University of Georgia
7-5
Samford
6-6
Lady Bulldogs Drop 65-59 Decision To Samford
December 22, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Georgia fell to a hungry and hot shooting Samford squad on Thursday and Hunkerdown Productions captured the game's best plays.
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
| Samford | TEAM | Georgia |
| 65 | SCORE | 59 |
| 46.0% | FG% | 38.2% |
| 81.3% | 3FG% | 11.1% |
| 40.0% | FT% | 66.7% |
| 29 | REB | 39 |
| 13 | ASST | 10 |
| 16 | TO | 16 |
| 2 | BLK | 4 |
The Lady Bulldogs will head into the Christmas break at 7-5 on the season. Samford improved to 6-6.
"Today has got to hurt," Georgia head coach Joni Taylor said. "Samford is a really good team and we knew that coming in. They've played a really tough schedule and were prepared for this game. But you don't come to Georgia to play to lose two home games in a row. Hopefully this hurts and we learn from it and we can grow as a team. This is a young team and we aren't ready to throw in the towel, but we've got to get back to the drawing board. This all starts with hard work and working on being more consistent."
Robinson scored 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Guard Haley Clark and forward Stephanie Paul each added seven points, while forward Mackenzie Engram and guard Shanea Armbrister grabbed seven rebounds apiece.
Samford got 14 points from forward Samantha Fitzgerald, 13 each from guards Katie Allen and Hannah Nichols, and 11 from guard Kassidy Blevins. Nichols and Fitzgerald also secured five rebounds each.
Thursday's game was close throughout, including a 53-53 tie with 4:14 remaining. A 6-0 run pushed the visiting Bulldogs to a 59-53 lead, but Georgia trimmed it to one at 60-59 on a Robinson free throw. Samford kept the Lady Bulldogs at bay by hitting 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch for the 65-59 decision.
"I think that we gave a better effort than we have the past few games," Clark said, "but I think that we're still developing and we're still learning to do the little things, which we had a lot of seniors do for us last year. ... As a leader, I need to start telling my teammates to get in the gym more. If you're not getting in the gym and getting up shots, they're not going to fall in the game."
After slipping behind 7-0 at the outset of the game, the Lady Bulldogs battled back - spurred by part of a 9-0 run -- to snag the lead at 15-13 at the 8:30 mark of the second quarter. Georgia never relinquished its first-half lead and held a 31-27 advantage at the break.
Robinson poured in 15 of Georgia's 31 first-half points to notch her 15th consecutive double-digit performance.
The Lady Bulldogs will return to action on Wednesday at 2 p.m. as they entertain Western Carolina. The contest will air on SEC Network+/WatchESPN. That will be Georgia's final non-conference game as SEC play begins Jan. 1 at Missouri.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS: For more information on the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, follow the team on Twitter (@UGA_WBB), Instagram (@uga_wbb), Facebook (Facebook.com/UGAWomensBasketball) and Snapchat (@uga_wbb).
