The Kansas women’s basketball team loves to play defense. So does Georgia Tech, its first-round NCAA Tournament opponent.
That should make for a much more controlled game on Friday than the Jayhawks’ last, an 80-possession-per-team sprint in the Big 12 quarterfinals against Oklahoma. Plus, the Yellow Jackets run one of the slowest offenses in Division I with an average of just 65.5 possessions per 40 minutes, according to Her Hoop Stats.
Here’s a primer on Georgia Tech:
GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
Located: Atlanta
Record: 21-10, 11-7 ACC
Qualification: At-large selection; finished sixth in ACC
Coach: Nell Fortner (Third season, 58-30)
Top players: Senior guard Lotta-Maj Lahtinen, 11 points per game; 4.2 assists per game; junior center Nerea Hermosa, 10.7 ppg, 5.6 rebounds per game; sophomore guard Eylia Love, 10.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg; senior forward Lorela Cubaj, 10.1 ppg, 11.1 rpg; 4.3 apg.
NET ranking: 28
NCAA Tournament appearances: 11th; last in 2021, a 73-56 loss to No. 4 seed West Virginia after a 54-52 win over No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin.
Strengths: Allows 51.9 points per game, fifth in Division I; holds opponents to 35.3% shooting (20th); has a rebounding margin of 6.5 (38th); has 15.3 assists per game (43rd); has an assists-to-turnovers ratio of 1.09 (45th).
Weaknesses: Scores 61 points per game, 328 out of 350 teams in Division I; makes 661% of its free throws (300th).
Notable wins: Then-No. 3 UConn, 57-44; then-No. 20 Georgia, 55-54; then-No. 20 North Carolina, 55-38
Notable losses: Then-No. 3 Louisville, 50-48; Auburn, 59-51