University of Georgia Athletics
Dog Notes: Defense, Offense Were Clicking
January 28, 2016 | Women's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
It was a game until it wasn't. And then it really, really wasn't — but it sure was fun. And the Georgia women's basketball team appreciated some fun after a tough few days.
Georgia and Auburn were tied 15-all after the opening quarter Thursday night at Stegeman Coliseum. The Lady Bulldogs then kept getting scores and started getting a lot more stops, while the Tigers pretty much got neither.
In the end, the Lady Dogs won 63-30. Those 30 points were the fewest any Georgia team has ever allowed in SEC play. This was fun, this was dominating, this was basketball the players wanted to play and coach Joni Taylor wanted to see.
"I think we came out ready," said senior guard Tiara Griffin, who led all scorers with 17 points. "I think everybody showed up to play tonight and it showed on the court."
Georgia (15-6, 3-5 SEC) shot well, connecting on 42.1 percent of their shots, and they outrebounded the Tigers 46-29. Georgia also worked the offensive glass, finishing with an 18-9 advantage in offensive rebounds and a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points.
The Tigers (13-8, 3-5), meanwhile, scored three points in the second quarter, eight in the third and four in the fourth. They shot 27.7 percent for the game.
It was the 20th time in 21 games this season that Georgia has held its opponent under 40 percent from the field, and the fourth time a team has made fewer than 31.0 percent of its shots.
"Defense has been the big emphasis this week," said senior guard Shacobia Barbee said after finishing with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. "We've gotten in trouble several times this week for letting our men [practice players] score and not boxing out and rebounding. I think it finally clicked for us tonight to really buckle down on defense and execute what the game plan is."
Asked which thing she liked better Thursday, her team's offense or defense, Taylor said the answer was both.
"Offensively, obviously this game gives our kids confidence. It allows us to talk about rebounding and when you rebound the basketball then you can push and get things in transition before teams can set their defense....
"Obviously defensively, to hold a team to three points, four points and eight points, it's just incredible. And it also speaks how to dominant we can be on the defensive end when we're locked in."
Those good stats tell some of the story, but not all of it. The last time Georgia took the floor, last Sunday at home against LSU, the Lady Bulldogs were beaten 53-46. It was a lousy overall performance, one that came on the day former coach Andy Landers (it was Landers bobblehead night) and the 1996 NCAA runner-up team were being recognized and many former players were on hand.
Barbee said it was a demanding few days of practice leading up to Thursday, with an emphasis on rebounding and breaking Auburn's persistent press. Taylor said she came to practice Tuesday steaming mad, which the players don't like, but otherwise it was a fairly regular lead up to a game.
Whatever it was, it worked.
"We are in a lot better condition that we were last week and I think that's beneficial to us," she said. "We were just running and trying to execute how Coach Joni wanted us to. And I think, of course, if you look at the numbers you'll see that we shot like 40-something percent and the last time we did that was probably when we were first born, so that was a lot of it, just knocking down open shots."
In fact, the last time Georgia shot better than 40 percent from the field was on Jan. 14, in its 71-61 win at Florida. The Lady Dogs hit 44.3 percent of their shots that night, but her point is taken. Just twice in the past eight games now has Georgia shot better than 40 percent, which is right at the team's average for the season.
Game Changer
Georgia hit two shots and went up 5-0 to start the game. Auburn then scored seven straight. And after a quarter of play the game was tied at 15.
Ten minutes of play later, Georgia went into halftime with a commanding 34-18 lead after a 19-3 second quarter. So what happened? A lot of good things.
The stat sheet says Georgia went 8-for-18 in the second quarter and 3-for-5 on 3-pointers, while the Tigers were 1 of 11 from the field. Georgia outrebounded Auburn 13-7 and dominated every other statistic, too, though the Lady Dogs were far from perfect in the period.
One possession might best sum up the second quarter. Georgia led 18-16 after an Auburn free throw and what followed was a Pachis Roberts miss that didn't touch the rim and a Marjorie Butler offensive rebound. But then Butler's shot didn't touch the rim either because it was blocked. With the shot clock winding down Shanea Armbrister hurried up a shot that hit the rim and bounced away. Roberts then got the offensive rebound and Butler buried a jumper.
That one possession last about 42 seconds and featured three missed shots, three offensive rebounds and then a basket. It was part of a 16-2 run in the final 8:48 of the quarter.
"I think defensively that's something that we know that we can do," Barbee said. "That's something that we take a lot of pride in, so that always feels good to defend a team as well as we did tonight. But on the other hand, we shot the ball extremely well tonight and I'm extremely proud of the way my teammates played."
The 19-3 second quarter was Georgia's most lopsided since outscoring Tennessee Tech 21-3 in the first quarter on Dec. 28. The Lady Dogs' most dominant quarter of the season came in their 10th game, against Furman, when Georgia outscored the Paladins 27-3 in the fourth quarter.
Thursday's second quarter was the fourth quarter of the season in which Georgia has held its opponents to just three points.
What's Next?
Georgia heads to Nashville this weekend for a game Sunday at Vanderbilt (15-5, 4-3). The Commodores picked up a big win Thursday, beating No. 12 Kentucky 71-69 in Lexington.
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.
