Tech women fall to No. 3 Duke

Georgia Tech freshman Kaela Davis has lived up to her billing as one of the nation’s top recruits out of Buford High.

But Tech’s talented freshman learned that things get tougher in the ACC, especially against Duke.

The Yellow Jackets opened conference play with a 64-47 loss the No. 3 Duke on Sunday at McCamish Pavilion. Tech pushed Duke with a spirited second-half rally before fading to its 36th consecutive defeat in the series and first loss in eight home games this season.

Davis scored a season-low seven points. She’s posted 20 or more points five times this season and had scored in double figures in all but one game.

“We’ve come rely on Kaela and sometimes we forget she’s just a freshman because she does such a tremendous job for us,” Tech coach MaChelle Joseph said. “She’s been so consistent. I think as we go through this ACC season for the first time with her, we have to understand she is a freshman and she’s going to have those nights. But she will bounce back, there’s no doubt in my mind.”

The Jackets (10-4, 0-1 ACC) held Duke to a season-low 39.7 percent shooting and is one of just four Duke opponents to collect more rebounds. But Tech shot 26 percent from the field while the Blue Devils (14-1, 1-0) held Davis and Tyaunna Marshall in check.

Marshall, a senior who is one of 30 players on the preseason Wooden Award watch list, had 18 points and 16 rebounds but missed 18-of-25 shots. Davis was 2-of-14 from the field, including 1-for-9 on 3-pointers, and committed four turnovers.

“Coming in we knew (Davis) could shoot the ball but we also knew she was a freshman playing her first ACC game,” Duke junior center Elizabeth Williams said. “We wanted to communicate and call out her number (on defense) and get in her head a little bit.”

Williams paced Duke with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. The Blue Devils have won four in a row since losing to No. 1 Connecticut.

The Yellow Jackets dropped to 0-4 against ranked opponents this season. They fell 87-76 at then-No. 4 Tennessee, 63-56 at No. 19 Georgia and 68-60 to No. 13 Oklahoma State in Puerto Rico on Dec. 21.

The Jackets haven’t played well defensively this season but figured to have a chance to win a high-scoring game. The Blue Devils came in ranked 10th in the ACC in both points and field-goal percentage allowed.

But Duke’s defense didn’t allow the Jackets much room to work from inside the 3-point line. Tech tried shooting over the zone but missed 16-of-17 3-point attempts. The Jackets, tops in the ACC in offensive rebounds, also missed several put-back attempts.