University of Georgia Athletics
Dog Notes: Blowout Win As New Era Begins
November 15, 2015 | Women's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Only 861 more wins to go and Joni Taylor will tie her Georgia women's basketball predecessor and mentor, Andy Landers.
On Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum, Taylor, on Landers' staff for the past four season, made her head coaching debut. It couldn't have gone much better. Georgia outscored Stetson 22-6 in the third quarter and cruised to a 76-55 win.
"We wanted to get this win for Joni," said sophomore forward Mackenzie Engram, who scored 10 of Georgia's first 20 points and finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
After being introduced as Georgia's coach on April 24, 1979, Landers made his Georgia debut on Nov. 10, with an 88-69 win over Piedmont. The Hall of Fame coach won 861 more games with the Lady Bulldogs -- Sunday's victory was No. 900 in program history -- before retiring after last season.
Taylor was hired as Georgia's coach on April 12, giving her months to prepare for her first game after years of preparation for her first head coaching job. Sunday definitely didn't feel like just another day at the office, Taylor said.
"I was nervous, I was sweating, you know, all that," she said. "When the ball tipped, I calmed down, I settled in, but I think that's part of it. And if you're not a little nervous before this game, I think something's a little off."
Three players really led the way for Georgia, starting with Shacobia Barbee, who posted just the third triple-double in program history. The versatile senior finished with 10 points, 10 assists and 13 rebounds (and six steals), joining former UGA greats Teresa Edwards and Tracy Henderson.
Senior guard Tiaria Griffin also filled out the box score: a game-high 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. As a team Georgia moved the ball very well, getting assists on 23 of 33 field goals.
"There were times when we got a little dry, but I definitely think we pushed the ball well, we executed our plays well and we defended well -- and that's something they've been really hard on us about in practice," Engram said.
The Atlanta rapper Silento performed at halftime and after the 21-point win. The Lady Dogs and Taylor were on the court and dancing during the post-game song. Asked to assess Taylor's dance moves, Engram gave her coach a 2 out of 10.
"She's not very good," she said, laughing. "I'm just kidding. No, really, a 2."
Taylor said she deserved an "F" grade.
"But you know what, it was about the kids," she said. "I was excited to be out there with them and if it means getting everybody excited, I don't mind making a fool out of myself."
First Quarters
Sunday's game featured much more than a new era for Georgia's coaching staff. It was also the Lady Dogs' first game playing four 10-minute quarters instead of two 20-minute halves. That change was one of several new to women's college basketball this season and it, along with some adjustments in timeouts, gave the game a different feel.
In the first 5:02 of the first quarter, the game went along nonstop except for a pair of fouls in the first 80 seconds.
"We've had three scrimmages where we've played the four quarters and we've tailored our practices to that same time limit, so we've gone five or six minutes without our players getting a sub," Taylor said. "I think they were pretty comfortable with the new rules today."
Engram said she could feel it when the time between even short breaks in the action stretched to several minutes.
"It went by a lot faster than I thought it would," she said. "In the first quarter I was kind of winded and then the media timeout came (at 4:58 to play), and I was like, oh, that was faster than I thought. But, really, I'm only a sophomore so I had four quarters in high school not that long ago, so it's not really much different."
Griffin Sparks Surge
The first five minutes of the third quarter were largely the Griffin show as she made plays happen all over the court. Georgia led 39-32 at halftime and the score was 41-34 with 8:43 to play in the third when Griffin got rolling.
She hit a jumper, she hit another one and was fouled, making the free throw. Then, after a Barbee steal, Griffin scored on a layup for her own 7-0 run to make it 48-34. After a Stetson timeout, Griffin got another steal, which ultimately led to a Merritt Hempe basket. Her brilliant three-minute stretch ended with another steal and layup, putting Georgia up 52-36 with 5:50 to play in the quarter.
Georgia was in firm control the rest of the game after Griffin's run.
"That was a big key for the game," she said, "simply because they had kind of gotten the lead back down a little and we kind of came out and hit them in the gut."
Hatters Crushed
The Hatters made 12 field goals in the first half, including six 3-pointers. Georgia led 39-32 at the end of a tight first two quarters and then dominated. Why? In part because for a long time Stetson couldn't score.
With 8:11 to play in the fourth quarter, Georgia led 63-39 and the Hatters had made two field goals and scored a total of seven points in the second half. Stetson made just two of its first seven second-half field-goal attempts and, perhaps more importantly, Georgia forced nine Hatter turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
"I would say that our intensity picked up," Barbee said of Georgia's 24-7 run to start the second half.
The Hatters hit a few shots later in the fourth quarter, but by then Georgia and Taylor were well on their way to win No. 1 and some post-game dancing. The Lady Dogs go for win No. 2 at Michigan State on Wednesday.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
