University of Georgia Athletics
Lady Bulldogs To Face Tulane In Tempe
March 18, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Lady Bulldog Basketball
2010 NCAA Tournament 1st Round
Georgia vs. Tulane
Wells Fargo Arena (14,198) in Tempe, Ariz.
Saturday, March 20 at 10:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Radio: AM 960 The Ref in Athens
The basics
The Georgia Lady Bulldogs begin play in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening at Arizona State’s Wells Fargo Arena. Georgia, which is the No. 5 seed in the Sacramento Regional, will face Tulane, the No. 12 seed, at approximately 10:30 p.m. ET or 30 minutes following the session’s first game between No. 4 seed Oklahoma State and No. 13 seed Chattanooga.
Georgia has long been a regular participant in the “Big Dance.”
The Lady Bulldogs rank second nationally with 27 appearances since the tournament came under the auspices of the NCAA during the 1981-82 season. Georgia also ranks among the nation’s top-five in NCAA games played, won, “Sweet 16s” and Final Fours.
The 2009-10 edition of the Lady Bulldogs have enjoyed a memorable campaign to date. Most experts expected Georgia to experience some growing pains at the season’s onset, what with a roster featuring more freshman (six) and returning letterwinners (five).
What resulted was a school-record 16-0 start that was equally impressive in its quality as its quantity. Included in that stretch were victories over six teams included in the NCAA bracket – Oklahoma, Chattanooga, Rutgers, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Kentucky.
Georgia was 18-1 following a victory over Tennessee but then dropped six of its next eight outings before winning three of its last four regular-season dates.
“It’s been an interesting year. It’s been a challenging year,” Andy Landers said. “When we started 16-0, we were excited about the start, yet we understood, as coaches, that in three or four of those games we came from 10 down to win it at the end. We also were excited about the fact that we had changed some things within the program. The veterans were better veterans, better examples, better leaders, and they were better players because of that. We were also excited by the freshmen and the contributions that each of them made as we went through that stretch.
“You take a look at the second half of the season and two players (Ashley Houts and Angel Robinson) that were very important to us were injured,” Landers continued. “While they were able to play most nights, they weren’t able to practice. We lost some of our leadership in practice. We lost some of the example. We lost the pacesetters, if you will. In two or three games we played well enough to win, but in two or three other games we did not play well enough to win, which was very disappointing.”
Houts suffered a sprained ankle against Tennessee and Robinson suffered ankle and head injuries in separate games.
Despite the late-season struggles results-wise, Landers has remained pleased with his team’s effort and attitude throughout.
“This is a team that has always had a good spirit and has always had a very clear purpose and one that has been a joy to coach,” Landers said.
Make it 16 straight for UGA
Georgia has now received bids to each of the last 16 NCAA Tournaments, beginning with the 1994-95 Final Four season.
During that span, UGA has:
• Advanced to 10 “Sweet 16s” (1995, ’96, ’97, ’99, ’00, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06 and ’07);
• Advanced to six “Elite Eights” (1995, ’96, ’97, ’99, ’00 and ’04);
• Advanced to three Final Fours (1995, ’96 and ’99);
• Finished as 1996 NCAA runner-up;
• Compiled a 32-15 (.81) record in NCAA Tournament games.
The Lady Bulldogs have made the most of their 27 all-time bids to “March Madness.”
All told, Georgia has now reached 27 of 29 NCAA Tournaments (93.1 percent) and has advanced to 17 “Sweet 16s” (60.6 percent), 10 “Elite Eights” (35.7 percent) and five Final Fours (17.9 percent).
Series history vs. the pod
Georgia has never faced Tulane prior to this year’s NCAA Tournament, while the Lady Bulldogs are 1-1 against Oklahoma State and 11-1 versus Chattanooga.
Georgia is 16-4 all-time against teams currently competing with the Green Wave in Conference-USA, including victories over Southern Miss and UAB this season.
The Lady Bulldogs last faced the Cowgirls in the second round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament, when Georgia eventually finished as NCAA runner-up. Kedra Holland scored 18 points and current assistant coach La’Keshia Frett grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs in an 83-55 victory.
Oklahoma State won the initial meeting, 76-70, on Dec. 28, 1988, in the opening round of the UNLV Classic.
The Lady Bulldogs defeated Chattanooga, 74-57, in their second game this season. After the Lady Mocs led by six late in the first half, Ashley Houts scored 13 straight Georgia points to give UGA a 43-39 lead it would not relinquish.
Georgia is 1-0 against Chattanooga in NCAA action, defeating the Lady Mocs, 90-69 in the 1989 first round.
Some significant change
Georgia entered this season with a theme of “change” on its minds...and t-shirts. The Lady Bulldogs, one of the nation’s premier programs since the early-80s, haven’t lived up to those lofty standards of late.
“Where we’ve been lately from a competitive standpoint and from a success standpoint isn’t where we want to be,” Andy Landers said in the pre-season. “Expectations run high for myself. I know that we haven’t met my expectations.”
“I think sometimes, if a guy’s a millionaire, he doesn’t think about going down to the bank and taking out $50 or $500 or $50,000. The thing is full of money as far as he’s concerned,” Landers said. “In the past four or five years...the investment and the deposits haven’t been made. But we’ve continued to live like millionaires. We just keep making withdrawals. That’s not the way this works.”
So the youthful Lady Bulldogs with six freshmen in tow invested themselves into returning Georgia to its glory days. Things like what happened on March 1 when the AP top-25 poll was released. Those rankings included a quiet but significant shift among the nation’s powerhouse programs.
As confirmed by AP women’s hoops guru Mel Greenberg, the Lady Bulldogs moved past Louisiana Tech to become the second-most ranked team in the history of the AP poll.
At that point, Georgia had been included in 448 weekly editions of the rankings, one more than the Lady Techsters.
“First of all, to be the second-most ranked basketball team in America...ever...according to the Associated Press, means there’s only one team that has been consistently in the top-25 more than you have,” Andy Landers said. “That’s a great statement on behalf of the present team and all those former teams and players who have ever played at the University of Georgia.”
Georgia earned its first-ever AP ranking in the pre-season poll prior to the 1981-82 campaign, five seasons after the poll originally began.


Lady Bulldog ties to Arizona
There are a couple somewhat loose associations between Lady Bulldog Basketball and state of Arizona.
• Ashley Houts was a member of the 2009 U.S. National Team that captured the Gold Medal at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. Arizona State’s Charli Turner Thorne was the head coach of that team. Houts started four of seven WUG outings, averaging 8.3 points per game. In addition, Houts was a player and Turner Thorne was an assistant coach for the U.S. team that won the 2007 U21 World Championships in Moscow.
• Former Lady Bulldogs Coco and Kelly Miller have a home in the Phoenix area. The Millers recently signed contracts with the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
• Former Lady Bulldog Angie Ball (Watson) also lives in Arizona. She is married to PGA Tour professional Bubba Watson.
• Porsha Phillips’ brothers, Brandon and P.J., are professional baseball players currently in Arizona for Spring training. Brandon is a Gold Glove second baseman for the Cincinnati Red and P.J. is in the Angels organization, playing for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes during the 2009 season.
Where it all began
Georgia played its first-ever NCAA Tournament game at Arizona State on March 12, 1982.
Kym Hampton poured in 31 points to lead a blistering 67.8 shooting percentage (40-of-59) by the Sun Devils in a 97-77 victory. That performance is best ever by a UGA opponent in NCAA Tournament play. Janet Harris’ double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds paced the Lady Bulldogs.
Houts honored by Legislature
Ashley Houts spent a day of her spring break (Tuesday, March 9) at the Georgia State Capital, where she was honored in resolutions by both the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives.
The Trenton, Ga., native met with Governor Sonny Perdue before being introduced on the Senate and House floors by her local representatives, Sen. Jeff Mullis and Rep. Martin Scott.
“She’s an inspirational young lady,” Sen. Mullis said. “She’s one of the nation’s premier players and has always been an excellent representative of her hometown, UGA and the State of Georgia.”
“JJ” equals SEC FOW record
Jasmine James was tabbed as the SEC’s Freshman of the Week on March 1 and in the process equaled the league record by earning the honor five times during the 2009-10 season.The Memphis native tied the mark shared by Candace Parker of Tennessee, Angie Bjorklund of Tennessee and Ciera Ricketts of Arkansas. In addition, she broke the Georgia record she held with senior Ashley Houts.
During the final week of the regular season, James averaged 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals in wins over South Carolina and Arkansas.
James was honored initially on Nov. 16 after scoring a team-high 15 points in an upset of No. 13 Oklahoma in the season opener. She was selected again on Nov. 30 after averaging 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in a trio of Thanksgiving week victories. James’ third honor came on Dec. 21 after posting team highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds against No. 19 Virginia. She also was tabbed on Jan. 11 after averaging 14.0 points in victories over Kentucky and Florida and hitting the game-winning three-pointer in overtime versus the Wildcats.
With Jasmine Hassell earning SEC FOW honors on Jan. 25, six Lady Dogs have combined to win the accolade 15 times since the it was introduced in 2006.
A trio of All-SEC honorees
Ashley Houts was tabbed first-team All-SEC and Jasmine Hassell and Jasmine James both were named to the Freshman All-SEC team in balloting of league coaches announed on March 2. Houts also was a second-team selection to the AP’s All-SEC team announced on March 16.
“Those players should be very proud that they’ve been included because there are a lot of very good players in the Southeastern Conference,” Andy Landers said. “They should also be very proud that those teams were voted on by the coaches that they play against. Those coaches know better than anyone else the performances that deserve merit. While it should be a great source of pride for Ashley and Jasmine and Jasmine that they’ve been honored, they also should be very thankful that they play on a basketball team that’s unselfish and has positioned them to be as successful as they’ve been.”
Hassell and James are the 26th and 27th Lady Bulldogs to be named All-SEC Freshman since the team’s inception in 1987. Georgia and Tennessee lead the league in All-SEC Freshman picks, both with 27, while Vanderbilt is a distant second with 15, followed by Florida with 12, Arkansas and Auburn with 11 and Kentucky with 10.
20 wins once again!
The Lady Bulldogs’ Feb. 14 victory over Alabama secured their 25th 20-win campaign during Andy Landers’ 31-season tenure at UGA. Landers’ current tally of 25 20-win teams ranks No. 6 among all-time Division I women’s hoops head coaches.
Hassell’s ROI has been stellar
Jasmine Hassell certainly has been Georgia’s most efficient – and perhaps its most consistent – offensive performer in Southeastern Conference play.
Hassell led the Lady Bulldogs with a 53.3 FG percentage against league foes and connected on 72.2 percent of her free throws in SEC action...third on the team.
Andy Landers’ believes Hassell is being rewarded for the extreme effort she made to make contributions after struggling early in the season.
“I think Jasmine Hassell has become our most invested player,” Landers said. We’re talking about a person who wasn’t in condition and wasn’t able to contribute early because of that. She also had some developing to do with her post moves. She went to work on those things, and she logged a lot of time and a lot of miles (on the treadmill) before and after practice and before and after games. She’s very, very invested and now she has the opportunity to play. She’s in better condition to play and perform. What we’re getting is a player who is probably thinking ‘I didn’t do all this for nothing. I’m going to go out there and have some fun with this.’”
Hassell’s increased contributions and efficiency can be traced to and early-December victory over arch rival Georgia Tech.
In the first seven games of the season, Hassell averaged 3.9 points by shooting 39.2 percent (11-of-28) from the floor and 50.0 percent (5-of-10) from the line.
In the 24 games since, Hassell has averaged 7.6 points per game while hitting 55.0 percent (72-of-131) of her field goals and 69.1 percent (38-of-55) at the line.
“We’ve been telling anybody that will listen that she’s getting better and better every week,” Landers said after Hassell scored 14 points in just 13 minutes against Detroit. “Her strength is incredible. She would bang in between two cars and come up with a shot, but her conditioning was an issue.”
Houts gutting it out
Ashley Houts has played through a sprained left ankle she originally sustained in the win over Tennessee on Jan. 21 and then “tweaked” at Mississippi State a week later.
Houts, who has led the SEC in MPG the past two seasons, logged just eight minutes of action at Auburn on Jan. 31, 10 fewer than her previous career low.
“Ashley has a sprained ankle, and it’s a pretty good sprain,” Landers said on Feb. 2. “We made the decision on Saturday (Jan. 30) that we would not put her at risk very much against Auburn. We decided that we would start the game with her because that might comfort our team a little bit and that she might finish the game.”
Can we create an honor??
The SEC does not recognize a “Most Improved Player” in its post-season honors but Meredith Mitchell would have to be a leading candidate if such an accolade existed.
A year ago, Mitchell averaged 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds as a freshman playing spot time for the Lady Bulldogs.
This season, Mitchell has started 28 of 31 games. She has quadrupled both her scoring (8.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg) averages –while playing an average of 31.6 minutes per game.
Just winners, baby!
Georgia is one of four schools to post a winning record during each of the 29 seasons since women’s hoops came under the auspices of the NCAA in 1981-82. Louisiana Tech, Tennessee and Wisconsin-Green Bay are the other three.
A different recipe for success
High-powered offense has long been associated with Lady Bulldog Basketball; however, defense has been Georgia’s calling card this season.
The Lady Bulldogs are 21-1 when holding their opposition to 60 or fewer points, losing only to South Carolina in Athens.
Georgia has ranked among NCAA leaders in scoring defense and field goal pct. defense all season, currently checking in at No 10 and No. 11, respectively.
The Lady Bulldogs also have found ways to win like they’ve never done under Andy Landers. Entering this season, Georgia was 0-20 in Landers’ 30 seasons in Athens when scoring less than 50 points.
During 2009-10, the Lady Bulldogs have won two of five contests when scoring less than a half-hundred. For those of you looking for a more dramatic statement, the Feb. 4, 49-46 win over LSU represented just the second time in Landers’ 987 games coached at UGA that the Lady Bulldogs scored less than 50 points and won.
A red-hot Valentine’s Day
Ashley Houts hit a pair of three-pointers in the first 3:16 of the Alabama game to stake Georgia to a 6-0 lead.
That seemed to open the floodgates for the Lady Bulldogs from outside the three-point arc as Georgia scored 76 points, its SEC high for 2009-10.
Georgia finished with 12 threes, one shy of its single-game record. More impressive was the efficiency in doing so, a sizzling 54.5 percent. That mark is better than the Lady Bulldogs’ best overall FG percentage for a game (50.9 against Tennessee State).
Georgia entered the contest shooting 27.8 percent from three-point range, which was worse than any other team in Lady Bulldog history. This season’s three-point conversion rate is now at 28.7 percent. FYI, the current low for a season is 28.1 percent in 2001-02.
Ransford in McDonald’s game
UGA signee Ronika Ransford from H.D. Woodson High in Washington, D.C has been named to the 2010 McDonald’s All-America team. She will take part in the prestigious game on March 31 in Columbus, Ohio.
Ransford is the eighth Lady Bulldog to earn a spot in the McDonald’s contest since its inception in 2002, following Alexis Kendrick in the inaugural game, Cori Chambers (2003), Tasha Humphrey (2004), Angel Robinson (2005), Ashley Houts and Porsha Phillips (2006) and Jasmine Hassell (2009).
Refusing the helping hand
The Lady Bulldogs didn’t help themselves at the line in their three-game losing streak.
Georgia missed 3-of-4 FTs in the final 54 seconds against Ole Miss, with two of those coming on the front end of one-and-ones.
At Mississippi State, UGA was just 10-of-22 from the stripe in the second half.
At Auburn, the Lady Bulldogs connected on only 6-of-12 free throws.
Andy Landers wasn’t willing to blame those setbacks directly on FT shortcomings.
“It would be easy to say we left five points off the board in the final minute against Ole Miss and left probably 10-11 points out there in the final four-five minutes at Mississippi State,” Landers said. “But that would be glossing over other concerns. We did not execute in the half court or transition in a way that might have kept us out of those situations to begin with.”
Georgia was 11-of-18 vs. LSU but still missed chances in the final 39 seconds of OT to make it a two-possession game.
The Lady Dogs were 8-of-14 and 8-of-13 at the stripe in losses to South Carolina and Kentucky, respectively.
For the year, Georgia is 66.4 percent at the line, its lowest mark since 2001-02.
Most “Ws” on the sideline...EVER
Credit goes to Tennessee SID Debby Jennings for helping uncover this nugget.
When Georgia hosted Tennessee on Jan. 21, the combined 1,845 career victories of Andy Landers (824) and Pat Summitt (1,021) entering that contest equaled the most for a matchup in the history of Division I women’s basketball.
That fact isn’t surprising considering they are 1-2 on several lists of the nation’s top floor generals ever as outlined below.
Ranking Landers & Summitt
| | AP Polls | NCAAs | S16s | Winners |
| Summitt | 580 | 29 | 27 | 36 |
| Landers | 450 | 27 | 17 | 31 |
Interestingly, when Tennessee faced Rutgers at the Maggie Dixon Classic in December, the win totals of Summitt (1,012) and C. Vivian Stringer (832) going into that matchup added up to 1,844 “Ws.”
And before you go “Hmmm?”
Anyone wishing to confirm the aforementioned numbers would probably consult the 2010 NCAA Records Book and say...“Hey. This has Landers with 725 wins entering 2009-10. What gives?”
Well in our mind, that total is not quite completely accurate.
Georgia politely disagrees with the NCAA on what constitutes Landers’ complete record as a “collegiate” head coach.
Prior to UGA, Landers compiled an 82-21 record in four seasons at Roane State College, a junior college in Harriman, Tenn. The NCAA does not recognize Landers’ Roane State wins because they were not earned at a four-year institution.
Therefore, the NCAA says Landers’ “career” includes only his efforts at Georgia.
The University of Georgia chooses – and has since in 1979 – to include Landers’ Roane State results as part of his collegiate career record.
With all due respect, its seems odd that the NCAA allows Georgia – and every other women’s basketball program – to count wins accumulated against junior college competition when the game was in an emerging state during the 1970s but won’t recognize Landers’ efforts in that same time frame.
In fact, more than a third of Landers’ victories at Roane – 33 wins, or 40.2 percent to be exact – came against four-year schools. Roane compiled a 33-1 record versus four-year institutions during Landers’ tenure.
Record start snapped...
Georgia’s 16-0 start to begin 2009-10 was the Lady Bulldogs’ best opening to a campaign ever, topping a 14-0 mark to begin what eventually became a Final Four squad in 1999.
...shy of overall win streak mark
Georgia’s 16-0 start is not only the Lady Bulldogs’ best beginning ever, it also represented the fourth-longest winning streak in the program’s storied history.
The school record for consecutive wins is 20 contests during Georgia’s 1986 SEC Championship campaign. The Lady Bulldogs’ 1996 NCAA runner-up squad won 19 in a row, while the 1991 SEC title squad put together 18 straight wins.
Lady Dogs return to AP top-10
Georgia moved to No. 9 in the Dec. 21 edition 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...since Jan. 7, 2008 to be exact.
Georgia has been a mainstay of both the AP poll and the top-10. The Lady Bulldogs have been included in 450 weekly polls. During those weeks, Georgia has been included in the top-10 258 times and in the top five on 145 occasions.
The Lady Bulldogs slipped out of the top 10 on Feb. 1 after a six-week stay.
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.
Magic Number: 80 points
With decisive wins over Southern Miss and Savannah State, the Lady Dogs improved to 422-7 when scoring 80 or more points under Andy Landers, an astronomical winning percentage of 98.368298.
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 for the Lady Bulldogs 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 never relinquished.
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. She has since climbed to the No. 16 spot.
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.
The 101 seconds she did not play at UTC was longer than the amount Houts enjoyed in all 14 SEC games combined during 2007-08 (67.6 seconds).
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 for their collegiate debuts.
During the first five games the season, Jasmine James (Chattanooga), Jasmine Hassell (Alabama State) and Anne Marie Armstrong (Texas A&M-CC) became the 63rd, 64th and 65th freshmen to get the nod under Landers.
Red, White & Blue together
Ashley Houts and Oklahoma’s Danielle Robinson – who 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 WUG games and averaged 8.3 points by connecting on 52.6 percent of her field goals, 47.1 percent of her threes and 90.9 of her trips to the line.
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 contests and averaged 4.6 points while leading the team in assists (3.3) and steals (2.3).
Marshall’s surgery goes well
Christy Marshall underwent surgery on Nov. 17 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee. She was injured in a workout on Oct. 13, two days before the opening of practice.
“It rips my guts out every time a kid falls and grabs their knee,” Andy Landers said. “It’s an all-too-common injury in women’s basketball. My heart goes out to Christy.”
Marshall, the SEC’s 2006 Sixth Woman of the Year, started 21 of 31 games last season and averaged 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds.
For her career, Marshall has played in 95 games with 28 starts and averaged of 7.7 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Lady Bulldogs sign three
Three of the nation’s premier prospects signed letters of intent to join the Lady Bulldogs in the fall of 2010 during the NCAA’s early signing period.
Arieal Johnson and Ronika Ransford inked their intentions to play collegiately for Georgia on Wednesday, Nov. 11, while Khaalidah Miller followed suit on Thursday, Nov. 12.
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. She’s ranked as the nation’s No. 18 post prospect by both the All-Star Girls Report and Hoopgurlz.
“Arieal is going to give us the size that we’re needing inside,” Andy Landers said. “If you drew up a player from a physique standpoint, you’d draw a picture of Arieal. She’s got great size, great length and a great body type. She runs extremely well and can score it from inside and out to 15 feet. She’s a very, very good player who’s only going to get better.”
Ransford, a 5-7, guard from Washington, D.C., is ranked as high as No. 11 overall nationally and is listed among the nation’s top-35 prospects by five different recruiting services. She is ranked No. 11 by Peach State Hoops, No. 13 by Blue Star, No. 16 by the All-Star Girls Report, No. 21 by Hoopgurlz and No. 34 by the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
“Ronika is a multi-talented and an extremely athletic guard who can play both the ‘1’ and the ‘2,’” Landers said. “She can score and penetrate and guard you. She has a great, great future ahead of her. She has extreme quickness and explosiveness. She’s just an outstanding player.”
Miller, a 5-9 guard from Douglass High School in Atlanta and the highest ranked prospect in the state, was named first-team All-State for Class AAAAA by the Georgia Sports Writers Association as a sophomore and junior. She is ranked as the nation’s No. 33 overall prospect and No. 7 guard by the All-Star Girls’ Report. Miller is also listed as No. 36 by Hoopgurlz, No. 40 by Blue Star, No. 42 by Peach State Hoops and No. 57 by the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
“Khaalidah is a terrific athlete,” Landers said. “She has the prototypical size and strength and quickness. She’s versatile and could play anywhere on the perimeter. She has terrific stamina and running ability. She can score off the dribble and can take you to the rack but also has extended range. She’s the whole package.”
The trio of prospects continue a recruiting resurgence for Lady Bulldog Basketball. Georgia’s current freshman class featured four players – Anne Marie Armstrong, Jasmine Hassell, Jasmine James and Tamika Willis – who were ranked among the nation’s top-50 prospects by one or more national recruiting services.
Record number of TV dates!
Fourteen of Georgia’s regular-season games were televised in 2009-10.
That tally matches the most in Lady Bulldog history. In 2006-07, 14 regular-season dates were among the school-record 19 TV games that aired that season.
With two more SEC Tournament dates airing, Georgia enters the NCAAs two games shy of equaling the aforementioned tally.
To date this season, CSS televised six contests, FOX Sports South showed six, ESPNU produced two and both ESPN2 and the SEC Network aired one each.
Media say 3rd, Coaches 4th
The Lady Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the SEC balloting of league media, while conference coaches tabbed Georgia fourth in the pre-season.
Since UGA ended up in a four-way tie for third, both bodies technically were correct.
Both named Ashley Houts and Angel Robinson first-team All-SEC by both voting bodies, while the coaches tabbed Porsha Phillips as a second-team choice.
A coach’s dream
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 UGA grad 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 is Georgia’s career leader in MPG as outlined below.
National MP Leaders (2007-09)
| Player, School | MP | GP |
| Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers | 3,623 | 103 |
| Renee Montgomery, Connecticut | 3,570 | 113 |
| Ashley Houts, Georgia | 3,567 | 99 |
| Takia Starks, Texas A&M | 3,500 | 103 |
| Kristi Cirone, Illinois State | 3,484 | 101 |
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.
UGA Career Leaders (Minutes Per Game)
| Player, Seasons | MPG | GP |
| Ashley Houts, 2007-pres. | 35.7 | 130 |
| Kelly Miller, 1998-01 | 33.3 | 131 |
| Sherill Baker, 2003-06 | 32.8 | 131 |
| Lisa O'Connor, 1983-86 | 31.2 | 132 |
| Coco Miller, 1998-01 | 30.7 | 130 |
