University of Georgia Athletics
Lady Dogs Come Back To Defeat Rutgers, 49-48
November 22, 2009 | Women's Basketball
The win improves the Lady Bulldogs to 3-0 on the early season, while the Scarlet Knights fall to 2-2.
Georgia was paced by senior Ashley Houts’ 17 points, while sophomore Meredith Mitchell posted a career-high 11 on the day.
“We were up four at half and we shot 19 percent in the first half, which is a credit to our defense and the fact that we were able to deflect and keep them off the board and get some run outs and get to the free throw line,” said head coach Andy Landers. “I thought our guards played pretty well in the first half on the offensive end of the floor. They made the bulk of those plays.”
The teams both started slowly with the score just 8-8 midway through the first half. A jumper by RU's Monique Oliver with 7:51 on the clock in the first gave Rutgers its largest lead to that point at five, before the Lady Bulldogs went on an 11-0 run to take a 22-16 lead with just over four minutes to go in the first.
The Scarlet Knights trimmed it back to just a one-point Georgia advantage but Mitchell and Houts knocked down three late free throws to put the home team up four heading into the half.
Georgia kept the lead until the 13:55 mark in the second on a three-pointer from April Sykes. Back-to-back buckets from RU’s Chelsey Lee stretched the Scarlet Knights’ lead to seven and Rutgers ultimately posted a 13-0 run to lead by 10, at 40-30, with 8:12 to go.
A lay-up from Oliver put RU up by its largest margin of 12 with just 7:15 to play before Georgia kicked off the late 12-0 run to fuel the comeback.
After a Brittany Ray jumper for Rutgers, the Lady Bulldogs responded with a foul line jumper from freshman Anne Marie Armstrong which cut the Rutgers lead to seven. A short Mitchell jumper and consecutive threes from Jasmine James and Armstrong put Georgia back in front for the first time since the 14:38 mark in the second.
“Late in the game I thought we had different individuals, and certainly the young kids, step up and dropped a couple of three’s – both “J.J.” (Jasmine James) and Anne Marie (Armstrong),” Landers said. “That was very important at that time, but just as important was Candace Williams’ play when she came in. I thought she had great energy and she reactivated our defense and got it moving like it needed to be moving. So a lot of people played well and a lot of people also have a lot to learn and they saw some of those things tonight.”
Rutgers missed on its next possession and the teams traded turnovers, giving Georgia the ball back with under a minute to play and guarding the slim one-point edge. Houts had her shot rim out but Georgia kept possession after a Rutgers player stepped on the baseline, and the shot clock was unplugged with the ball in the Lady Bulldogs’ hands.
Houts was then fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and converted on both ends of the one-and-one to make it a three-point Georgia lead, at 49-46, with just nine ticks remaining.
Rutgers’ Myia McCurdy sank a long-range jumper down the other end with three seconds to go but it was ruled a two-pointer and the Lady Bulldogs were able to hold on for the one-point victory.
Of note, Georgia forward Angel Robinson suffered an injury halfway through the second half when she and a Rutgers player collided going for a loose ball. Robinson was down for several minutes after hitting her head on the floor. The senior complained of neck pain and was put on a spine board and transported to St. Mary’s Hospital as a precautionary measure.
Behind the offensive output of Houts and Mitchell, Georgia got six points apiece from James and Porsha Phillips. Mitchell added a team-high eight rebounds. Rutgers was led by Rashidat Junaid’s double-double as she finished with 13 points and 11 boards. Oliver also found double digits with 11.
Rutgers committed 29 turnovers on the afternoon.
Next up for the Lady Dogs will be a home meeting with Alabama State on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum.
Post-Game Notes:
• Sophomore Meredith Mitchell finished with a career-high 11 points, having tied her previous career high of nine points in the first half alone. Mitchell posted nine in the Lady Bulldogs’ upset over Oklahoma in the season opener. The sophomore was 4-of-6 from the floor including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc for the Lady Dogs today.
• Ashley Houts was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
• Both Houts and Mitchell played all 40 minutes of action. Houts played every second for the 46th game during her career.
• The Lady Bulldogs improve to 3-0 on the season and have now faced three straight perennial NCAA Tournament teams in Oklahoma, Chattanooga, and Rutgers.
• Georgia is 8-3 all-time against the Scarlet Knights and 3-0 in Athens.
• Today’s game featured a match-up between two Hall of Fame coaches in Andy Landers and C. Vivian Stringer, who have a combined 1,637 wins between them in their decorated careers.
Double Digits Dogs:
• Two Lady Bulldogs - senior Ashley Houts and freshman Meredith Mitchell - finished in double digits. Houts led the team with 17 points while Mitchell chipped in 11 on the day.
• It was the 54th double-digit effort of Houts’ career, and the first for Mitchell, who posted her career-high today.
Keeping an eye on:
• Ashley Houts moved past Lady Hardmon into the No. 8 position for career free throws made at Georgia.
Georgia Head Coach Andy Landers:
“We were up four or five at half and we shot 19 percent in the first half, which is a credit to our defense and the fact that we were able to deflect and keep them off the board and get some run outs and get to the free throw line. I thought our guards played pretty well in the first half on the offensive end of the floor. They made the bulk of those plays. Then late in the game I thought we had different individuals, and certainly the young kids, step up and dropped a couple of three’s, both “J.J.” (Jasmine James) and Anne Marie (Armstrong). That was very important at that time, but just as important was Candace Williams’ play when she came in. I thought she had great energy and she reactivated our defense and got it moving like it needed to be moving. So a lot of people played well and a lot of people also have a lot to learn and they saw some of those things tonight. Also, Meredith (Mitchell) made some plays. They would have something going and try to throw it inside and she would get a finger on it and knocks it up or out of bounds. Her offensive rebounds were big to me. I thought one of her offensive rebounds was the play that really got us started to come back.”
Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer:
“In a game of this magnitude, we needed to reduce a lot of things, especially the turnovers. There was a lot of up and down during the game, but it would have helped a lot if we had had a point guard. We really didn’t have a running shot throughout. That became physically apparent once Khadijah [Rushdan] got hurt. I would like to have gone with Nikki Speed as her replacement. We were moving the ball, but at times, we didn’t have a clue as to what we wanted to do offensively. We still have so much to learn as a team because we are playing in tough games.”
