University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
26-6
Mercer
30-3
Georgia Advances Past Mercer, 68-63, in NCAA First Round
March 17, 2018 | Women's Basketball
Georgia Faces 5th-Seed Duke at 7 P.M. Monday
Highlights
Press Conference
ATHENS, Ga. – Energized by a passionate home crowd, the Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team downed 13-seed Mercer 68-63 in the NCAA Tournament first round, earning its first NCAA Tournament win under head coach Joni Taylor.
The Lady Bulldogs (26-6, 12-4) secured their second victory of the season over Southern Conference champion Mercer (30-3, 14-0), sweeping the Bears in 2017-18 on the heels of a 72-54 win at Hawkins Arena on Nov. 19, 2017.
"I think it was really special to have Georgia and Mercer play each other – two in-state teams who had incredible seasons," Taylor said. "Special moment for everyone, and we're fortunate to come out on top. Mercer's got a really good team; they battled and they fought really hard. And I was proud of our girls for how they answered that challenge."
Falling in line with a season-long trend, Georgia's frontcourt tandem of senior Mackenzie Engram and junior Caliya Robinson rallied the Lady Bulldogs towards the victory. The two forwards combined for 44 points, 26 rebounds and eight assists.
"I think it goes to the chemistry. I think that it's easy for us to work together," Robinson said. "I think it plays well in the game, which helps us a lot."
The 4th-seeded Lady Bulldogs advance to face 5th-seeded Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET. The Blue Devils (23-8, 11-5) defeated 12-seed Belmont 72-58 in the earlier game of the Athens Regional first round session.
"It's definitely special to be in the NCAA Tournament and play on our home floor," Engram said. "Walking up to the free throw line, I just enjoyed the moment. That's kind of been our message this week: Enjoy where we are, enjoy what we've done. I just kind of took a look around and knew this is it. This is my last run, and to be able to put the game with my free throws that I finally started making, it was a really good feeling."
Mercer jetted out to a 19-18 first quarter lead, led by three 3-pointers by KeKe Calloway. Nonetheless, Georgia exploited the Bears inside with 14 and 10 points from Robinson and Engram, respectively. The pair teamed up for 12-15 shooting in the half to give the Lady Bulldogs a 34-31 halftime edge.
Entering the second half of play, freshman Que Morrison kicked her scoring into gear. She steadied the Lady Bulldogs in the first half with five rebounds and four assists, but only attempted two shots in the first half. The Riverdale native exploded for eight points in the third quarter to pace Georgia to a 52-48 lead before the final period of play.
The Lady Bulldogs held off a fierce comeback by the Bears that cut it to 56-55 with 3:23 left to play, as freshman Gabby Connally drilled a 3-pointer and sank two clutch free throws to help secure a 68-63 victory
"They [Mercer] made it really tough for us, but we felt like we could have an advantage inside, and so we did a really good job of executing that gameplan. I'm happy for our players and the opportunity to survive and advance. That's what March is about," Taylor said.
Monday's game will take place at Stegeman Coliseum and will be broadcast on ESPN2 and is available for live streaming on WatchESPN.com. Tickets can be purchased by calling the UGA Athletics Ticket Office at 706-542-1231 or online at www.georgiadogs.com/tickets. Single-session tickets are $16 and for adults and $10 for students age 18 and under. Georgia students will be admitted for free with a valid UGA student ID.
