University of Georgia Athletics
Roberts Soaring In Final Season
February 20, 2017 | Women's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
This feature story on Pachis Roberts was all set to go last week. It's a story about a Georgia women's basketball player getting her chance and making the most of it.
The story was going to go up here soon after the Mississippi State game, but then it was a rare game this season when the 5-foot-11 senior guard struggled. Better to wait until another strong showing from the Lady Bulldogs' surprise leader in scoring and rebounding.
It wasn't a long wait, as it turned out, though you wouldn't have guessed that at halftime of Sunday's game against LSU. Roberts had just two points at the half, making one of her four shots. But then came the rest of the game, the second half and overtime, in which Roberts dominated.
By the end of Georgia's 70-65 overtime win, Roberts had 28 points, to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. It was a senior night to remember late in a season she'll remember and savor for a long time to come.
"I kind of felt like it was a night for the seniors, so I had to go out there and play big," she said after coming a point shy of her career scoring high of 29, which she set on Dec. 28, against Western Carolina.
Roberts was for most of last season a backup, a solid contributor off the bench. During her junior season, her second with the team after transferring from Syracuse and sitting out a year, she was sixth on the team in scoring, sixth in minutes played and fifth in rebounding.
In 23 games last season she started 10, including the final four after Shacobia Barbee was lost for the season with an injury. Roberts credits a lot of her improved play this season to having to go up against Barbee in practice day after day in the preceding seasons.
"She never took a play off, she was always going hard, and seeing her work hard every day really helped me when I was redshirting and then when I wasn't playing as much," Roberts said. "When I did get my chances I knew I had to just go out there and play."
Georgia lost four seniors from last season's squad, including their top three scorers. Barbee was the player that filled up the stat sheet, ending her season with an average of 12.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
It's a role Roberts is filling this season: she leads the team in scoring (14.3 points per game), rebounding (6.9), steals (1.7) and is second with 3.0 assists a game.
"It means a lot," Roberts said of making the most of her chance as a starter and a leader this season, "because for the coaches to have confidence in me and for me to have my own confidence, it all helped me to just go out there and do the things I know I'm capable of and not be scared to do things the coaches need me to do."
On Sunday against a solid LSU squad, Georgia needed Roberts to shine — and she sure wasn't scared down the stretch. Sophomore forward Caliya Robinson had 12 of Georgia's 22 points at the half, but was held scoreless in the third before finishing with 20 points. No worries, Roberts took over, scoring eight in the third, 14 in the fourth and four more in overtime.
All this from a player who last season averaged 7.0 points per game. Coach Joni Taylor said recently she wasn't sure what to expect from Roberts this season.
"We knew Pachis was capable — what I did not know was that she would do it," Taylor said. "We saw glimpses last year of Pachis' ability to score; what's good about Pachis is that you can put her on the wing, you can put her on the post, so she's very versatile in her ability to score and score on different types of people."
Roberts showed all that Sunday, hitting a couple of key 3-pointers, hitting some mid-range shots and also scoring multiple times in the paint, as well as going 6-for-7 from the free-throw line.
Given that Roberts went from averaging 22.7 minutes per game last season to a team-high 36.1 this season, it makes sense that her numbers are up. What stands out, however, is that she went from shooting 38.7 percent from the field last season to 44.6 this season.
That's a big, big jump, especially when you factor in that her 3-point percentage is down a bit this season.
"I would say it's just having confidence in my shot," Roberts said. "I know I'm a shooter and the coaches are going to let me shoot, so just having confidence really helps your shots go in."
Another factor: "I'm taking better shots, also."
She's taking them and making them, doing a whole lot more and playing the best ball of her life in her final season with the Lady Bulldogs.
"For me, this is it," she said. "I have to go out there and play and leave it all on the court. I won't have another chance to play college basketball."
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.
