Georgia Takes Six-Game Win Streak to Florida

January 27, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
#20/21 Georgia Lady Bulldogs (18-2, 6-1 SEC) vs. Florida Gators (10-11, 2-6 SEC)
Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 // 2 pm ET
Exactech Arena (10,133) // Gainesville, Fla.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network by IMG // Jeff Dantzler (play-by-play) In Athens: 960 AM and 103.7 FM
TV: None
Video: SEC Network + (Tom Collett - play-by-play; Brittany Davis - analyst)

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
54-27 (3rd year) at UGA
54-27 (3rd year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	7.5	3.0
5-7; RS-So.; TR; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	12	Haley Clark	4.7	3.2
5-9; Sr.; 3L; Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS
G	23	Que Morrison	8.6	5.0
5-7; Fr.; HS; Riverdale, Ga./McEachern HS
F	33	Mackenzie Engram	13.3	6.5
6-2; Sr.; 3L; Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove HS
F	4	Caliya Robinson	12.8	7.9
6-3; Jr.; 2L; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Florida Gators
Coach: Cameron Newbauer
10-11 (1st year at UF)
89-61 (5th year overall)
G	3	Funda Nakkasoglu	14.2	2.4
5-8; R-Jr.; Hampton, Australia
G	00	Delicia Washington	10.5	9.0
5-10; So.; Macclenny, Fla.
G	11	Dyandria Anderson	10.7	4.5
5-10; Sr.; Viera, Fla.
F	12	Paulina Hersler	12.3	6.8
6-3; Sr.; Malmo, Sweden
F/C	44	Haley Lorenzen	12.9	9.6
6-3; Sr.; Iowa City, Iowa

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		FLORIDA
72.3	Scoring	68.8
43.8%	FG%	41.3%
35.0%	3FG%	32.0%
41.7	Rebounds	43.5
17.1	Assists	14.6
6.8	Blocks	1.4
8.4	Steals	4.2
57.8	Scoring Def.	68.2
34.1%	FG% Def.	39.4%
30.5%	3FG% Def.	30.0%
+4.6	Reb. Margin	+6.8
+3.0	T/O Margin	-5.7
1.1	Ast-T/O Ratio	0.9

Opening Tip - Notes To Know Heading Into The Game

No. 20 Georgia brings its six-game win streak into Sunday's game against the Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla. The contest is scheduled to air on SEC Network +.
The Lady Bulldogs defeated a top-25 team for the second time in three games with Thursday's 62-50 victory against No. 11 Missouri. Georgia is off to its best start since the 2009-10 season and has won six consecutive league contests for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.
This year's team is a perfect 7-0 on the road -- Georgia's best start away from home since the 1994-95 NCAA Final Four team began the year 11-0 away from Stegeman Coliseum.
Georgia, which held the potent Missouri offense to its season low in points (50) and field goal percentage (27.6 percent), leads the SEC in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 33.4 percent shooting this year.
The Lady Bulldogs have held 16 teams below 40-percent shooting from the field, owning a 16-0 record against those squads. During Joni Taylor's tenure, Georgia is 21-0 when holding an opponent at or below 50 points.
Junior forward Caliya Robinson has recorded a double-double in four of the last five games. Robinson is the SEC's blocked shots leader with 71 this season. As a team, the Lady Bulldogs have blocked a league-best 136 shots -- a total that is fourth nationally.
Senior guard Haley Clark is coming off a career-high 14 point effort against Missouri. Clark has been one of Georgia's top defenders this season and has scored in double figure against the Tigers and against Mississippi State.
Florida head coach Cameron Newbauer is a familiar name to Bulldog fans. From 2007-12, he was an assistant on Hall of Fame head coach Andy Landers' staff after serving as a Director of Operations on the Georgia men's basketball staff from 2005-07.

Series Information

Overall: Georgia leads, 53-17
In Athens: Georgia leads, 28-5
In Gainesville: Georgia leads, 23-11
Neutral Sites: Georgia leads, 2-1
Current Streak: Florida has won two in a row
Last Meeting: Florida 65, Georgia 58 (2/26/17)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia 105, Florida 62 (1/12/03)
Largest Defeat: Florida 94, Georgia 61 (1/7/98)

Last Time Out

Behind a career-high 14 points from senior guard Haley Clark, the 20th-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team won its sixth-straight game this season with a 62-50 win against No. 11 Missouri Thursday evening at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Lady Bulldogs, now 6-1 in SEC play, did it with defense, holding Missouri (17-3, 5-2) to its lowest point total and field-goal percentage (27.6 percent) of the season. Georgia also forced 18 Tiger turnovers, matching Missouri's most in conference play, and second-highest on the season.

"That was one of our keys for the game," Georgia head coach Joni Taylor said. "They are very talented offensively but we thought that we could bother them with our defensive pressure. (sophomore guard) Taja Cole and (freshman guard) Gabby Connally set the tone and made it really difficult for them."

In addition to her career-high 14 points, Clark added seven rebounds and three assists. Joining Clark was freshman Que Morrison, who led the team with 17 points (7-for-13) and recorded her sixth double-digit scoring output of her career.

"Every night it is a different player and that is the beauty of this team," Taylor said. "That is what I appreciate, everyone is ready to go. All of their buckets are huge and everyone answers the call every time."

Georgia Doing It With Defense

Georgia has held three of its first six SEC opponents to season lows in both points scored and shooting percentage (Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Missouri), and also held Texas A&M to a season low in shooting. During conference play, the Lady Bulldogs rank first in three major defensive categories, including field-goal percentage defense (33.4 percent), 3-point field goal percentage defense (25.4 percent) and blocked shots (62 total, 8.9 per game).

Lady Bulldogs Have Mixture of Youth and Experience

Even though the Lady Bulldogs are led by two veteran players in Mackenzie Engram and Caliya Robinson, three of Georgia's top-5 scorers are actually newcomers. Morrison leads the way with 8.6 ppg, followed by Gabby Connally's 8.1 ppg and Taja Cole's 7.5 ppg. Cole has been a key player at the point guard spot this season and ranks fifth in the SEC in assists with 93 total and 4.7 per game.

Taylor's Team Exceeding Expectations ... A Common Trend

Georgia currently sits in second place in the SEC standings, with still a lot of basketball to be played. But, this year's performance marks a trend for the Lady Bulldogs under head coach Joni Taylor. Georgia was picked eighth in the SEC's preseason poll and so far it looks like the Lady Bulldogs will once again exceed expectations. In Coach Taylor's first year, Georgia was picked ninth and finished sixth (one game out of fourth). In her second season, the Lady Bulldogs were picked 12th and finished eighth.

Engram Just 17 Away From 1,000 Career Points

Georgia senior forward Mackenzie Engram needs just 17 points to have 1,000 in her career. Engram, who leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 13.3 ppg this season, would become one of 38 players in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark for a career. The Powder Springs, Ga., native has stepped up to lead in her senior season with 15 double-figure scoring efforts in 20 games.

Connally Sets Georgia Freshman Record

Georgia freshman guard Gabby Connally put together one of the best single-game freshman performances in school history during her homecoming trip to Texas A&M.

The San Antonio, Texas native scored 37 points, marking the best game by a Georgia rookie against an SEC opponent in the program's illustrious history. Not only was it the best against a league opponent, but it is tied for the third-best game by a Georgia freshman overall only behind Coco Miller's 45 points against Charleston Southern in 1997 and Janet Harris' 39-point effort versus Valdosta State in 1981. Connally scored 15 of her points in the overtime period, knocking in 11-fo-12 free throws during that five-minute stretch.

Robinson Close To A Triple Double

Junior forward Caliya Robinson finished just two blocks shy of a triple-double with 18 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocks against No. 16 Texas A&M last Sunday. Robinson's 19 rebounds ties for the sixth-best total in school history and is the second-best total among all SEC players this season. Her eight blocks are tied for the best single-game total of all conference players this season. The Marietta, Georgia native has now recorded four double-doubles in the last five games.

What A Turnaround

It took just 18 games into the season for the Lady Bulldogs to reach last year's win total of 16 games. It took 30 games for Georgia to reach the 16-win total a season ago, with that victory coming at the SEC Tournament against Auburn.

Quality Wins for Lady Bulldogs

Georgia has eight wins against teams that won 20 or more games and made postseason play a year ago, with the Lady Bulldogs' only two losses coming to top-10 squads Texas and Mississippi State. Georgia, which is ranked 15th in the RPI, has quality wins against Virginia, Mercer, BYU, Georgia Tech, Wright State, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Missouri -- all teams that won 20 or more games in 2016-17. During Joni Taylor's tenure, the Lady Bulldogs have recorded eight wins against top-25 teams, including two this season.

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.

A native of Orlando, Florida, Clark was Georgia's starting point guard in each of the team's 31 games last season. She ranked in the top-5 in the Southeastern Conference in assists per game during league play, averaging 4.7 per contest, with 122 total for the season. On a roster that featured just eight scholarship players, Clark played close to 33 minutes per game after starting just four contests in her previous two seasons combined.

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