tradition builders
Women’s basketball team’s senior class looks to cap legacy with another history-making season
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By Adam Van Brimmer
Georgia Tech and tradition go together like a chili cheese dog and rings at the Varsity. One group of Tech students has spent the last five years building a new legacy. And the Yellow Jacket women’s basketball team heads into the 2011-12 season determined to grow the program’s newfound tradition. Coach MaChelle Joseph’s team has enjoyed never-before-seen success dating back to the 2007 season. It has posted five straight 20-win seasons, five straight NCAA Tournament berths and won the first three NCAA tourney games in program history during the span. Their contender status now established, the Yellow Jackets see this season as an opportunity to breakthrough in the Atlantic Coast Conference and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Joseph has five seniors and arguably the league’s most dangerous scorer, sophomore Tyaunna Marshall, back from the best team in school history and adds a very talented freshman class in Sydney Wallace, T.J. Gortnar and Sarah Hartwell. Joseph calls this year’s team the best she’s had at Georgia Tech, citing superior talent, depth, speed and quickness. And the senior leadership should translate to strong desire as well. “The seniors talk about not wanting to be the class that lets the program down,” Joseph said. “One of the things we’ve focused on during this run of success is every year doing things we’ve never done before. This senior class and this team have bought into that.” The veteran Yellow Jackets have been inching the bar higher throughout their careers. This year’s seniors arrived on campus months after Georgia Tech set a new program wins record with 22 victories. They equaled that total as freshmen and won 23 games and 24 games in their next two seasons. The success bolstered recruiting. Snatching Marshall out from under the noses of Maryland and other programs that frequently attract talent from the Washington D.C. area was a coup for Georgia Tech, and the most recent recruiting class ranked among the top-25 in the country according to recruiting services. Yet the senior class is what sets this team apart and has expectations at stratospheric heights. What they lack in star power – they’ve mostly been role players throughout their careers, supporting former Yellow Jackets Alex Montgomery and Brigitte Andossi – they make up for in experience and complementary skills. • Metra Walthour is the poised point guard, the “steady Eddie” in the words of classmate Sasha Goodlett. Walthour’s started 62 games in her career, and averaged nine points and four assists per game last year. • The 6-foot-5 Goodlett is the second-tallest player in program history and has developed the skills – and personality -- to match. She’s gone from shy and reserved to possessing a take-charge attitude, which translates under the basket. • Mo Bennett is the scrappy, energetic spark off the bench who can score and rebound. • LaQuananisha Adams is the 6-foot-4 happy-go-lucky component of the class that keeps spirits high and provides post depth. • Chelsea Regins is the class clown that keeps the team loose and can play four different positions.
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