league.
Under Fortner’s guidance, the Jackets have proven to be a team that compensates for offensive shortcomings with strong defense. Forward Lorela Cubaj ended the regular season ranked 10th in the ACC in rebounding and ninth in blocked shots. Fortner offered up an unlikely praise of Pan: “I’d put her up against anybody in the country on how to draw charges – really, really smart player. Gets there quick and gets set.”
Fortner has relied heavily on Pan, Cubaj and point guard Kierra Fletcher, all in the top 14 in the ACC in minutes per game. After a limited role last season as a freshman, guard Jasmine Carson has given the Jackets a scoring spark off the bench.
For her efforts, Fortner was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith women’s coach of the year on Wednesday, awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
“She is a great person, first of all, and a great coach,” Pan said. “She has a lot of experience – she’s won on every level and she was able to give us a lot, teach us a lot, because of the experience that she has, and she brought a lot of positive energy. I just like everything she has done for us.”
Fortner’s positivity has fortified the Jackets.
“Every single day, she always gives us positive energy,” Pan said. “Even in moments like, maybe we see only the dark, she’s the brightness.”
When Tech went through a five-game losing streak after reaching 14-3, Pan said that Fortner told players to keep their heads up and continue to prepare “because we’re a great team.” The Jackets ended their slump and finished the regular season with five wins in the final seven games, including the win at N.C. State.
“They never lost hope, they never stopped working hard,” Fortner said. “I give them a lot of credit for that. We weren’t having to drag it out of them at all.”
In Greensboro, should the Jackets get past Pitt, they would play second-seed N.C. State on Friday. A win there would likely go a long way to securing Tech’s place in the tournament.
“This is my fourth year and I’ve never been to the tournament,” Pan said. “This program hasn’t been to the tournament in a long time, so it would be super exciting and it would make me really happy.”
