Georgia Heads West for Meeting with UCLA

November 13, 2018 | Women's Basketball

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Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
#14 Georgia (2-0) at UCLA (1-1)
Nov. 14, 2018 | 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET
Pauley Pavilion (13,800) in Los Angeles, Ca.
Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network - 960 AM in Athens (Jeff Dantzler - The Voice of the Lady Bulldogs)
TV: None
Video: Pac-12 Network (Anne Marie Anderson and Tammy Blackburn)

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
65-32 (4th year) at UGA
65-32 (4th year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	12.0	6.0
5-8; RS-Jr.; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	2	Gabby Connally	8.5	3.0
5-6; So.; San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis HS
G	11	Maya Caldwell	3.5	6.0
5-10; So.; Charlotte, N.C.
F	3	Stephanie Paul	3.0	8.0
6-1; Jr.; Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples
F	4	Caliya Robinson	14.0	8.5
6-3; Sr.; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		UCLA BRUINS
76.0	Scoring	61.0
44.6%	FG%	36.0%
30.2%	3FG%	20.9%
57.0	Rebounds	44.0
21.5	Assists	13.0
8.5	Blocks	4.5
10.0	Steals	6.0
39.5	Scoring Def.	59.5
21.5%	FG% Def.	36.4%
14.3%	3FG% Def.	22.2%
+21.0	Reb. Margin	+4.0
+1.0	T/O Margin	-1.0
1.3	Ast-T/O Ratio	0.7

Georgia Heads West for Early Morning Meeting

The Lady Bulldogs travel roughly 2,300 miles across the country to take on the UCLA Bruins on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET inside historic Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The Pac-12 Network will carry the game with Anne Marie Anderson and Tammy Blackburn calling the action.

Series History: Lady Bulldogs Take on Bruins for Sixth Time

Georgia owns a 3-2 record against UCLA in a series that dates back to 1982. Perhaps the Lady Bulldogs' most significant win against the Bruins came in the Sweet 16 of the 1985 NCAA Tournament. The Teresa Edwards, Janet Harris and Katrina McClain led Lady Bulldogs defeated UCLA, 78-42, before finishing as the NCAA national runner-up.

Balanced Bulldogs Key to 2-0 Record

In each of Georgia's two wins, all 11 available players have seen playing time. Against St. Bonaventure, 10 of the 11 players scored a basket, nine had at least one rebound and nine had at least one assist. On Sunday, Georgia had six players score in double figures led by freshman Kaila Hubbard's 15 points.

Hubbard, Staiti Among Scoring Leaders

Newcomers Kaila Hubbard and Jenna Staiti are third and fourth among Georgia's leading scorers this season. Hubbard is averaging 10.5 points per game, while Staiti has hit a perfect 9-for-9 from the field in her first two games for a 9.5 points per game average.

Built on Defense

Georgia's mantra over the last few years has been Defense Travels. That defense was on full display at Stegeman Coliseum the first two games. Georgia held both opponents to 21 percent shooting from the field. The two wins also marked the 27th time in Coach Taylor's tenure that her team has held an opponent to 50 points or fewer. The Lady Bulldogs are a perfect 27-0 in those games.

Scouting UCLA

Coached by Cori Close, the Bruins enter Wednesday's game with a 1-1 record. Last season, UCLA finished with a 27-8 mark on their way to the NCAA Elite Eight.

UCLA entered the year ranked No. 23 nationally, but lost to Loyala-Marymount before rebounding to win against Rice this past Sunday. The Bruins (1-1) held Rice to just 38.1 percent shooting and scored 19 points off 20 Owl turnovers. UCLA also owned the glass, 37-31, pulling down 18 offensive rebounds on the afternoon. Sophomore Lauryn Miller played big inside, scoring a career-high 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, while redshirt freshman Lindsey Corsaro posted a team-high 12 points.

What's Next for Georgia

The Lady Bulldogs return home late Wednesday and then hit the road to face Tech on Sunday in Atlanta at 2 p.m. ET. Following the battle with the Yellow Jackets, Georgia heads to Puerto Rico the week of Thanksgiving to take on Morgan State and Maryland.

Robinson On Numerous Preseason Lists; Lady Bulldogs Picked in Top of SEC

Georgia senior forward Caliya Robinson was one of 30 players from across the nation to be named to the Wooden Award Watch List and was tabbed to the Katrina McClain Award Watch List, which recognizes the nation's top power forward. Most recently, Robinson was named to the ESPNW top-25 team and the Naismith Award Watch List this past week.

The Marietta native also placed on both the media and coaches' 2018 Preseason All-SEC Team. Robinson has totaled 221 blocked shots and needs just 77 to break Georgia's career record of 297 set by Tawana McDonald.

In the league's preseason poll, media picked the Lady Bulldogs fourth behind Mississippi State, South Carolina and Tennessee. The coaches picked Georgia third behind MSU and South Carolina.

"Anytime you are mentioned among the top seven players in this league, it is a tremendous honor and I am happy for Caliya," head coach Joni Taylor said. "We know that preseason predictions are based largely on what a team accomplished last season and it is not where you start but where you finish. As always, the SEC is going to be highly competitive, and we are focused on getting better in every single thing we do. It's going to be a great season in this conference and we are ready to get started."

Exceeding Expectations Under Taylor

Georgia continued its upward trend under head coach Joni Taylor last season. The Lady Bulldogs finished tied with South Carolina for second place in the final SEC standings after being picked eighth in the preseason poll. It's a trend that goes all the way back to Taylor's first year, when her squad was picked ninth and finished sixth. Then, in 2016-17, Georgia was picked 12th and finished eighth.

Top Scorers Return

Six of the Lady Bulldogs' top seven scorers and 70 percent of the team's scoring returns. The team does lose leading scorer Mackenzie Engram and her 12.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, but returns starters Caliya Robinson (2018 All-SEC Team), Que Morrison (2018 SEC All-Freshman Team) and Taja Cole (sixth in SEC in assists).

More on Robinson ... Lone Senior Among SEC's Best

Robinson is arguably the most complete returning player in the league as the only returner to rank in the top-20 in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals a year ago. Robinson is also one of only two returning players in the SEC, joining Teaira McCowan from Mississippi State, to rank in the top-20 in scoring and top-10 in rebounding last season.

Defense Travels Year In and Year Out

Georgia's mantra over the last few years has been Defense Travels. The Lady Bulldogs put up impressive defensive numbers last year, finishing first in the SEC in field-goal percentage defense (35.1 percent), second in blocked shots (196), second in turnovers forced (18.6 per game) and second in scoring defense (57.6 ppg). Those defensive numbers are reflective of Coach Taylor's first three seasons as head coach. In her tenure, Georgia is 25-0 when holding opponents to 50 points or less and has been one of the leading defensive teams in the league.

Most Wins Since 2013

The team's 26-7 overall record last year marked Georgia's most wins in a single season since 2012-13. The Lady Bulldogs stormed out to a 12-1 start at the conclusion of non-conference play and then defeated three ranked SEC opponents to finish with a 12-4 league record.

Among the Lady Bulldogs' most impressive wins was a 92-84 overtime win at Texas A&M and two victories against Missouri. The 12 wins in league play marked the most for Georgia since the team made the Elite Eight in 2012-13.

Georgia Set for Primetime

Eleven of Georgia's 16 SEC games are set to air nationally on either ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU or the SEC Network.

Among the games selected for television, ESPN will carry the Lady Bulldogs' home contest against Tennessee on Jan. 13 at 3 p.m. Georgia will also host Alabama (Jan. 27, 2 p.m.) and Florida (Feb. 10, noon) on ESPNU and Texas A&M (Jan. 20, 4 p.m.) on ESPN2.

Georgia's SEC Network schedule includes road matchups at Mississippi State (Jan. 10, 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT), Missouri (Jan. 17, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT), Auburn (Feb. 3, 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT), South Carolina (Feb. 14, 7 p.m.) and Alabama (Feb. 24, 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT).

The SEC Network will also broadcast home games against Ole Miss on Monday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. and Kentucky on Sunday, March 3 at 1 p.m.

Taylors Expecting Second Child

Jacie Taylor will be gaining a new brother or sister this spring as Coach Taylor and her husband Darius are expecting their second child. The baby is due to come sometime in the month of February. Taylor will still coach this season, but any head coaching duties during her absence will be handled by associate head coach Karen Lange. During Taylor's last pregnancy, Lange coached the first six games of the 2016-17 season, going 4-2 during that span.

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