University of Georgia Athletics
Lady Dogs Fall To Xavier, 56-44
December 31, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Athens, Ga. --- Xavier (10-4) used an 18-0 second-half run to turn a six-point deficit into a 12-point lead en route to a 56-44 win over Georgia (9-4) before a crowd of 4,534 at Stegeman Coliseum on Tuesday night.
Danielle Taylor led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points off the bench, her fifth double-digit performance of the season. Taylor, the team's senior co-captain, had just two double-figure outings in 59 games played during her first three seasons in Athens.
Ta'Shia Phillips poured in 23 points including 14 in the first half and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Musketeers, while Tudy Reed and Dee Dee Jernigan chipped in 10 points apiece.
The Musketeers scored the first six points of the game and increased that margin to a dozen at 18-6 with 11:12 left in the half. Georgia chipped away and eventually closed to within seven points at halftime.
The Lady Bulldogs then opened the second half on a 17-4 run to build a 36-30 edge 14:38 remaining. A three from Jernigan stoped the surge and sparked Xavier's decisive run.
"At the beginning of the game, we had trouble scoring and stopping Xavier in the paint," Andy Landers said. "Then we had some good passes and shots and went into the locker room with momentum. We came out strong in the second half, and Christy Marshall made key shots that gave us the lead. After that, turnovers and missed shots in the paint continued to hurt us throughout the second half."
Georgia will return to action on Friday when the Lady Bulldogs travel to Charlottesville, Va., to face Virginia in an ESPNU nationally televised matchup at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Lady Dogs then open their SEC slate at Ole Miss on Jan. 8 before returning home to host South Carolina on Jan. 11.
Georgia Basketball Post-Game Notes & Quotes
Georgia vs. Xavier
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Ga.
Post-Game Notes
Xavier improves to 2-1 all-time against Georgia after sweeping both ends of a home-and-home series contested during the past two seasons.
Angel Robinson started for the first time during the 2008-09 season in place of Jasmine Lee. Robinson started 28 of 33 games last season, including the last 27 contests of the campaign. She also started twice as a freshman.
Senior Danielle Taylor scored 12 points, her fifth double-digit scoring performance of the season...after having two double-figure outputs in 59 games played in her first three seasons.
Keeping an eye on...
Andy Landers is now two victories shy of his 800th career win as a collegiate head coach. Landers has recorded a 798-249 mark in 33-plus campaigns.
Ashley Houts is four steals shy of No. 9 Bernadette Locke among Georgia’s career leaders.
Ashley Houts is 134 points from becoming UGA’s 30th 1000-point scorer.
Georgia Head Coach Andy Landers
“Xavier is a talented basketball team, and it was a tough game tonight. At the beginning of the game, we had trouble scoring and stopping Xavier in the paint. Then we had some good passes and shots and went into the locker room with momentum. We came out strong in the second half and Christy Marshall made key shots that gave us the lead. After that, turnovers and missed shots in the paint continued to hurt us throughout the second half. We had several steals but had trouble finishing. We have some things that we can change such as taking open shots more often, quit moving when you are open already, and getting the defensive rebound. This is a 30-31 percent 3-point shooting team, and that will stay consistent. We have to change the things that we are capable of improving. To win, everyone on the court has to do their job and integrate what they have learned into their game.”
Xavier Head Coach Kevin McGuff
On Xavier’s keys to victory...
“The key to our success tonight was our defensive effort. Georgia is a good team and is a very well-coached team. We did a very good job limiting them and played great on the defensive end of the floor.”
On the inside play of his team...
“ Our strength is definitely on the inside. We can make shots on the outside, but it’s great to get the ball inside the paint and score. Ta’Shia is a great player and did a great job on the inside for us tonight.”