University of Georgia
4-2
USF
4-0
Georgia Falls To South Florida, 81-65
November 26, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Associate Head Coach Karen Lange talks about the teams fight in the game against USF and Junkanoo Jam tournament experience overall.
Nov. 26, 2016
BIMINI, Bahamas --The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team fell to South Florida, 81-65, Saturday night in the championship game of the 2016 Junkanoo Jam Lucaya Division.
The Lady Bulldogs move to 4-2 overall this season, while South Florida, a team that finished second behind Connecticut in last year's American Athletic Conference standings, improves to 4-0.
"We got into some foul trouble and it really hurt us down the stretch," associate head coach Karen Lange said. "I give a lot of credit to our players who came in after Caliya and Haley Clark went out of the game. We made several mistakes defensively tonight, and they capitalized on it every time."
USF's Kitija Laksa finished with 34 points on the night, scoring 25 in the second half. Pachis Roberts scored 19 to lead Georgia, while Mackenzie Engram added 17 points.
Halle Washington paced the Lady Bulldogs in the opening minutes, scoring Georgia's first four points. The Bulls heated up the rest of the the period and built a 15-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
USF added to that advantage and stayed in control most of the remaining 10 minutes of the opening half. That was until Georgia heated up at the free-throw line, knocking in eight-of-eight, including a six-for-six mark from Roberts, to overcome an 11-point deficit.
Engram capped off a 10-3 run by the Lady Bulldogs with a shot at the buzzer, but the Bulls still led 34-31 at the break. Engram finished with nine points in the second quarter, keeping the Lady Bulldogs close as the teams headed to the locker room.
The Bulls came out on fire in the second half, knocking down three-straight 3-pointers, two coming from Laksa, to put the lead back in double figures at 45-35 with 7:43 left in the period. Laksa then hit one more 3-point basket and finished with 18 third-quarter points to lead the Bulls to a 64-56 advantage going into the fourth.
Georgia never could claw back, as USF held on for the 81-65 victory. The Lady Bulldogs return home to face Kennesaw State Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at Stegeman Coliseum.
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