University of Georgia Athletics
Game Notes: Lady Bulldogs vs. Florida
January 09, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
Georgia vs. Florida
Sunday, January 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
ESPNU TV
AM 960 The Ref in Athens
The basics
Georgia will host Florida in a rare Sunday evening outing at Stegeman Coliseum featuring a 6:00 p.m. tip. The matchup between the Lady Bulldogs and Gators, two of the just four 2-0 teams in SEC play, will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
On Thursday, the 2009-10 Lady Bulldogs carved their place in UGA lore during a thrilling 61-60 overtime win against Kentucky. The victory improved Georgia to 15-0 on the year and surpassed the 1998-99 Final Four team for the best start in the program’s storied history. The 15-game win streak also equals the Lady Bulldogs’ fourth-longest overall string of success ever, five shy of the school record
According to Andy Landers, his team hasn’t given much thought to making history...and that’s been key.
“We haven’t even talked about it,” Landers said prior to the SEC opener. “Thank goodness we’re at a time in our schedule when you’d better concentrate on the next game in conference because you’re going to have a plate-full just getting ready to play. That’s all we need to be concerned about. They’ve been really good at that. They listen to us and they trust us and they’ve been a really, really good team to coach.”
Georgia’s focus and performance is even more impressive considering the youthful nature of the Lady
Bulldogs’ roster, which features more freshmen (six) than returning letterwinners (five).
Georgia has displayed stellar balance on the offensive end. Six Lady Bulldogs are averaging between 7.0 and 13.1 points per game, while a seventh (Jasmine Hassell) has led Georgia in scoring in two of its last five outings.
The Lady Bulldogs’ calling card has been their defense, however. Georgia currenlty ranks No. 5 nationally in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense in the latest NCAA stats updated through Thursday’s win over Kentucky.
Series history vs. the Gators
Georgia sports a 43-11 lead in its all-time series with Florida, including a 22-3 mark in Stegeman Coliseum. Three of the Gators’ wins came prior to Andy Landers’ arrival in Athens, making him an even more impressive 43-8 versus Florida.
Georgia has played Florida more than any other opponent, largely due to facing the Gators on a home-and-home basis beginning with the 1995-96 campaign as pre-determined “geographic” rivals by the Southeastern Conference.
The interstate foes split their matchups last season, with each team securing a win on its home floor.
On Jan. 18 in Gainesville, the Gators scored 30 points – nearly half of their total offensive production that day – on 23 Georgia turnovers en route to a 61-45 win over the Lady Bulldogs. Seniors Marshae Dotson and Sha Brooks scored 20 and 15 points, respectively, to lead Florida.
In the regular-season finale in Athens on March 1, the Lady Bulldogs topped No. 17 Florida, 84-75. That late-season victory over a ranked foe most likely played a major role in Georgia’s securing a bid to the NCAA Tournament later in the month.
The contest featured a series of surges. Georgia opened up an 11-point edge late in the first half before the Gators began the second stanza with a 9-0 run. Florida eventually grabbed a 59-54 lead, but the Lady Bulldogs put together a 14-0 spurt to grab the lead for good.
Porsha Phillips’ 20 points led five Georgia players in double figures, including Danielle Taylor, the lone senior on the Lady Bulldogs’ roster, who notched a dozen points in her last home game.
The victory also came on a bizarre weather day. Snow began in Athens about two hours before tip-off and continued throughout the afternoon. By the end of the day, seven inches of powder blanketed the UGA campus.
Last time out...
Ashley Houts poured in a career-high 27 points and Jasmine James hit the game-winning three-pointer with 17 seconds left in overtime as No. 8 Georgia defeated Kentucky, 61-60, on Thursday evening.
The Lady Bulldogs controlled the scoreboard for much of the contest before the Wildcats rallied in the closing minutes.
After Kentucky scored the game’s first four points, Georgia used a 11-5 run to grab a lead with 12:38 left in the first half. The Lady Bulldogs led from that point until 2:13 mark of the second half, including double-digit advantages in each period.
A Victoria Dunlap lay-up with 2:13 left put the Wildcats up 52-51, the first of four lead changes in a span of 118 seconds. Georgia led 56-64 with 2.8 seconds left before a foul on an inbounds play sent Amber Smith to the line, where she knotted the score at 56-56.
Kentucky scored the first four points of the extra session and held the Lady Bulldogs scoreless until a Houts layup with 54 ticks on the clock. After a Wildcat turnover on their ensuing possession, James canned her three-pointer from the top of the key.
Porsha Phillips recorded a steal with four seconds left to ice the win.
Fourth-best streak of success
Georgia’s 15-0 start not only bettered the Lady Dogs’ record for best start ever, it also equaled fourth-longest winning streak in the program’s storied history.
The school record for consecutive wins is 20 contests during Georgia’s 1986 NCAA runner-up campaign. The Lady Bulldogs’ 1996 NCAA runner-up squad won 19 in a row, while the 1991 SEC Championship squad put together 18 straight wins.
The current mark of 15 “Ws” matches the efforts during the 1984 and 2000 SEC Championship campaigns.
A new leading scorer
Ashley Houts’ 27-point outburst against Kentucky raised her season scoring average a full point per game and also made her the Lady Bulldogs’ leading scorer during the 2009-10 season.
Freshman Jasmine James had been Georgia’s top point producer since opening her career with 15 points against Oklahoma.
Landers now 500 over .500
With last Sunday’s win at Alabama, Andy Landers improved to 739-239 in his 31 seasons as Georgia’s first – and still only – full-time women’s basketball head coach. That put Landers an almost unfathomable 500 victories over .500 on the sidelines in Athens.
A trio of high school reunions
Three Lady Bulldogs have faced a former high school teammate in games this season.
Most recently, Redan High classmates Porsha Phillips and Amani Franklin were in competing uniforms in the Kentucky game.
UGA’s Phillips and UK’s Franklin helped Redan’s Lady Raiders to a 104-27 record from 2002-06. During that span, Redan finished as Georgia’s Class AAAAA runner-up in 2005, reached the state semifinals in 2006 and advanced to the state quarterfinals in 2003 and 2004.
Phillips and Franklin were coached by former Lady Bulldog Rhonda Malone at Redan. Malone was a two-year starter at UGA and a member of teams that reached the 1983 Final Four and captured the 1983 and 1984 SEC Championships.
On Jan. 3, Jasmine Hassell took on Alabama’s Tierney Jenkins. They played together for two seasons at Wilson Central High in Lebanon, Tenn., and helped the school to a state title in 2006. Hassell led WCHS to another championship in 2008.
On Dec. 1, Midfield High Lady Patriot alums Meredith Mitchell and LaKenya Lowe met when Georgia hosted UAB. Mitchell and Lowe were cornerstones for Midfield teams that won back-to-back Alabama state championships in 2007 and 2008.
A perfect non-conference
Georgia put a bow on its impressive run through the non-conference slate with its victory at Savannah State.
The Lady Bulldogs posted just their fourth perfect non-conference regular-season record ever.
In addition, the Lady Bulldogs were 14-0 against non-SEC competition during the 1998-99 regular season, notched a 15-0 non-conference mark in the 1994-95 regular season and compiled an 18-0 mark during the 1989-90 regular season.
Lady Dogs return to AP top-10
Georgia inched up to No. 9 in the Dec. 21 edition of the Associated Press poll...a position common for Lady Bulldog Basketball historically if not of late.
The ranking represented the Lady Bulldogs’ first top-10 appearance in just under two years. Georgia was No. 10 in the Jan. 7, 2008, edition of the poll before losing to Auburn and dropping to No. 12 the next week.
Georgia has been a mainstay of both the Associated Press poll and the top-10.
The Lady Bulldogs now have been included in 440 weekly polls, a tally that ranks third nationally. During those weeks, Georgia has been included in the top-10 255 times and in the top five on 145 occasions.
Hassell’s contributions grow
Jasmine Hassell, whose career-high entering the Detroit game was six points, scored a game-high 14 points in just 13 minutes of action against the Titans.
“We’ve been telling anybody that will listen that she’s getting better and better every week,” Andy Landers said. “Her strength is incredible. She would bang in between two cars and come up with a shot, but her conditioning was an issue.”
Hassell’s upswing continued with a team-high 14 points at Savannah State.
“JJ” SEC FOW for third time
Jasmine James was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 21, the third time in the first six weeks of the season the Memphis native earned the honor.
A day earlier, James recorded team highs of 17 points, 10 rebounds and three steals to lead Georgia to a decisive 69-53 victory over No. 19 Virginia in the Lady Dogs’ only game that week. She notched career-high tallies in rebounds, steals and minutes played (37) and posted her first career double-double.
James also was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 16 and Nov. 30. James was honored initially after scoring a team-high 15 points in Georgia’s upset of No. 13 Oklahoma in the season opener, and she was selected again after averaging 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in a trio of victories over Alabama State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Southern Miss.
Five different Lady Bulldogs have combined to win SEC Freshman of the Week honors 12 times since the award was introduced in 2006.
Milestones mount for Angel
Angel Robinson became the 31st Lady Bulldog to reach the 1,000-point career scoring plateau during the victory over Georgia Tech.
Robinson also moved to No. 6 on the Georgia career blocks leaders ledger in a day full of milestones against the Jackets.
In the Clemson victory, Robinson passed Tracy Henderson and moved to No. 10 in career rebounds in Lady Bulldog annals.
Holiday hardware for two
Ashley Houts was named the Most Valuable Player of the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic, while Jasmine James joined her on the all-tourney team.
In Friday’s win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Houts scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists. James scored a game-high 18 points.
In the win over tourney host Southern Miss in the championship game, Houts posted 17 points, six steals and four assists. James poured in a game-high 24 points, one shy of her career high.
Low- and High-ball history
Through the years, much has been made of Georgia’s record when its offense clicks.
With their decisive wins over Southern Miss and Savannah State, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 422-7 when scoring 80 or more points under Andy Landers, an astronomical winning percentage of 98.368298.
With their Nov. 22 win over Rutgers, the Lady Bulldogs made history on the other end of the scoring spectrum, however.
The victory over the Scarlet Knights represented the first time in 967 games coached by Andy Landers at Georgia that the Lady Dogs won when scoring fewer than 50.
Georgia has failed to reach the half-century mark just 20 times during Landers’ 31 seasons in Athens, and the Lady Bulldogs had lost all previous 19 contests before the 49-48 decision over Rutgers.
Trio joins starter sorority
When Andy Landers welcomed a top-five recruiting class to Athens this fall, the question became more of a “when” than an “if” scenario regarding a freshman starting for Georgia during 2009-10. In Landers’ first 30 seasons in Athens, 62 different freshmen earned starting roles, including 21 who did so for their collegiate debuts.
During the first five games of the campaign, Jasmine James, Jasmine Hassell and Anne Marie Armstrong became the 63rd, 64th and 65th freshmen to get the nod under Landers.
James logged her first start at Chattanooga, Hassell did so versus Alabama State and Armstrong started against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Mitchell making a mark
Meredith Mitchell has helped prove the adage that a player makes their most improvement between their freshman and sophomore seasons.
Mitchell’s highest contributions as a freshman were eight points, five rebounds and 26 minutes. In the first three games of 2009-10, Mitchell bettered those marks and the subsequent new efforts a combined seven times.
The Midfield, Ala., native upped her scoring mark to nine and her minutes tally to 27 against Oklahoma. She then bested the board tally to six and the MP to 35 at Chattanooga. Against Rutgers, Mitchell topped all three existing qualifiers with 11 points, eight rebounds and 40 minutes played.
Mitchell’s stellar play has continued, with additional career highs for: steals with six versus Alabama State; scoring with 17 versus Tennessee State; boards with eight against Virginia and then nine versus both Clemson and Kentucky.
A historic Houts homecoming
With Georgia trailing by six and 30 seconds left in the first half, Ashley Houts took control of her homecoming at Chattanooga. She scored 13 straight in a 74-57 victory played just 15 minutes from her hometown.
The Trenton, Ga., native knocked down a three to cut the Lady Mocs’ lead in half at the break, and she then scored Georgia’s first 10 points in the first 3:24 of the second period to give the Lady Bulldogs a 43-39 lead they would never relinquish.
Houts not only propelled Georgia to victory, she also furthered her own individual legend in Lady Bulldog Basketball annals.
Houts’ three-pointer late in the first half moved her past Pam Irwin-Osbolt into the No. 26 spot among the Lady Bulldogs’ career scoring leaders.
Houts eventually finished with 21 points against the Lady Mocs, enough to also ascend past both No. 25 Carla Green and No. 24 Cynthia Collins on the career scoring leaders ledger.
An eternity of bench time
Ashley Houts checked out with 1:41 left at Chattanooga on Nov. 19 to the boisterous cheers of more than Dade County 500 fans from her hometown of Trenton, less than 15 minutes from the UTC arena.
The 101 seconds she did not play against the Lady Mocs was longer than the amount Houts enjoyed in all 14 SEC games combined during the 2007-08 season (67.6 seconds).
“JJ” in records already
Jasmine James hit six threes against Chattanooga to equal the fifth-most triples in a game in Lady Bulldog history.
Fourth ranked “W” in opener
The win over No. 13 Oklahoma represented the fourth time the Lady Dogs opened the year by beating a ranked foe.
Georgia also: knocked off No. 12 Rutgers in the initial outing of the 2006-07 campaign when those Scarlet Knights went on to finish as NCAA runners-up; topped No. 16 Southern Illinois to begin the 1987-88 season; and bested No. 14 Rutgers in the first game of the Lady Bulldogs’ 1983 Final Four season.
Red, White & Blue together
Ashley Houts and Oklahoma’s Danielle Robinson – who virtually evenly split point guard duties for the U.S. team that won the 2009 World University Games – squared off in the season opener.
Houts started four games and averaged 8.3 points by connecting on 52.6 percent of her field goal s, 47.1 percent of her three-pointers and 90.9 of her trips to the line. She also averaged 1.7 steals and 1.6 assists.
The medal was Houts’ second international Gold. In 2007, she was the lone rising sophomore on the American squad that won the FIBA U21 World Championships.
Robinson started the other three World University contests and averaged 4.6 points and leading the team with averages of 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
Marshall’s surgery goes well
Christy Marshall underwent successful surgery on Nov. 17 to repair the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee that she tore during the pre-season.
Marshall injured her knee in a team workout on October 13, two days before the official opening of practice. The ACL tear was later confirmed through an MRI.
“It rips my guts out every time a kid falls and grabs their knee,” Andy Landers said the day after the injury was sustained. “It’s an all-too-common injury in women’s basketball. My heart goes out to Christy. We’re all in a state of shock at this point.”
Marshall, the 2006 SEC Sixth Woman of the Year, started 21 of 31 games in 2008-09, averaging 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. For her career, she has played in 95 games with 28 starts and averaged of 7.7 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Record number of TV dates!
Fourteen Georgia regular-season games will be televised this season. That tally matches the most in the Lady Bulldogs’ history. In 2006-07, 14 regular-season dates were among the school-record 19 TV games that aired that season.
Wins over Georgia Tech and Clemson on CSS christened the TV slate. CSS also will air SEC home dates versus Ole Miss, LSU, South Carolina and Alabama.
FSN will produce four league games: at Vanderbilt, versus Tennessee in Athens, at Mississippi State and at Kentucky.
Rounding out the coverage, contests versus Florida in Athens and at Auburn will air on ESPNU, the Arkansas game on Feb. 28 will be broadcast on the SEC Network and at the rematch with Florida will be televised by either ESPN2, FSN or Sun Sports.
Media say 3rd, Coaches 4th
The Lady Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the SEC in balloting of league media, while conference coaches tabbed Georgia fourth in the pre-season.
Both bodies named Ashley Houts and Angel Robinson first-team All-SEC. In addition, the coaches included Porsha Phillips as a second-team selection.
A coach’s dream to date
Nurturing development and improvement is perhaps the top goal of every coach at every level. That’s why Andy Landers had a little extra spring in his step this fall, knowing this season offered him a coach’s dream.
“You’re challenged by the idea that you can get better every day,” Landers said. “This is a team that absolutely can improve every single game right up the end of the season because there’s so many young people with so much to learn. You’re not going to get it in a game. You’re not going to get it in the first half of the season. It’s going to be an ongoing process. We have to be as coaches good communicators with young people so that they know they understand what they are getting right and how to build on that and what needs to be corrected so that they can make those corrections.”
Simply put: she’s Houtstanding
The research efforts of Dave McMahon determined that Ashley Houts played more career minutes than any other active Division I player entering the 2009-10.
Houts played the third-most minutes of any player in the country over the past three seasons, and the two players ahead of her graduated as outlined below.
National MP Leaders (2007-09)
| Player, School | MP | GP |
| Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers | 3,623 | 103 |
| Renee Montgomer, UConn | 3,570 | 113 |
| Ashley Houts, Georgia | 3,567 | 99 |
| Takia Starks, Texas A&M | 3,500 | 103 |
| Kristi Cirone, Illinois State | 3,484 | 101 |
UGA Career Leaders (Minutes Per Game)
| Player, Seasons | MPG | GP |
| Ashley Houts, 2007-pres. | 35.9 | 114 |
| Kelly Miller, 1998-01 | 33.3 | 131 |
| Sherill Baker, 2004-06 | 32.8 | 131 |
| Lisa O'Connor, 1983-96 | 31.2 | 132 |
| Coco Miller, 1998-01 | 30.7 | 130 |
EDITOR’S NOTE: Further research revealed that Cal’s Alexis Gray-Lawson entered 2009-10 having played 3,560 minutes. A fifth-year senior, she played in nine games in 2006-07 before a knee injury.
Lady Bulldogs sign three
Three premier prospects signed letters of intent to join Georgia during the fall. Arieal Johnson, a 6-5, forward, is a native of Havelock, N.C., who has played the past three seasons at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia; Ronika Ransford, a 5-7, guard from Washington, D.C.; and Khaalidah Miller, a 5-9 guard from Douglass High School in Atlanta.
