Lady Bulldogs Open Road Trip in Nashville

January 03, 2018 | Women's Basketball

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Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia Lady Bulldogs (12-2, 0-1 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt Commodores (4-11, 0-1 SEC)
Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 // 8 p.m. ET
Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) in Nashville, Tenn.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network by IMG // Jeff Dantzler (play-by-play) In Athens: 960 AM and 103.7 FM
Video: SEC Network + (Kevin Ingram — play-by-play, Jessica Mooney Holman — analyst)

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
49-27 (3rd year) at UGA
49-27 (3rd year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	8.3	2.5
5-7; RS-So.; TR; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	12	Haley Clark	4.4	2.5
5-9; Sr.; 3L; Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS
G	23	Que Morrison	8.6	4.5
5-7; Fr.; HS; Riverdale, Ga./McEachern HS
F	33	Mackenzie Engram	12.3	6.4
6-2; Sr.; 3L; Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove HS
F	4	Caliya Robinson	12.0	6.6
6-3; Jr.; 2L; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Vanderbilt Commodores
Coach: Stephanie White
28-27 (2nd year at VU)
28-27 (2nd year) overall
G	00	Kayla Overbeck	7.7	4.6
6-1; So.; Newbury Park, Calif.
G	02	Chelsie Hall	13.7	3.5
5-7; Fr.; Seffner, Fla.
G	03	Rachel Bell	14.7	2.0
5-10; Sr.; Cumberland Furnace, Tenn.
G	33	Christa Reed	9.0	3.3
5-11; Sr.; Bay St. Louis, Miss.
F	24	Autumn Newby	5.8	6.9
6-2; Fr.; Lawrenceville, Ga.

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		VANDERBILT
72.7	Scoring	70.4
45.5%	FG%	44.5%
36.6%	3FG%	38.0%
41.1	Rebounds	33.0
18.2	Assists	14.5
5.9	Blocks	1.8
8.8	Steals	5.9
58.1	Scoring Def.	79.1
35.7%	FG% Def.	45.0%
34.6%	3FG% Def.	37.1%
+5.9	Reb. Margin	-4.3
+2.6	T/O Margin	-2.9
1.2	Ast-T/O Ratio	0.8

Opening Tip - Notes To Know Heading Into The Game

Georgia hits the road for the next two games, with the first stop coming in Nashville, Tenn. to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on SEC Network +.
The Lady Bulldogs have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams. In its last contest in Nashville, Georgia won at Memorial Gymnasium for the first time since 2006 with a 64-58 victory. Last year, Stephanie Paul nailed a buzzer-beater to down the Commodores, 70-68, in Athens.
Georgia has five 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.
Coach Joni Taylor's team is 4-0 on the road this season with wins at Virginia, Mercer, BYU and North Carolina A&T.
Senior forward Mackenzie Engram has been Georgia's leader. She is the Lady Bulldogs' top scorer and has reached double figure point totals in 11 of 14 games, including 20 points against Wright State and a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win against Georgia Tech.
Junior forward Caliya Robinson leads the SEC in blocked shots with 42 this season and needs just four more to pass Tammye Jenkins for seventh place on Georgia's career blocked shots list. Robinson has recorded 159 blocks in just 71 career games played, an average of 2.2 per game.
Three of the Lady Bulldogs' top-5 scorers this season are newcomers. Que Morrison leads the Georgia freshman class with 8.6 ppg, while Maya Caldwell is the team's best 3-point shooter (57.7 percent for the year) and Taja Cole is ranked third in the SEC with 5.0 assists per game.

Series Information

Overall: Georgia leads, 36-27
In Athens: Georgia leads, 19-7
In Nashville: Vanderbilt leads, 13-10
Neutral Sites: Tied, 7-7
Current Streak: Georgia has won four of last five
Last Meeting: Georgia 70, Vanderbilt 68 (1/8/17)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia 75, Vanderbilt 49 (2/27/00)
Largest Defeat: Vanderbilt 80, Georgia 50 (1/16/94)

Last Time Out

Down by 10 at the half, the Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team could not withstand a Mississippi State surge in the second half, as the third-ranked Bulldogs left Athens with an 86-62 victory at Stegeman Coliseum on Sunday.

Veterans Caliya Robinson, Haley Clark and Mackenzie Engram paced the Lady Bulldogs. Robinson led Georgia with 13 points, recording her 10th double-digit scoring output this season. Junior guard Haley Clark posted her first double-digit scoring output of her career, needing only two quarters to record 10 points. Senior forward Mackenzie Engram followed with 10 of her own. Clark and Engram both contributed six and seven rebounds, respectively.

"They have a really good team," Georgia head coach Joni Taylor said. "They are better offensively than they have been, than even last year. They stretch you so much. If you play man, they will go inside. If you double they will kick it out to a shooter. If you play zone they will stretch you. We tried to mix it up and do different things. When they are all hitting, it makes it extremely tough."

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 four 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 15-of-26 (57.7 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 14 games, eight or more players have scored in 12 contests. 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 8.6 ppg.

Lady Bulldogs Bench Shines, Same Starting Five In each game

Georgia's bench play has been impressive this season. The Lady Bulldogs' bench players have outscored their opponents, 380-206, in the first 14 games, an average of 12.4 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 Dec. 28. 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 14 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 12-2 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

A Top-10 Shot Blocker

Robinson has moved into the top-10 of the Lady Bulldogs' career blocked shots leaders. In just 71 games, Robinson has 159 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 71 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.

Morrison's Debut Among Best for UGA Freshmen

Que Morrison's 19-point effort in the season-opener against Wofford puts her name among a prestigious group of Lady Bulldog freshmen. Morrison's total is the most for a Georgia rookie in a season-opening game since Tasha Humphrey scored 25 versus Furman at the beginning of the 2004-05 season. A closer look at the record book shows just how impressive her performance was compared to former Georgia greats.

Freshmen Step Up At Crucial Time

In the final 10 seconds of the game at Virginia it was two freshmen guards that stepped to the line and sealed the game for the Lady Bulldogs. Gabby Connally was fouled with just nine seconds remaining and sunk two-straight to put her team up 62-58. After the Cavaliers hit a long 3-pointer on the next possession, Que Morrison knocked in two-straight free-throws to give her team a 64-61 lead with five seconds remaining.

Georgia Boasts Top Women's Hoops Program

The Lady Bulldogs have boasted one of the top women's basketball programs in the nation over the last three decades. During head coach Andy Landers' 36-year tenure, Georgia ranked No. 2 nationally in both NCAA Tournament appearances (31) and weeks ranked by the Associated Press (522). Georgia is also one of three DI basketball programs to post a winning record every season since women's athletics became under the auspices of the NCAA with the 1981-82 season. The Lady Bulldogs' 32 NCAA Tournament appearances rank second only behind Tennessee for most in the nation.

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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