Georgia Treks to Missouri For SEC Matchup

January 16, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (12-5, 3-1 SEC) vs. Missouri (14-4, 3-1 SEC)
Thursday, Jan. 17 | 7:02 p.m. ET
Mizzou Arena (15,061) | Columbia, Mo.
Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network - 960 AM in Athens (Jeff Dantzler)
TV: SEC Network (Paul Sunderland and Nell Fortner)
SEC Network +

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
75-37 (4th year) at UGA
75-37 (4th year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	11.2	5.3
5-8; RS-Jr.; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	2	Gabby Connally	13.3	2.2
5-6; So.; San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis HS
G	1	Donnetta Johnson	2.8	2.1
5-11; Fr.; Queens, N.Y./Baldwin HS
F	3	Stephanie Paul	7.4	5.5
6-1; Jr.; Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples
F	4	Caliya Robinson	13.8	7.9
6-3; Sr.; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		MISSOURI TIGERS
68.6	Scoring	80.4
68.5	Scoring	66.1
43.5%	FG%	44.1%
30.5%	3FG%	33.7%
41.6	Rebounds	37.2
16.4	Assists	14.2
6.8	Blocks	3.5
8.1	Steals	5.9
55.6	Scoring Def.	56.3
34.8%	FG% Def.	35.6%
27.5%	3FG% Def.	28.0%
+7.0	Reb. Margin	+4.5
+0.3	T/O Margin	-2.7
1.0	Ast-T/O Ratio	0.9

Opening Tip

Georgia travels to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Missouri Tigers this Thursday at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. The game will be carried live on the SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Nell Fortner on the call.
The Lady Bulldogs overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat the No. 13-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols on Sunday. Georgia held the Lady Vols to a season-low 62 points in the win.
Georgia is receiving votes in this week's Associated Press poll after last week's performances. In addition to the win against Tennessee, the Lady Bulldogs led No. 6 Mississippi State with just six minutes to go in Starkville, before falling, 80-71. It is only the second time this season that MSU has trailed in the fourth quarter.
Senior forward Caliya Robinson has stepped up in each of the last two games, averaging 21 points and six rebounds over that span. Against Tennessee, Robinson recorded a season-high six blocks and a season-best five assists.
Part of Robinson's success can be credited to the play of redshirt sophomore center Jenna Staiti, who has scored in double figures in five of the last six games. Staiti and Robinson are tied for third in the league with 38 blocks each.
The Lady Bulldogs are looking to improve their record on the road this season. Georgia is a perfect 10-0 at home, but just 1-4 on the road. The Lady Bulldogs' lone victory came against Vanderbilt, 71-64, on Jan. 6.

Series History

Overall: Georgia leads, 8-4
In Athens: Georgia leads, 4-1
In Columbia: Tied, 2-2
Neutral Sites: Georgia leads, 2-0

Series Breakdown

Georgia has won each of the last two and three of the last four meetings against Missouri. The two teams last met in the quarterfinals of the 2018 SEC Tournament, with Georgia winning 55-41 behind a stout defensive effort. In that game, Sophie Cunningham was held to just seven points (as her team shot just 27 percent), while then-Georgia freshman Que Morrison led all scorers with 16.

Georgia Leads Nation in Blocked Shots

The Lady Bulldogs enter Thursday's game as the No. 1 shot-blocking team in the country. Georgia's post players have combined to swat a nation-leading 116 total shots this year, just ahead of Mississippi State's 115 (second nationally) and South Carolina's 113 blocks (third nationally).

Robinson, Staiti Create Impressive Post Combination

Georgia senior Caliya Robinson and redshirt-sophomore Jenna Staiti form one of the top frontcourt tandems in the SEC. Robinson is the SEC's active career blocked shots leader with 256, while her and Staiti are tied for third in the conference this season with 38 blocks each.

In the last six games, Staiti is shooting 58 percent (29-of-50) from the floor and 67 percent (4-of-6) from 3-point range to average 12.3 ppg.

Cole Becoming Elite Point Guard

Georgia redshirt junior guard Taja Cole, who is on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for the nation's top point guard, leads the Southeastern Conference and is eighth nationally in assists with 6.6 per game. With 112 total assists this season, she has 23 more dimes than the next closest SEC player (Jazzmun Holmes (MSU), 89).

D. Johnson Named SEC Freshman of the Week

Georgia freshman guard Donnetta Johnson was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for her performances against Mississippi State and Tennessee last week. She scored five points in each game -- all coming at crucial moments.

Against Mississippi State, she scored five-straight in the third quarter to cut a seven-point deficit down to two, while her five points against Tennessee came off a 3-pointer and a layup that jump started a 13-4 Georgia run and allowed her team to climb back in the game.

SEC's Youngest Team Starting to Jell

With eight underclassmen and just four upperclassmen, the Lady Bulldogs are the youngest team in the Southeastern Conference. All eight of Georgia's freshmen and sophomores have seen valuable playing time as each has averaged over 10 minutes played per game. Sophomore Malury Bates, who was averaging 16.1 minutes played per contest, is out for the year with a torn ACL.

First Starts for Numerous Lady Bulldogs

Georgia has used six players that had never started a game prior to this season in this year's starting lineup. Among those is sophomore guard Gabby Connally, who has started each of Georgia's 17 games. The Lady Bulldogs' three freshmen have each started at least one game this year, with Donnetta Johnson receiving the nod in five of the last six contests.

Georgia One of SEC's Best Defensive Teams

Georgia paces the SEC in field-goal percentage defense, holding teams to just 34.8 percent shooting from the floor. The Lady Bulldogs rank second in both 3-pt. field-goal percentage defense (27.5 percent) and scoring defense (55.6 ppg).

Lady Bulldogs Add Top Prospects in 2019 Signing Class

The initial signing period was a good one for the Lady Bulldogs as Georgia signed three players who are among some of the best in the nation. Currently, the Lady Bulldogs' 2019 class ranks 14th overall by ESPNW.

Mitchellville, Maryland native and five-star guard Chloe Chapman was the first to ink with Georgia. Chapman, a five-star prospect, is the No. 28 overall recruit and No. 7 point guard according to ESPNW. Later in the week, Georgia announced the signing of five-star forward Javyn Nicholson from Lawrenceville, Georgia. Nicholson is ranked No. 6 among the country's top power forwards. Another Georgia native, Jordan Isaacs from Alpharetta, rounds out Georgia's class. She is a five-star player according to Prospects Nation and No. 14 overall forward according to ESPNW.

Last week, Georgia inked Virginia Tech transfer Shaniya Jones, who was a four-star guard in the 2018 class. She is on campus and will be an eligible sophomore at the conclusion of the 2019 fall term.

Georgia Has Led in All Five Losses

In each of Georgia's five losses this season, the Lady Bulldogs have led in the game. Against UCLA, Georgia built a 12-point advantage and led for over 30 minutes. Against Georgia Tech, the Lady Bulldogs led by five points, while they built a late second-half advantage against both top-10 teams Maryland and Mississippi State. Against Villanova, the Lady Bulldogs led by seven in the first quarter. In five losses, Georgia was outscored in the fourth quarter, 95-70.

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.

All 14 SEC Universities Achieve Elite Carnegie Research Status

For the first time in the history of the Southeastern Conference, all 14 member universities have been designated as doctoral universities with the highest level of research activity by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, the SEC announced earlier this week.

This top designation, historically known as Research 1 or R1, recognizes the nation's most elite research universities. According to Carnegie Commission data, fewer than three percent of all U.S. educational institutions are included in the classification, and the SEC is one of only four NCAA conferences with all its members in the top category.

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