University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
26-7
Duke
24-8
Georgia Ends Season Against Duke, 66-40
March 20, 2018 | Women's Basketball
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ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team finished its groundbreaking 2017-18 season on Monday night, falling to No. 5 seed Duke 66-40 in the NCAA Tournament Second Round at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs end their season with a 26-7 overall record, the best finish for the team since the 2012-13 season, during which Georgia reached the Elite 8 with a win over No. 1 seed Stanford. The team also earned its first NCAA Tournament win under head coach Joni Taylor this year, notching a 68-63 win over Mercer on Saturday in its first host bid in Athens since 2003.
Despite a predicted 8th-place finish in the Southeastern Conference before the season, the Lady Bulldogs finished tied-2nd in league standings, reached the SEC tournament semifinals and tied the most league wins (12) the program has ever earned in one season.
"I think this year we snuck up on some people," Taylor said. "Outside of our program, I don't think anyone thought we would win 26 games, been ranked, and hosted at home. We all thought that was possible. So now, teams know what we're capable of, and we have to work even harder to continue to get better. This is now the standard for our program."
Junior forward Caliya Robinson keyed the Bulldogs with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Robinson, one of 10 finalists for the 2018 Katrina McClain Award, returns for her senior year next season. She is one of six Lady Bulldogs returning next year among the team's top seven scorers.
Though the Blue Devils jumped out to an early 10-5 lead by the under-five minute media timeout in the first quarter, the Lady Bulldogs rallied to tie the game at 10. Though Duke then earned a lead they would never relinquish, Georgia freshman guard Gabby Connally knocked down a jumper at the end of the first period to make it 15-12.
Duke then clamped down defensively, holding Georgia to just two points in the second quarter towards a 35-14 halftime lead. The Lady Bulldogs regrouped in the second half, led by Robinson's nine points and 10 rebounds in the second half, which was complemented by five points and six boards by freshman forward Malury Bates. However, the lead proved insurmountable, as Duke notched a 66-40 victory.
With the season's close, three seniors with fundamental impacts to the Georgia program have played their final game for the Lady Bulldogs. Forward Mackenzie Engram and guard Haley Clark earned their last career starts, while guard Simone Costa came off the bench to sink her final 3-pointer.
"This team, we're so close," Engram said. "I'm not sad that we lost, I'm sad that I'll never get to play with her (Haley Clark) again. I'm sad that this was my last time putting Georgia on my chest. Playing in the Steg, I'm so proud of what we've done and like Coach Joni said, this game doesn't define us."
