Lady Bulldogs Begin Road Trip With Arkansas

January 30, 2019 | Women's Basketball

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Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (12-8, 3-4 SEC) vs. Arkansas (16-5, 5-2 SEC)
Thursday, Jan. 31 | 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT
Bud Walton Arena (19,200) | Fayetteville, Ark.
Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network - 960 AM and 103.7 FM in Athens (Jeff Dantzler)
TV: None
Video: SECN+ (Brett Dolan and Kikko Haydar)

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs Possible Starters
Coach: Joni Taylor
75-40 (4th year) at UGA
75-40 (4th year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	10.8	5.2
5-8; RS-Jr.; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	2	Gabby Connally	12.8	2.3
5-6; So.; San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis HS
G	1	Donnetta Johnson	3.0	2.2
5-11; Fr.; Queens, N.Y./Baldwin HS
F	3	Stephanie Paul	6.6	5.3
6-1; Jr.; Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples
F	4	Caliya Robinson	13.7	7.9
6-3; Sr.; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
65.9	Scoring	74.7
42.2%	FG%	39.1%
29.1%	3FG%	31.2%
40.2	Rebounds	39.6
15.6	Assists	12.0
6.6	Blocks	4.2
8.2	Steals	9.3
57.0	Scoring Def.	66.0
35.9%	FG% Def.	39.4%
30.1%	3FG% Def.	29.4%
+4.7	Reb. Margin	-4.4
+0.6	T/O Margin	+7.1
1.0	Ast-T/O Ratio	1.1

Opening Tip

Georgia hits the road for three of its next four games, beginning with a trip to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Thursday.
The Lady Bulldogs are looking to get back in the win column. After beating Tennessee, 66-62, on Jan. 13 and running out to a 3-1 start in league play, the Lady Bulldogs have lost three-straight games and are 1-5 on the road this season.
Injuries have impacted Georgia this year. The Lady Bulldogs lost starter Que Morrison with a torn lateral meniscus for the first eight games of the season, while sophomore Malury Bates tore her ACL against Mercer and is out for the remainder of the year. Morrison is starting to show signs of her old self and has played increased minutes over the last two games (28 minutes vs. Texas A&M and 32 vs. Alabama).
Georgia -- the youngest team in the SEC with eight players who are either freshmen or sophomores -- is led by lone senior Caliya Robinson. The Marietta, Georgia native averages a team-best 13.7 ppg and 7.9 rpg and is the SEC's active career blocked shots leader with 246. That total is just 34 shy of the Georgia career record of 297 (Tawana McDonald; 1998-2002).
The Lady Bulldogs lead the nation in total blocks with 131 this year and are third in swats per game with 6.6 per contest.
Redshirt junior point guard Taja Cole leads the SEC and is seventh nationally with 6.6 assists per game. Her 125 totals dimes are the most in the conference (ahead of Jazzmun Holmes (MSU) with 103).

Series History

Georgia leads the all-time series against Arkansas, 32-5, including a 13-3 mark in Fayetteville. In the Lady Bulldogs' last trip to Arkansas back in 2017, then-sophomore Caliya Robinson led her team to a 69-66 victory thanks to her 20-point effort. That win broke a five-game losing skid and helped the Lady Bulldogs finish league play with five wins in their last eight games.

Morrison Back in Starting Five Against Alabama

Sophomore guard Que Morrison, who started 32 of Georgia's 33 games during her freshman campaign, drew just her third start of the season against Alabama on Sunday. Morrison was expected to play a large role for the Lady Bulldogs this season but has been limited due to her knee injury. In her place, the freshman trio of Donnetta Johnson, Kaila Hubbard and Caitlin Hose have found more time in the lineup.

Young Pups - Lady Bulldogs are SEC's Youngest Team

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.

Lone Senior Named to Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Midseason Watch List

Lady Bulldog forward Caliya Robinson is one of 15 players nationwide to be named to the prestigious Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Midseason Watch List. Robinson entered her senior season as the only SEC player to rank in the top-20 in points, rebounds, blocks and steals a season ago. This year, she is second in the conference with 46 blocks.

Robinson, Staiti Create Impressive Post Combination

Robinson and redshirt-sophomore Jenna Staiti form one of the top frontcourt tandems in the SEC. Robinson and Staiti rank second and third in the league in blocked shots with Robinson's 46 and Staiti's 41.

Donnetta Johnson Named SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan 14

Georgia freshman guard Donnetta Johnson was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for her performances against Mississippi State and Tennessee. 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.

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 20 games. The Lady Bulldogs' three freshmen have each started at least one game this year, with Donnetta Johnson receiving the nod in eight of the last nine contests.

Strong Road Performance at Mississippi State

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. Georgia also tied MSU in paint points at 42-42. It was only the second time this season that Mississippi State did not lead in the points in the paint category.

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.

Earlier this winter, 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.

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.

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