University of Georgia Athletics
Lady Bulldogs Open Home SEC Slate vs. Aggies
January 04, 2017 | Women's Basketball
Tonight the Lady Bulldogs play their first home SEC game of the year, as they are pivoted against Texas A&M.
Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Lady Bulldog Info
Game & Broadcast Info
- Opponent: Texas A&M
- Records: Georgia 8-6, Texas A&M 11-3
- Rankings: Georgia NR, Texas A&M RV
- Tipoff: Thursday, January 5 - 7:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Stegeman Coliseum // Athens, Ga.
- TV: None
- Video Stream: SECN+ (Matt Stewart - play-by-play; Kiesha Brown - analyst)
- Radio:Georgia Bulldog Network by IMG // Jeff Dantzler (PBP) // In Athens: WRFC-AM 960 | Affiliates
- Audio Stream: Georgiadogs.com | Mobile
- Live Stats:
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Complete Game Notes
Opening Tip - Five Things To Know
- Georgia returns home for a pair of conference games this week, beginning with Texas A&M on Thursday. It will be just the seventh meeting between the two programs and the fourth at Stegeman Coliseum.
- Texas A&M owns a 5-1 series advantage, but the Lady Bulldogs won the last home game against the Aggies, taking a 54-51 win over then-No. 10 ranked Texas A&M on Jan. 22, 2015. Mackenzie Engram, who was a freshman at the time, scored a team-high 16 points in that 2015 win.
- Georgia is 8-2 in its last 10 SEC home-openers dating back to the 2006-07 season. The Lady Bulldogs have won four-straight home games against SEC foes after going 5-3 at home a year ago.
- The Lady Bulldogs are paced by three players in double figures. Caliya Robinson is ranked ninth in the league in scoring with 16.3 points per game, while Pachis Roberts scores 12.9 per contest and Mackenzie Engram adds 11.4 per game.
- Caliya Robinson saw her 15-game double-figure scoring streak come to an end in the team's last outing at Missouri. The Marietta native has scored 20 points or more five times, with four double-doubles, in the first 14 games this season.
- Pachis Roberts has scored 45 points combined in the last two games. Roberts recorded a career-high 29 points vs. Western Carolina on Dec. 28 and followed with 16 points at Missouri on Sunday.
Series Information
Overall: Texas A&M leads, 5-1
In Athens: Texas A&M leads, 2-1
In College Station: Texas A&M leads, 2-0
Neutral Sites: Texas A&M leads, 1-0
Current Streak: Texas A&M, 1-0
Last Meeting: Texas A&M 73, Georgia 62 - 1/3/16 in College Station, Texas
Scouting Texas A&M
The Aggies are led by Hall of Fame coach Gary Blair, who is in his 32nd season overall and his 14th at Texas A&M. Blair and the Aggies finished last season with a 22-10 record, including on an 11-5 SEC mark on their way to another NCAA Tournament. Khaalia Hillsman and Anriel Howard are the two returning starters and Danni Williams currently leads the team in scoring with her 18.1 points per game. Hillsman averages nearly a double-double with 16.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest.
Career Days Against Western Carolina
Three players set career highs in scoring in the win against Western Carolina last week. Shanea Armbrister recorded her first career double-figure scoring game with 13 points, while Simone Costa scored 14 and Pachis Roberts scored 29. Roberts' total put her above the 20-point mark for just the second time in her career.
Robinson Puts Her Name Among Georgia Greats
With her 24-point, 11-rebound effort against Samford, Caliya Robinson became just the fourth Lady Bulldog since 2000 to record three or more 20-point, 10 rebound games in their careers, joining an elite group of former Lady Dogs -- Tasha Humphrey, Christi Thomas and Kara Braxton.
Robinson currently ranks ninth in the league in scoring with 16.3 points per game. She already has 11 double-figure scoring efforts (surpassing last year's total) and four double-doubles (tying last year's total).
The First 30 Since 2008
Caliya Robinson became the first Lady Bulldog since Tasha Humphrey in 2008 to score 30 points in a single game. Robinson had a career day against Minnesota on Nov. 24, scoring 30 points off a 14-for-27 shooting performance. Humphrey scored 32 points against Florida on Feb. 24, 2008.
Pachis Ups Production In Final Season
Pachis Roberts has recorded three double-doubles in her career -- all of them coming this season. The senior from Powder Springs, Georgia currently ranks fifth in the SEC in minutes played (34.0 per game) and has played 40-plus minutes three times this season.
Short Bench, Starting Five Shift for The Lady Bulldogs
Georgia's roster features just eight scholarship players and one walk-on this season. A big reason for that is the Lady Bulldogs lost four senior starters off last year's team and lost incoming freshman Kortney Eisenman due to a heart condition before the start of the season.
Georgia has used six different starting lineup combinations so far with the most prevalant being Haley Clark, Shanea Armbrister, Pachis Roberts, Mackenzie Engram and Halle Washington as well as the combination of Clark, Simone Costa, Roberts, Caliya Robinson and Washington. Georgia has used each of those combinations four times this year.
Georgia Gets First Road Win At Cincinnati
Georgia used a strong second half to pick up its first road win of the year at Cincinnati's Fifth Third Arena. With the scored tied 26-26 at the half, the Lady Bulldogs used an 8-0 run to begin the second half to hold off the Bearcats. Simone Costa finished with a career-high 11 points, while Caliya Robinson and Pachis Roberts each scored in double figures.
Engram Scores Career High On 21st Birthday
Junior forward Mackenzie Engram celebrated her 21st Birthday on Nov. 29 by scoring a career-high 23-points against Kennesaw State. Engram, who sat out the final 15 games last season due to an illness known as Pericarditis, has scored in double figures seven times this season, including two 20-plus point efforts.
Georgia Downs Pair Of Conference Champs
The Lady Bulldogs have taken down two teams that won their respective conference championships last season. Mercer, the 2016 Southern Conference Co-Champion returned all five starters, while BYU returned three starters off its 2016 West Coast Conference championship team. The Cougars set several school records last season, including a 16-game win streak late in the year, on their way to the NCAA Tournament.
Joni Taylor Gives Birth To First Baby Girl
Head coach Joni Taylor and her husband Darius welcomed their first child, Jacie Elise Taylor, into the world Nov. 3. She weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces and is 20 inches long. Associate head coach Karen Lange took over head coaching duties in the interim through the first six games. Taylor was on the bench for each of those games, except when the team played in the Bahamas on Nov. 24 and 26.
Lady Bulldogs Go International
Georgia's roster has an international feel to it this season with the addition of Romania native and Washington State transfer Bianca Blanaru as well as Portugal native Simone Costa. Shanea Armbrister, who is in her second season with the Lady Bulldogs, grew up in the Bahamas and will make a return trip home when Georgia travels to the Junkanoo Jam on Nov. 24-26.
Georgia Replacing Production
Entering 2016-17, the Lady Bulldogs had to replace four senior starters off of last year's team. Shacobia Barbee, Tiaria Griffin, Merritt Hempe and Marjorie Butler accounted for 65 percent of Georgia's scoring and over 50 percent of the team's rebounding a season ago. Barbee and Griffin were two All-SEC performers, while Butler played in all 31 games at the point guard spot. The group combined for 479 games played and made three NCAA Tournaments (Elite Eight in 2013).
Georgia's 2017 Signing Class Ranked Top-10 Nationally
The Lady Bulldogs' 2017 signing class currently ranks among the top-10 in the nation according to ESPN.com's Hoopgurlz. Georgia signed four highly-touted recruits, including five-star guards Que Morrison and Gabby Connally, four-star guard Maya Caldwell and four-star forward Malury Bates. Each player is ranked in the top-15 at her position nationally, with Morrison coming in as the No. 7 ranked overall guard, Connally the No. 8 point guard, Bates the No. 8-ranked forward and Caldwell the 15th-ranked wing prospect nationally.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS
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