Georgia Tech 74, Marquette 63

Marquette committed 18 second half turnovers and Georgia Tech used an 11-0 run spanning halftime to take a 10 point lead that Marquette was never able to cut into as Georgia Tech defeated Marquette, 74-63.

Sarina Simmons led all scorers with 22 while contributing 9 assists, 3 assists and 5 blocks. Katherine Plouffe had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Georgia Tech took an 8 point lead in the first half on two different occasions and even pushed it to 9 with 5:48 left til halftime. But Marquette went on a 13-4 run to get it to 1 at the half to make it interesting at the midway point before the wheels came off.

Notes:

• Ever watched 17 minutes of basketball and have zero recollection of it happening? That's what watching the second half of this game was like. The lead never seemed to change, neither team looked particularly good, and when Marquette had a chance to do something, they turned it over.
• Maybe it's bias, but Sarina Simmons looked far and away the best player in the game. She was all over the court and was moving and playing with a fluidity that no one else seemed to be able to match.

Four Factors, awards, and whimsy after the jump:

Four Factors:

eFG% - Marquette: 53.3% GT: 47.7
Offensive Rebounding - Marquette: 46.2% GT: 37.8%
Turnovers - Marquette: 39.5% GT: 19.2%
FT Rate - Marquette: 47.8% GT: 29.7%

So, my brain wasn't deceiving me: Marquette looked pretty good on the possessions when they didn't turn the ball over.

Abby Willenborg Player Of The Game: Sarina Simmons, natch. Only downside was her 6 turnovers, but that wasn't even the worst total on the team.

Clare Barnard Undersung Golden Eagle Of The Game: Can you be undersung when you play all 40 minutes? We're going with Gabi Minix here. 8 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2-3 behind the arc. Negative points for her 5 turnovers, but that's not even 20% of the team total.

Whimsy: Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy's daughter Anna Cate may have picked up an assist on the Aggies' 58-57 win over St. John's. Nurideen Lindsay missed 2 free throws with 2 seconds left, and I'm not entirely sure I can blame him, given how Anna Cate put her pterodactyl impression to good use.