LOS ANGELES — Georgia Tech’s 2024-25 season won’t be defined by what happened Friday in Pauley Pavilion, but it will certainly leave a lasting impression.
“You hope it does. Absolutely it should. It should drive ‘em to be incredibly hungry to not ever let this happen to ‘em again, to wanna get back to this place again and really perform better,” Tech coach Nell Fortner said. “But proud of ‘em for getting here. That was the goal. They wanted to make that NCAA Tournament, they were dedicated to it and I’m really proud of them for that.
“But this was not anywhere close to the showing that we wanted to have here. I hate that we’re gonna have this taste in our mouth for a long time. But hopefully that drives us in the offseason.”
Fortner’s squad lost 74-49 to Richmond in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on the campus of UCLA. The Yellow Jackets (22-11) struggled to get anything going offensively — shooting 31.7% — and could do little to slow down a more-experienced Richmond squad.
The loss was Tech’s sixth in seven games to end the season and dropped the Jackets to 7-11 over their final 18. Those are sobering marks for a squad that started the year 15-0 and climbed as high as No. 13 in The Associated Press top-25 rankings.
Tech had quality wins against North Carolina, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oregon and South Dakota State during its undefeated run to start the season. But it wound up 1-8 against Quadrant 1 opponents, including Friday’s result.
“I think we’re definitely going to use this as fuel,” Tech junior Kara Dunn said. “Me personally, I know that I didn’t play the way I wanted to for my team tonight. I’m definitely using it as fuel for next year.
“And we want to make it back. This was a great opportunity to be able to make it, and it’s not easy. It’s not given. So next year, we definitely need to work for it again, but also when we get here, actually make it worth it.”
Dunn led Tech’s resurgence this season alongside fellow junior Tonie Morgan. That duo led the Jackets in scoring and Morgan totaled 184 assists.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Tech’s highly-regarded freshmen class included guards Dani Carnegie and Chazadi Wright who each played in all but one game. Carnegie (12.9 points per game) made a team-high 66 3-pointers and Wright played the third-most minutes of any Jacket.
That quartet could all return for the white and gold in 2025-26 on a roster that only graduates two seniors.
“I’m very proud because my freshman year I was able to sit on the sidelines and watch and get the experience of just seeing everything and taking it all in, and then now my senior year, being able to lead this younger group and this veteran group that’s been with me and just make sure that we just take it all in and leave something better how I found it,” said one of those Tech seniors, Kayla Blackshear. “And so I hope that they can continue that on and go further next year because they’re a really good bunch of players.”
Tech’s 22 wins in 2024-25 were its most since reaching that mark for the 2016-17 season. Fortner, now 110-75 after six season with the Jackets, has led Tech to three NCAA Tournaments in five years.
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