University of Georgia Athletics
Dog Notes: Robinson Coming On Strong
December 03, 2015 | Women's Basketball
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By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Freshman Caliya Robinson played in her fifth Georgia women's basketball game on Thursday night at Stegeman Coliseum. The 6-foot-3 forward is starting to make the most of her minutes.
During one very productive stretch in the opening quarter of the Lady Bulldogs' easy 89-34 win over Kennesaw State, Robinson scored 10 of Georgia's 13 points. This from a player whose previous career best was 13 points.
Robinson finished with a game-high 17 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots, in 24 minutes. All of those numbers are career highs.
"It was wonderful," Robinson said, smiling after her first career double-double.
The Marietta, Ga., native missed the first three games of the season while still coming back from knee surgery after suffering a torn ACL early in her senior season at McEachern High School. Limited for most of the preseason, Robinson is only now playing and operating at close to full capacity.
"I'm not 100 percent, I would say 80 or 85 percent," she said. "I've got to run more and get a little more energy, get my legs working."
Coach Joni Taylor, whose Lady Dogs (7-1) have won six straight games, said Robinson has a multitude of talents and a ton of potential.
"She's finally starting to figure out what we're doing, and with that being said, she still has a long way to go," Taylor said. "Caliya is a really good player and she can impact the game in a lot of ways. I think we saw her block shots tonight, grab rebounds and push in transition; sometimes that was a turnover and sometimes that was an assist, but she's still getting a feel and trying to get her legs under her. ...
"Once we get her going, she's someone who can help us down the road. And she's going to be fun to watch the next couple of years."
Robinson likely would have played big minutes Thursday no matter what given Georgia's advantages over the Owls (3-5), but she was thrust into action less than four minutes into the game after starting post Merritt Hempe picked up two quick fouls.
Against an undersized Owls squad, Robinson went to work quickly. She checked in at the 6:33 mark and she subbed out with 1:55 to play in the opening quarter, and during that stretch Robinson had 10 points, one rebound, one steal, one block and an assist.
"I stopped being nervous (about the knee)," Robinson said when asked about the breakout game. "This is another step into me being able to come back to how I was. This is the start."
Robinson was one of six Lady Dogs to score in double figures. Shacobia Barbee also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds (plus eight assists) and Hemp added 15 points and six rebounds.
Back To Backs
Georgia's win was the second in as many nights, giving the Lady Dogs back-to-back wins twice in seven days. Last weekend, during the Raddison Chatsworth Thanksgiving Classic at Cal State Northridge, Georgia beat BYU and Northridge on Friday and Saturday. Back at Stegeman on Tuesday, Georgia defeated Mercer 57-44.
This week's back to back was similar to last week's in that the first game was much more competitive than the second. After beating BYU by eight, Georgia routed Northridge by 30. After beating Mercer by 13, Georgia rolled the Owls by 55.
Georgia isn't scheduled to play on back-to-back nights the rest of the regular season, but the physical and mental tests of playing on consecutive days can be helpful in the short term and when the SEC Tournament comes along.
"Just mental preparation," Taylor said of the back-to-backs' benefits. "This is what the SEC Tournament is going to be like, what the NCAA Tournament is going to be like, against really good teams. Even today, we had a walkthrough for our shoot-around. We didn't watch film on Kennesaw State, and that's where your mental preparation and your scouting report has got to be on point.
"This was a chance for us to teach and also prepare."
State Superiority
A quick check of Georgia's schedule shows that nearly all of the state's Division I women's basketball programs have fallen to the Lady Dogs this season. UGA has defeated Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern, Mercer and now Kennesaw State. The only D-I teams the Lady Dogs haven't beaten are Georgia State and Savannah State, which aren't on the schedule.
Georgia is a combined 104-35 all-time against in-state opponents.
Odds And Ends
Senior guard Tiaria Griffin had 10 points Thursday, giving her 1,000 for her career. She's the 36th Georgia player to reach four digits. Griffin said she couldn't remember her first career point, but it came on a free throw at the 11:14 mark of the first half of the 2012-13 season opener against Rutgers, on Nov. 11, 2012. ... Also posting a career high with 11 points was freshman guard Amber Skidgel, who hit three 3-pointers. ... Georgia is back in action Sunday when it hosts Seton Hall at 2 p.m.
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.
