Georgia Hosts No. 3 MSU For Sunday Black Out

December 30, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia Lady Bulldogs (12-1) vs. #3/5 Mississippi State (14-0)
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017 // 6 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network by IMG // Jeff Dantzler (play-by-play) In Athens: 960 AM and 103.7 FM
TV: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle- play-by-play, Andraya Carter - analyst)

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
48-26 (3rd year) at UGA
48-26 (3rd year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	8.5	2.3
5-7; RS-So.; TR; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	12	Haley Clark	3.8	2.0
5-9; Sr.; 3L; Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS
G	23	Que Morrison	9.8	4.6
5-7; Fr.; HS; Riverdale, Ga./McEachern HS
F	33	Mackenzie Engram	12.8	6.7
6-2; Sr.; 3L; Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove HS
F	4	Caliya Robinson	11.8	6.7
6-3; Jr.; 2L; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Mississippi State Bulldogs
Coach: Vic Schaefer
138-51 (6th year at MSU)
218-161 (13th year) overall
C	15	Teaira McCowan	19.9	12.5
6-7; Jr.; Brenham, Texas
G	35	Victoria Vivians	19.8	5.8
6-1; Sr.; Carthage, Miss.
G	11	Roshunda Johnson	11.6	3.0
5-7; R-Sr.; Little Rock, Ark.
G	1	Blair Schaefer	8.7	2.0
5-7; Sr.; Starkville, Miss.
G	2	Morgan William	6.9	1.7
5-5; Sr.; Birmingham, Ala.

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		MISSISSIPPI STATE
73.5	Scoring	86.4
45.3%	FG%	47.8%
36.6%	3FG%	36.8%
41.5	Rebounds	40.4
18.5	Assists	17.2
5.7	Blocks	4.4
9.0	Steals	9.5
57.0	Scoring Def.	54.5
34.5%	FG% Def.	37.0%
34.1%	3FG% Def.	29.1%
+6.2	Reb. Margin	+8.1
+3.6	T/O Margin	+9.6
1.2	Ast-T/O Ratio	1.4

Opening Tip - Notes To Know Heading Into The Game

Georgia welcomes third-ranked and undefeated Mississippi State for a New Year's Eve contest at Stegeman Coliseum on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. The matchup will air nationally on the SEC Network.
Sunday's meeting is Georgia's 'Black Out Game.' Fans are encouraged to wear black with the first 1,000 people in attendance receiving a free black t-shirt.
The Battle of Bulldogs features two of the top teams in the SEC through non-conference action. Georgia is now 33-8 against non-conference foes under Coach Joni Taylor and is off to a 12-1 start this year. MSU, the 2016 NCAA runner-up, is currently 14-0, marking the second-straight season the Bulldogs from Starkville have started with a perfect non-conference record.
The last three meetings between these two teams have been decided by an average of seven points per game. In Mississippi State's last trip to Stegeman Coliseum, Georgia held the Bulldogs to a then season-low 43 points in a 47-43 win on Jan. 21, 2016. Last season, the Lady Bulldogs led MSU for over 31 minutes but could not hang on in a 58-49 defeat.
Georgia enters SEC play as the most unselfish team in the league. The Lady Bulldogs average a conference-best 18.5 assists per game. Redshirt-sophomore point guard Taja Cole is fourth in the SEC with 4.8 per game and has three or more dimes in 12 of 13 games.
Veteran frontcourt stars Mackenzie Engram and Caliya Robinson have stepped up to lead Georgia this season. Engram leads the team in scoring with 12.5 ppg and has reached double figures in all but three games while Robinson paces the squad with 6.6 boards per contest.

Game Promotions

Black Out- free black t-shirts to first 1,000 fans in attendance
2,000 Glow Sticks to be given away
DJ Tephlon (near Tunnel 4) to serve as host for the game
Halftime- Crawl for Cash (Deadline to RSVP was last week)
Alumni Band

Series Information vs. North Florida

Overall: Georgia leads, 28-16
In Athens: Georgia leads, 16-3
In Starkville: MSU leads, 11-10
Neutral Sites: Tied, 2-2
Current Streak: MSU three of the last five
Last Meeting: MSU 58, Georgia 49 (2/16/17)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia 87, MSU 47 (2/8/1986)
Largest Defeat: MSU 86, Georgia 54 (1/21/1978)

Last Time Out

A stifling Lady Bulldogs defense held the North Florida Ospreys to the lowest point production of a Georgia opponent this season in the 75-37 victory at Stegeman Coliseum on Thursday afternoon.

Georgia improved to 12-1 on the season, matching its best start in the Joni Taylor era, which came in her first year in 2015-16. Eleven Lady Bulldogs delivered on offense, led by a team-leading 15 points from freshman guard Maya Caldwell. She did most of her damage from behind the arc with a 4-for-5 clip from 3-point range, which set a new career high.

Junior forward Caliya Robinson followed with her ninth double-digit scoring outing of the year (13), fueled by nine in the first frame.

"I'm proud of the way the team came out," Taylor said. "We had two good practices off of the Christmas break which isn't common coming of Christmas. They practiced well the two days leading in to today. They had their focus, and I was really happy that we were able to give a lot of our players extended minutes."

Caldwell Joins Connally and Morrison As Freshman Stars

Freshman guards Gabby Connally and Que Morrison got off to strong starts this season, but they are not the only Lady Bulldog rookies who have been impressive. As of late, it has been the play of guard Maya Caldwell, who has scored in double figures in two of the last three games with 20 against Howard (most for a Georgia freshman since 2014) and 15 against North Florida. Caldwell, who scored all 15 of her points in the second half against UNF, is the team's most efficient 3-point shooter, hitting 14-of-25 (56 percent) from behind the arc for the year.

Balanced Bulldogs

Georgia's balanced scoring has helped the team to a fast start this season. Through 13 games, eight or more players have scored in 11 contests so far. The Lady Bulldogs, which played with just eight scholarship players last season, have been aided by newcomers who make up three of Georgia's top five scorers. Que Morrison leads the 2017 freshman class with 9.0 ppg.

Lady Bulldogs Bench Shines, Same Starting Five In each game

The Lady Bulldogs' bench players have outscored their opponents, 360-195, in the first 13 games, an average of 12.7 points per contest. During Georgia's outing against Howard on Dec. 19, the Lady Bulldogs outscored the Bison 54-14 and outmatched North Florida's bench 40-5 on Thursday. Coach Taylor's team has also found consistency in its starting five this season. Georgia has used the same lineup of Cole, Clark, Morrison, Engram and Robinson through the first 12 games.

Freshmen Combine For Points Barrage

During Georgia's outing against Howard on Dec. 19, Lady Bulldog freshmen combined for 47 total points, led by a new career-high of 20 points from Maya Caldwell and 11 from Malury Bates. You have to go back to 2009 to find the last time a Georgia freshman class combined for that many points in a single game. That year it was Jasmine James (24), Anne-Marie Armstrong (14), Ebony Jones (6) and Jasmine Hassell (5) who combined to score 49 points in a December matchup against Southern Miss.

Georgia Beats Tech For 35th Time

The Lady Bulldogs won their sixth game in the last seven contests against Georgia Tech with a 60-53 win on Dec. 17. The victory, which improved Georgia's record to 16-0 against Tech in Athens and 35-5 overall, also gave the Lady Bulldogs a crucial win against a team with a top-40 RPI. Georgia now has five victories -- Virginia, Mercer, BYU, Georgia Tech and Wright State -- against teams that won 20 or more games last season.

7-0 Start Best In Joni Taylor Era

The Lady Bulldogs, which currently sit at 12-1 this season, jumped out to a 7-0 record to begin the year, marking the best start in the Joni Taylor era. In Taylor's first season, her team started 12-1 in non-conference play en route to a NCAA Tournament appearance and 21-10 final record.

It Starts With Defense Under Taylor

Georgia prides itself on defense, and that has paid off this season. The Lady Bulldogs have held two opponents (BYU and Furman) to their season lows in scoring and four to their season lows in field goal percentage (BYU, Furman, Georgia Tech and Howard). BYU shot a season-low 35.1 percent from the field, while Furman hit just 27.3 percent and Georgia Tech shot at a 29.7 percent clip. In all, the Lady Bulldogs are 19-0 under Coach Taylor when holding an opponent to 50 points or less and are 10-0 when an opponent shoots less than 40 percent this season.

Robinson Named to Naismith, Katrina McClain Award Watch Lists

Lady Bulldog junior forward Caliya Robinson has received national attention for her efforts on the court. Among the SEC's returning leaders in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, Robinson was named to the Citizen Naismith Trophy National Player of the Year Watch List, joining 50 of the top players from around the country. Before the season started, she was tabbed a Katrina McClain Award Watch List candidate, placing Robinson's name among the top 20 power forwards from across the country.

A Top-10 Shot Blocker

Robinson has moved into the top-10 of the Lady Bulldogs' career blocked shots leaders. In just 70 games, Robinson has 153 blocks (2.2 per game), which ranks eighth-best in Lady Bulldog history. Perhaps even more impressive is that Robinson has done this in just 70 career games. It took Tasha Humphrey (who is currently in10th place with 119) 126 games, while Anne-Marie Armstrong (in ninth place) recorded 122 blocks in 133 contests.

Georgia's Clark Already A College Graduate

A three-time selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Haley Clark graduated in just three years and received her diploma from UGA during graduation ceremonies this past May. Clark received her bachelor's degree in business and finance and is pursuing a master's in financial planning. One of her career goals is to work in corporate finance and help other athletes with financial planning.

Clark, Engram Earn Leadership Awards

Haley Clark and Mackenzie Engram enter their senior seasons as the leaders for the Lady Bulldogs. That leadership ability did not go unnoticed by the UGA Athletic Association this past spring, as both Clark and Engram received awards recognizing their efforts in leadership and sportsmanship. The announcement was made at the annual student-athlete awards banquet in April.

Clark received the UGA Athletics Sportsmanship-Ethics Award, which is given annually to one female and male student-athlete who are selected based upon their displays of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, friendship, caring and citizenship. Engram was chosen for the Clifford Lewis Leadership Award - an honor presented to one female student-athlete who demonstrates a commitment to a group of individuals above personal gain.

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