University of Georgia Athletics
Dog Notes: Seniors Deliver Yet Again
February 21, 2016 | Women's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
There was a stretch of plays late in the first quarter Sunday at Stegeman Coliseum that pretty well summed up Senior Day for the Georgia women's basketball team.
Georgia trailed No. 22 Florida 13-8 with less than two minutes left in the opening quarter when senior Shacobia Barbee knocked the ball loose from a Gator. Senior Tiaria Griffin grabbed it and eventually drove for a layup. She missed, but fellow senior Marjorie Butler grabbed the offensive rebound. Barbee later got the ball in the paint, spun in traffic and scored on a layup off the glass, drawing a foul as well.
A minute later, Barbee got a steal (she had five in the game) and took off on the fast break. She passed the ball to Butler, who immediately passed it back, away from a Gator defender, and Barbee laid the ball in.
It was veteran teammates playing well together.
"We love this program and we love this school and that's why we played as hard as we did tonight," said Butler, one of five seniors recognized Sunday.
It wasn't Butler's finest day on the hardwood — she missed all eight of her shots and turned it over six times — but she did have seven assists and hit two free throws late to help seal the win. Fellow senior Merritt Hempe added six points and eight rebounds.
It was, quite fittingly, Griffin and Barbee that led the way for Georgia (20-7, 8-6 SEC) in an important 74-63 win over the Gators (20-7, 8-6). They dominated the game in the second half: Barbee in the third quarter before leaving the game with a left ankle injury and Griffin was great in the third and flawless in the fourth.
"I think it kind of just happened like that," Griffin said of Barbee's run and then her own. "She'd take over and then the next couple of minutes somebody else would take over. It's just kind of our style of play; whoever comes out ready to attack, whatever they decide to do, and we just back them up on it."
Griffin finished with a career-high 28 points, a career-high six 3s and she grabbed eight rebounds. And she played all 40 minutes.
Georgia trailed 32-27 at the half but the deficit was quickly gone in the third quarter, mostly thanks to Barbee and Griffin. In the third alone, Barbee had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Griffin scored eight points in the period and the duo combined for 18 of Georgia's 24 third-quarter points.
Barbee opened the half with a steal and layup, followed by two Griffin free throws and a Barbee baseline drive and pull-up jumper, giving Georgia a 33-32 lead.
"It really is amazing knowing that they can take over a game," junior Pachis Roberts said of Griffin and Barbee. "They're going to help us and they're going to do what they have to do to."
Georgia later trailed 38-36 when Barbee went on a Barbee run. She drove the left side for a layup, tying the game. On Florida's possession she drew an offensive foul. Then, on the ensuing Georgia possession, she was fouled and hit one of two free throws to put the Lady Dogs back in the lead, 39-38. That was with 6:10 to play in the third and Georgia led the rest of the way.
Senior Day always brings out the emotions, even for coaches.
"We've been all over the place," Georgia first-year coach Joni Taylor said, "tears, laughter — biggest thing was making sure we honored [the seniors] and giving them a voice. We took some time today to let them have the floor ... and we gave them an opportunity to address their team. They did an excellent job with that."
And on the court.
Griffin did her best work late in the third quarter and into the fourth. She hit a 3 from the right corner to put UGA up 48-40, followed soon after by another after Barbee drove and kicked the ball out to her in the left corner.
She opened the fourth with another 3, eventually going 4-for-4 from 3 in the final period, 2-for-2 at the line and she grabbed two rebounds in the quarter. Quarters don't go much better than that.
Finishing Strong
Barbee is a do-it-all player for Georgia, with 20 career double-doubles, including nine this season. She'd have likely added another Sunday of she hadn't gone down with an ankle injury with 7:12 to play. Her final stats against Florida: 20 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists.
"It was just motivation to go out and play a little bit harder for her," Griffin said of the injury.
In Barbee's absence, which Florida tried to exploit by ramping up the pressure, Georgia overcame a few shaky minutes before finishing strong. Roberts played one of her best games of the season, finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds, and was a big factor in the fourth, posting four points, four rebounds and two assists in the period.
"Since Cobi is a big part of our team and we knew there was a good chance she wouldn't be able to come back in the game, so we had to pick up the slack and do the things that she would probably do on the court," Roberts said. "We just had to win for our seniors today."
And they did.
A Crowd Pleaser
Not only did Griffin give herself, her teammates and the Georgia fans a nice showing on Senior Day, the Monticello, Miss., native also gave a crowd of folks from back home quite a show. A church group from home made the trip to Athens for the game, and they were clad in their own Senior Day T-shirts for the occasion that had, in big red letters, "TG3" on the back.
The Lady Dog wearing No. 3 gave them much to cheer about Sunday and said it was a "special" day for a lot of reasons.
What's Next?
Even though Sunday was Senior Day, Georgia hasn't seen the last of Stegeman Coliseum. The Lady Dogs will wrap up their home schedule on Thursday against Arkansas (11-16, 6-8).
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.
