SAN ANTONIO — Nell Fortner found a way to smile Sunday after a season-ending loss.
She felt the pain of defeat, especially a loss that carries the potential farewell to two seniors, Lorela Cubaj and Kierra Fletcher. Fortner also brought Georgia Tech to new heights, appearing in a Sweet 16 game for the first time since 2012 and hanging with top-seeded South Carolina.
“I’m super proud of Georgia Tech,” Fortner said.
Her words sound a bit cliché and they’re mostly coachspeak for a postgame presser. The second-year head coach’s pride, however, holds weight.
Fortner admitted it prior to Sunday’s game. She couldn’t have expected Tech to reach this point at such an early stage in her tenure. She didn’t know her roster — with the core leadership recruited by former coach MaChelle Joseph — at the time of taking the job and lobbying for the likes of Cubaj, Fletcher and Lotta-Maj Lahtinen to remain on the team through a leadership change.
In a pandemic-shortened year, the Yellow Jackets found their stride. They gave themselves a chance to compete for a title, even when it seemed improbable while trailing Stephen F. Austin by 17 points in the first round. They put a women’s basketball program that had longed for another run of success in a position to do so.
Tech believes Sunday’s 76-65 loss to the Gamecocks is a new start, rather than the end.
“This is a springboard that we’ll continue to use to build this program,” Fortner said. Hopefully, we’re all back here next year trying to win a few more games.”
The Jackets had the makings of a run as the season began months ago. They took three-seeded Georgia to overtime, hung with top-seeded NC State twice in ACC play and finished as the third-best team in the conference after nobody projected Tech to finish higher than fifth.
The veteran leadership, led by Cubaj’s emotion, had a determination to put Tech in this position. Fortner, prior to the tournament, had belief in her team’s ability to scout opponents and put itself in a position to compete against the best teams. The Jackets continued to prove doubters wrong, and it put them in a spot where pressure didn’t exist.
Tech knew it didn’t have to beat South Carolina to define a successful season. It liked the matchup with the Gamecocks, and the Jackets gave themselves a shot. But they walked into the Alamodome with nothing to lose.
“We were trying to soak in every moment,” Fletcher said. “We’re disappointed in the way that it ended, but we’re ready to bounce back next season. … The way that we’ve been able to develop, progress in these two years, including a pandemic year, I think says a lot.”
Tech pulled off its history-marking run with a roster that contains eight underclassmen. Lahtinen, who had two 20-plus point games against South Carolina and West Virginia, returns for at least another season.
Cubaj is the most-likely senior to depart as a WNBA draft prospect. Fletcher will consider a return given her free year of eligibility, and said she awaits meeting with coaches to see “where her head is at.” Fortner said those discussions will take place over the coming days.
Tech signed Latvian guard Elizabete Bulane and 6-foot-2 forward Carmyn Harrison out of Tennessee back in November. They’ll join the program for the 2021-22 class and could give the Jackets a jolt of depth with the potential for younger players to earn more minutes. Tech will also welcome back starting guard Sarah Bates, who hadn’t played since Jan. 24 due to injury.
As of Monday, a slew of players across the country have entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, and it could be another recruiting method of use by Fortner. None of Tech’s players entered the portal as of Monday morning, according to a source.
“We got to get a few more pieces on this team to really make a strong run,” Fortner said. “Those are pieces that we bring in, but they’re also individuals working harder on their game to get it a little bit better.
“It just makes us all really hungry for the off-season. Can’t wait. Everybody should be wanting to get better and get started again.”
The final buzzer sounded at the Alamodome. Tech’s emotions of defeat began to set in. The players walked away slowly. Some tears might have started to well up in Cubaj’s eyes. She continued to walk toward the locker room, however, with her head held high.
None of the Jackets had a public moment of sadness or sorrow. Instead, they smiled for a new beginning with Fortner’s program.
“We won’t hang our heads when we walk out the back door,” she said. “Let’s get this thing rolling.”
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