University of Georgia Athletics
Lady Bulldogs Make 19th
March 25, 2011 | Women's Basketball
March 25, 2011
Lady Bulldog Basketball
Georgia vs. Texas A&M
NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16"
Sunday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. CT
American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
ESPN2
Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (AM 960 in Athens)
The basics
For the 28th time in the 30 editions of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, the Georgia Lady Bulldogs saw their name appear when the bracket was released on March 14.
The Lady Bulldogs' 28 NCAA bids rank second nationally.
And UGA has made the most of those opportunities. Georgia also is among the nation's top-5 programs in NCAA Tournament games played (79), NCAA wins (52), "Sweet 16s" (19) and Final Fours (5).
With all that history, Andy Landers still gets an extra spring in his step when the "Big Dance" arrives.
"It never gets old," Landers said last week. "Basically, everything that you've worked on and built toward all year is to get to the NCAA Tournament and compete for the national championship. It's such an honor. We've done it a lot. I think sometimes our kids and our fans get accustomed to us going and think it's our birthright. It's not.
"There are some really good teams in our league who aren't in the NCAA Tournament," Landers continued. "There are some very good players in our league who never get to play in the NCAA Tournament. When you think about that, you realize how fortunate we are and it gets me that much more excited about the opportunity."
Georgia defeated Middle Tennessee State last Sunday and No. 15 Florida State on Tuesday to advance to the "Sweet 16" round of the Dallas Regional.
The Lady Bulldogs will face No. 8 Texas A&M at the American Airlines Center at 3:30 p.m. CT on Sunday.
A not so familiar match-up
Sunday's "Sweet 16" contest will be the first-ever meeting between the Lady Bulldogs and Texas A&M.
A very familiar match-up
While Georgia and Texas A&M have never met, the opposing coaches have been friends for decades.
The relationship between Georgia's Andy Landers and Texas A&M's Gary Blair dates back to the Blair's tenure as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech in the early 1980s.
Blair was on the Lady Techsters' staff when Georgia faced La. Tech for the first time on Jan. 27, 1982. The top-ranked Lady Techsters defeated the No. 16-ranked Lady Bulldogs in a UGA "home" game played at the Cobb Civic Center in Marietta, Ga.
Landers and Blair were set to face off for the first time in Dec. 1993 when Stephen F. Austin traveled to Athens; however, Blair left Nacogdoches to be the head coach at Arkansas the previous spring.
From 1993-2003 when Blair was the head coach of the Lady Razorbacks, Georgia compiled a 13-1 record against Arkansas.
Make it 17 straight for UGA
Georgia has now received bids to each of the last 17 NCAA Tournaments, beginning with the Lady Bulldogs' 1994-95 Final Four season.
During that span, UGA has advanced to:
• 12 "Sweet 16s" (1995, '96, '97, '99, '00, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '10 & '11);
• Six "Elite Eights" (1995, '96, '97, '99, '00 and '04);
• Three Final Fours (1995, '96 and '99);
• The 1996 NCAA Championship game;
Georgia has compiled a 34-16 (.680) record in NCAA play from 1995-2010.
The Lady Bulldogs have made the most of their bids to "March Madness."
All told, Georgia has now reached 28 of 30 NCAA Tournaments (93.3 percent) and has advanced to 19 of 30 "Sweet 16s" (63.3 percent), 10 of 29 "Elite Eights" (34.5 percent) and five of 29 Final Fours (17.2 percent).
Second time as a No. 6
The Lady Bulldogs received a No. 6 seed for just the second time in their 28 NCAA appearances.
Georgia also was a No. 6 seed in 2005. That year, the Lady Bulldogs traveled to Reunion Arena in Dallas to knock off Rice, 75-49, and then upset third-seeded and No. 13-ranked Texas, 70-68, to advance to Regional competition.
Georgia then lost to No. 7 Duke, 63-57, in the "Sweet 16" in Chattanooga.
Third recent trip to "Big D"
The trip to Dallas for NCAA Tournament action is the Lady Bulldogs' third in the last seven seasons.
As mentioned in the previous note, Georgia played in first- and second-round games at Reunion Arena in 2005.
The Lady Bulldogs returned to Reunion for a 2007 Regional, where third-seeded Georgia dropped a 78-65 decision to second-seeded Purdue.
More Lone Star Dancing
Georgia also traveled to Texas for the 1985 Final Four in Austin and the 1996 Midwest Regional in Nacogdoches.
In 1985, the Lady Bulldogs topped Tennessee Tech - Andy Landers' alma mater - in Athens before beating No. 18 UCLA - and Jackie Joyner - and No. 3 Long Beach State at the West Regional at Pauley Pavilion.
Georgia then knocked off No. 14 Western Kentucky in the NCAA semifinals at the Erwin Center before falling to No. 5 Old Dominion in the championship tilt.
In 1996, the Lady Bulldogs defeated St. Francis (Pa.) and Oklahoma State in first- and second-round games in Athens.
Georgia beat host Stephen F. Austin in the "Sweet 16" to set up a showdown between the Lady Bulldogs and No. 1 Lousiana Tech - the only two teams to be ranked No. 1 in the nation during the regular season. UGA earned a 90-76 victory over the Lady Techsters behind a career-high 37 points from National Player of the Year Saudia Roundtree.
At the Final Four in Charlotte, the Lady Bulldogs defeated No. 2 Stanford but lost to No. 4 Tennessee in the national championship contest.
A homecoming for Jones
Georgia sophomore Ebony Jones is a native of Cedar Hill, Texas about 20 miles from the American Airlines Center.
Jones was a three-sport standout for the Cedar Hill Lady Longhorns, excelling in basketball, track and field and volleyball. She was recruited by Division I schools in all three sports before signing with Georgia.
In basketball, Jones was named the District 7AAAAA Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009, respectively. As a senior, she averaged a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds while helping Cedar Hill to a 26-7 finish.
In volleyball, Jones was the 7AAAAA Most Valuable Player as a senior and was named to All-VYPE Magazine first-team squad, an all-class unit for the Dallas area.
In track, Jones posted a personal best of 56.93 in the 400-meter dash and ran the leadoff leg for the Cedar Hill 1600-meter relay team that finished eighth at the 2009 State Championships.
The trip home is the second of the season for Jones. On Dec. 22, Georgia defeated TCU in Fort Worth, snapping the Lady Frogs' 27-game home winning streak that was the third longest in the nation at that time.
Another high school reunion
For the 10th time this season a Lady Bulldog will face a former high school teammate when the Lady Bulldogs take on Texas A&M.
Georgia sophomore Ebony Jones and Aggie junior Skylar Collins played together at Cedar Hill High during the 2007-08 season.
On Feb. 24, Lady Bulldog Khaalidah Miller competed against Auburn's Morgan Jennings. They were teammates for two seasons at Atlanta's Frederick Douglass High.
Ronika Ransford and Kentucky's Bernisha Pinkett played together for three seasons at H.D. Woodson High in Washington, D.C. They played against each other in Lexington on Jan. 9 and in Athens on Feb. 17.
Jasmine Hassell and Alabama's Tierney Jenkins, who played together for two years at Wilson Central High in Lebanon, Tenn., met on Jan. 20 and Feb. 6.
Meredith Mitchell has played against two former teammates from Midfield (Ala.) High - Mississippi State's Brittany Young on Jan. 23 and LSU's Courtney Jones on Jan. 30.
Appropriately enough, playing against a former prep teammate started with the season opener when Tamika Willis faced fellow former Westlake Lady Lion Danielle Spencer of Georgia Southern. Willis also met WHS alum Sharnea Boykin of Mercer on Dec. 7.
A satisfying victory
Andy Landers was extremely pleased with his team's rally from a 10-point deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining to defeat No. 15 Florida State in the NCAA second round.
The Seminoles hit back-to-back threes in a span of 76 seconds to push a four-point lead to double figures with 9:58 left.
"I could sense we were a little deflated after that," Landers said. "We challenged them really hard in our next huddle to keep fighting and that's exactly what each of them did for us.
"To rally was gratifying but I think the manner in which we did so is what was most pleasing," Landers said. "Every one of our players made plays during that stretch that helped our team succeed."
Florida State did not make a field goal during the final 9:68 as Georgia outscored the Noles 20-8 down the stretch.
"Po" approaches millennium
Porsha Phillips, the lone senior on the Georgia roster, enters Sunday's game with Texas A&M 10 points shy of becoming the Lady Bulldogs' 32nd 1,000-point career scorer.
Phillips has scored 990 points during her three seasons at Georgia. She has 53 double-figure outputs in 99 games played with the Lady Bulldogs.
The Stone Mountain, Ga., native already has 1,000 points for her career, reaching the milestone during the second half at South Carolina on Jan. 27. Phillips scored 143 points as a freshman at LSU in 2006-07 before transferring to Georgia.
Ransford returns
Freshman Ronika Ransford missed Georgia's final two regular-season games and both SEC Tournament outings for "failing to take care of her academic business," according to Andy Landers.
Ransford was not expected to travel to Auburn for the NCAA opener but returned to practice Friday, March 18 and made the trip.
"I just felt like it was the right thing to do given the way Ronika has responded over the past two weeks," Landers said.
Knock on wood before reading
After struggling at the line during the regular season, the Lady Bulldogs have been pretty solid at the stripe during SEC and NCAA Tournament play.
Georgia converted on just 64.3 percent of its free throws during the regular season, ranking 11th in the SEC and 293rd of 333 Division I teams.
In two SEC Tourney contests and a pair of NCAA dates, the Lady Bulldogs have made 45-of-72 free throws, 72.6 percent.
"Po" aims for rare SEC double
Porsha Phillips currently leads the SEC in both rebounding (10.8 rpg) and free throw percentage (.804) during the 2010-11 campaign.
Should Phillips remain atop those statistical leaders, she would become only the second player in league history to lead both of those ledgers in a season.
Vanderbilt's Wendy Scholtens is the only player to pace the SEC in boards and FT percentage to date, doing so in 1989, 1990 and 1991.
Record number of TV dates
ESPN2's telecast of the Lady Bulldogs' "Sweet 16" date with Texas A&M will be Georgia's school-record 20th TV contest of the season. The previous all-time high of 19 was established during both the 2006-07 and 2009-10 campaigns.
A Lady Bulldog-record 15 regular-season games were televised this season - that topped the 14 that also aired in 2006-07 and 2009-10 - and this is UGA's fifth TV game of the post-season.
All told, the Lady Bulldogs will be making their 162nd TV appearance in the 2000s against Texas A&M. Georgia is 106-75 in those contests.
A bunch with both teams in
Georgia was one of 28 Division I schools with both their women's and men's basketball teams competing in the 2011 NCAA Tournaments.
There were four SEC schools with both squads in the fields - Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The other 24 institutions in both brackets were: Arkansas-Little Rock, Connecticut, Duke, Florida State, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Hampton, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Princeton, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, West Virginia and Xavier.
FYI, 13 reached the Round of 32 in both the women's and men's tournaments and four - Connecticut, Duke, North Carolina and Ohio State - had both teams advance to the "Sweet 16."
Quartet earns SEC honors
Porsha Phillips was named first-team All-SEC in balloting of league coaches announced on March 1.
In addition, Jasmine James was tabbed second-team All-SEC, Meredith Mitchell was named to the All-Defensive squad and Khaalidah Miller was included on the All-Freshman unit.
On March 15, Phillips and James were named first-team and honorable mention All-SEC, respectively, by the AP.
Phillips joined a list of just five other Lady Bulldogs to earn consensus first-team All-SEC recognition from coaches and the Associated Press. In 1997, the first year the AP tabbed All-SEC honors in women's hoops, La'Keshia Frett and Kedra Holland-Corn were first-team selections of both. Kelly Miller and Tasha Humphrey were four-time first-team picks from 1998-01 and 2005-08, respectively. Sherill Baker also secured consensus All-SEC recognition in 2006.
"Po" attempts to join elite list
Porsha Phillips is on the verge of becoming the first Georgia Lady Bulldog to average a double-double in nearly a quarter-century. She is averaging 10.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
The last Lady Bulldog to average a double-double was Katrina McClain in 1986-87, the same season she was consensus National Player of the Year.
Phillips has 15 double-doubles on the season, the most by a Lady Bulldog since McClain's 22 in 1986-87.
All told, four different Lady Bulldogs have averaged a double-double for a season on seven occasions.
Those players are: McClain in `86-87 (24.9 ppg, 12.2 rpg) and `85-86 (21.3 ppg, 10.1 rpg); Janet Harris in `84-85 (20.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg), `82-83 (20.4 ppg, 11.7 rpg) and `81-82 (22.1 ppg, 12.4 rpg); Wanda Holloway in `80-81 (14.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg) and Cynthia Collins in `79-80 (14.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg).
Mitchell returns to sweet home
Meredith Mitchell, who is a native of Midfield, Ala., had a large number of family and friends at the NCAA games in Auburn.
A rather vocal group was in Tuscaloosa - about an hour from Midfield - on Jan. 20 when Georgia faced Alabama. With Georgia trailing 13-4 early, Mitchell scored five points in a 12-0 run that put the Lady Bulldogs up for good. She finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.
Mitchell earned a spot on the SEC's All-Defensive team and her contributions in league play were vital to Georgia's successful 10-win conference campaign.
After having two double-digit scoring outputs in non-conference play, Mitchell notched nine double-figure SEC regular-season games...and then had a career-high 18 points versus South Carolina in the SEC Tournament.
Mitchell was a star for Midfield High from 2005-08 where she helped lead the Lady Patriots to four-year record of 114-19 and state titles in 2007 and 2008 and a runner-up finish during 2005.
"Po" joins season board top-10
Porsha Phillips joined Georgia's top-10 single-season rebounding leaders during the regular-season finale at Florida on Feb. 27 and has quickly ascended to the No. 5 spot on that list.
Phillips grabbed 17 boards in Gainesville and vaulted past Angel Robinson, Tasha Humphrey and Cynthia Collins from No. 11 to No. 8 on the Lady Bulldogs' season leaders ledger.
She then moved to No. 6 - ahead of Deborah Mitchell and Katrina McClain's 1985-86 effort - with a combined 25 boards in two SEC Tournament outings and supplanted Janet Harris' senior season tally at No. 5 during the Florida State game.
Phillips enters the "Sweet 16" 17 rebounds shy of the current No. 4 total set by Harris as a freshman as outlined below.
UGA Single-Season Rebounding Leaders
No. Player (Games Played) Years
397 Janet Harris (34) 1982-83
392 Wanda Holloway (37) 1980-81
391 Katrina McClain (32) 1986-87
371 Janet Harris (30) 1981-82
358 Porsha Phillips (33) 2010-11
351 Janet Harris (34) 1984-85
314 Katrina McClain (32) 1985-86
313 Deborah Mitchell (34) 1980-81
304 Cynthia Collins (35) 1980-81
Career ledger next?
Porsha Phillips now has 833 rebounds in her three seasons in Athens. That's just nine shy of joining the Lady Bulldogs' top-10 career leaders. Current assistant coach La'Keshia Frett Meredith now occupies the No. 10 spot with 842.
20 wins once again!!
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 20-6 with a Feb. 17 win over No. 19 Kentucky, their 26th 20-win year under Andy Landers.
Landers is tied with Tara VanDerveer for sixth all-time for 20-win seasons for coaches at four-year schools. Pat Summit leads that list with 35, followed by C. Vivian Stringer with 31, Jody Conradt with 29 and Robin Selvig and Sylvia Hatchell both with 27.
