Lady Bulldogs Begin Puerto Rico Trip with Morgan State

November 21, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
#24 Georgia (2-2) vs. Morgan State (1-4)
Nov. 22, 2018 | noon ET
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network - 960 AM in Athens (Kaleb Frady)
TV: None
Video: FloHoops.com

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
65-34 (4th year) at UGA
65-34 (4th year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	14.0	6.5
5-8; RS-Jr.; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	2	Gabby Connally	11.5	1.8
5-6; So.; San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis HS
G	11	Maya Caldwell	2.5	4.0
5-10; So.; Charlotte, N.C.
F	3	Stephanie Paul	4.3	5.3
6-1; Jr.; Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples
F	4	Caliya Robinson	11.3	7.5
6-3; Sr.; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		MORGAN STATE BEARS
68.5	Scoring	N/A
44.5%	FG%	N/A
29.9%	3FG%	N/A
44.8	Rebounds	N/A
19.5	Assists	N/A
7.5	Blocks	N/A
7.0	Steals	N/A
55.5	Scoring Def.	N/A
30.7%	FG% Def.	N/A
18.5%	3FG% Def.	N/A
+8.8	Reb. Margin	N/A
-2.7	T/O Margin	N/A
1.1	Ast-T/O Ratio	N/A

Lady Bulldogs Begin Puerto Rico Trip with Morgan State

Georgia flew to Puerto Rico on Monday and has been busy preparing for Morgan State. Thursday's game is slated for a noon ET time start on FloHoops.com. The Lady Bulldogs will play Maryland on Saturday at noon ET.

Series History against Morgan State and Maryland

The Lady Bulldogs have faced off with Morgan State just once, with that meeting coming during the 2014-15 season. Georgia won the contest, 68-36, in Athens. Against Maryland, the Lady Bulldogs lead the all-time series 2-1 and the two teams have not met since 1990. The two played a home-and-home during the 1986 and 87 seasons, with each squad taking victories on their home floors.

Cole Leading the Lady Bulldogs

Redshirt-junior point guard Taja Cole has been the bright spot for the Lady Bulldogs so far this season. The Richmond, Virginia native leads the team in scoring with 14 ppg. Cole has played nearly every minute and came close to recording triple-doubles in back-to-back games with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists against Winthrop and 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists at UCLA. Cole's two double-doubles are the first in her career.

New Faces Getting Playing Time Early

Jenna Staiti, Kaila Hubbard and Caitlin Hose are all averaging around 15 minutes per game and have played pivotal roles for Georgia so far this season. Staiti has hit close to 80 percent of her shots so far this year and leads all newcomers with 6.8 points per game.

Caldwell, Connally Start for First Time

Sophomores Maya Caldwell and Gabby Connally are trying to fill the void left by the injury to starting guard Que Morrison. Connally is the team's second-leading scorer behind Cole with 11.5 ppg.

Georgia Adds Top Prospects to 2019 Signing Class

The initial signing period got off to a strong start for the Lady Bulldogs this week. Mitchellville, Maryland native and five-star guard Chloe Chapman inked with Georgia last Thursday. Chapman is widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the nation. She is the No. 28 overall recruit and No. 7 point guard according to ESPNW.

Later in the week, Georgia announced the signing of Javyn Nicholson, a five-star forward from Lawrenceville, Georgia and Jordan Isaacs from Alpharetta, Georgia.

Cole's 20 a First

Taja Cole's 22 points at UCLA represented the first time in her career that she has gone over the 20-point total in a single game. Her career high in points was coupled with a career high in rebounds with 10 last Wednesday.

Robinson On Numerous Preseason Lists; Lady Bulldogs Picked Near 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 222 blocked shots and needs just 74 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.

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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