Georgia Hosts Mercer On Thursday

Thursday, November 21

Athens, Ga.

7:00 PM

University of Georgia

Mercer

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November 20, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
Georgia Lady Bulldogs (2-1) vs. Mercer Bears (1-3)
Thursday, Nov. 21 | 7 p.m
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) | Athens, Ga.
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network: 960 AM The Ref in Athens (Jeff Dantzler)
TV: None
Stream: SEC Network + (Kaleb Frady and Christy Thomaskutty)

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		MERCER BEARS
64.0	Scoring	64.04
3.0%	FG%	38.7%
42.1%	3FG%	23.7%
39.0	Rebounds	28.8
13.3	Assists	11.8
4.3	Blocks	3.8
6.3	Steals	12.8
64.0	Scoring Def.	81.3
40.7%	FG% Def.	46.5%
44.4%	3FG% Def.	42.6%
+4.7	Reb. Margin	-13.7
-3.0	T/O Margin	+5.2
0.7	Ast-T/O Ratio	0.7

Opening Tip

Georgia is back at Stegeman Coliseum this Thursday to host the Mercer Bears. This is the third of six-straight home games to open the season for the Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Bulldogs have won 23 consecutive meetings between these two programs. Georgia owns a 25-12 lead in the all-time series that dates back to 1974.
Mercer is coached by former Lady Bulldog Susie Gardner, who is in her 10th year with the Bears. Her team has won back-to-back Southern Conference tournament titles, compiling a 55-11 record in the last two years. Gardner played at Georgia from 1983-86 and helped the Lady Bulldogs win three SEC titles in addition to a pair of NCAA Final Four appearances.
Georgia is led by junior guard Gabby Connally, who is averaging 18.3 ppg. She has scored in double figures in all three games this season and has hit the double-figure scoring mark in seven of her last eight contests dating back to last year.
Lady Bulldog redshirt-junior center Jenna Staiti currently ranks third in the SEC with 11.7 rebounds per game.
Redshirt-sophomore Malury Bates has seen action in each of the last two games after recovering from an ACL tear she suffered in last season's game against Mercer. In her first two games back since that season-ending injury she has totaled seven points in 27 minutes of action.

Series History

Overall: Georgia leads, 25-12
In Athens: Georgia leads, 15-5
In Macon: Georgia leads, 10-5
Neutral Sites: Mercer leads, 2-0
Current Streak: Georgia has won 23-straight meetings
Last Meeting: Georgia won, 67-60 (11/28/18)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia won, 102-45 (12/17/07)
Largest Defeat: Mercer won, 90-53 (2/21/75)
Full Series History

Connally Among SEC's Assist Leaders

Georgia's Gabby Connally has moved into the top-10 of the career active assist leaders in the SEC with 181 dimes. This season, the San Antonio native leads the league with 6.0 per game. She is also sixth in the SEC in scoring with her 18.3 points per contest.

Morrison Earns Start

Junior guard Que Morrison earned her first start of the year against Georgia Tech this past Sunday. Morrison, who suffered a knee injury before last season, started the last 11 games of the year during the 2018-19 campaign.

Peach State Players

Georgia's roster features seven players from the state of Georgia. During the initial signing period, the Lady Bulldogs inked Brunswick native Zoesha Smith, who is the 10th Georgian that head coach Joni Taylor has signed during her five years at the helm of the program.

Staying Home

Georgia is in the midst of a six-game homestand to begin the year. The Lady Bulldogs' first trip away from Stegeman will come during Thanksgiving, when the team travels to the Daytona Beach Invitational on Nov. 29-30th. Georgia's first away game is against No. 2 Baylor in Waco, Texas on Dec. 4.

Staiti Starts with Back-to-Back Double-Doubles

Redshirt-junior center Jenna Staiti recorded back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in her career. After scoring 16 points and bringing down 11 boards against Kennesaw State, the Cumming, Ga., native scored 14 and brought down a career-best 15 rebounds in the win against NC A&T. Staiti finished with 7 points and 9 boards against Georgia Tech.

Pair of Two-Sport Stars

Georgia's roster this season features a pair of two-sport athletes -- the Lady Bulldogs' first since ESPN-star Maria Taylor played both basketball and volleyball. Incoming freshman Chloe Chapman plays soccer and basketball, while senior Stephanie Paul will compete on the track team, with her specialty being the discus.

All-Time Lady Bulldog Two-Sport Athletes
Tina Price -- 1975-78 -- Women's basketball/Tennis
Donna Noonan – 1975-77 – Women's basketball/Golf
Beth Timmons – 2000 – Women's basketball/Swimming
Maria Taylor – 2007 -- Women's basketball/Volleyball
Chloe Chapman – present – Women's basketball/Soccer
Stephanie Paul – present – Women's basketball/Track (discus)

Chapman Named to Soccer's SEC All-Freshman Team

Chloe Chapman put together a remarkable year on the soccer field as she led Georgia with six goals on her way to placing on the SEC All-Freshman Team. The Mitchellville, Maryland native was named SEC Freshman of the Week after scoring two goals on the road at Missouri. She also notched Georgia's lone goal in a draw at then-No. 6 Arkansas.

Andiamos Bulldogs! Georgia Embarks on Trip to Italy

Georgia spent 11 days on a foreign tour to Italy this past summer. The Lady Bulldogs were there from July 29-Aug. 7 and took in the sights and sounds of Rome, Florence, Venice and Trieste. Georgia played three games in Italy, winning all three contests. Junior Maya Caldwell led all scorers with 12 points per game.

Lady Bulldogs Set Strength and Conditioning Records

A large focus this offseason has been in the weight room for the Lady Bulldogs. Strength and Conditioning Coach Josh Rucci spent the spring, summer and fall helping the Lady Bulldogs improve physically. The hard work has paid off as this year's squad set new Georgia team records in the one-mile run, the barbell bench press, chin ups, and single-arm kettlebell military press.

Another Top Signing Class

Head coach Joni Taylor and her staff signed another top-15 class. Five-star point guard Chloe Chapman and five-star forward Javyn Nicholson each rank among the nation's top-40 prospects according to espnW, while fellow freshman forward Jordan Isaacs was a highly sought after recruit who was tabbed a four-star player by ProspectsNation.com.

Defensive Dogs

Under head coach Joni Taylor, Georgia has finished in the top-5 of the SEC in both field-goal percentage defense and 3-point field-goal percentage defense in each of the last four years. Below is a closer look at those defensive numbers.

Year	Scoring Def./Rank	FG % Def./Rank	3-pt. FG%/Rank
2015-16	54.1 ppg/1st	35.0%/2nd	24.3%/1st
2016-17	62.4 ppg/8th	36.8%/2nd	28.6%/5th
2017-18	57.6 ppg/2nd	35.1%/1st	29.2%/4th
2018-19	60.1 ppg/5th	37.5%/3rd	29.8%/5th

Georgia Approaching Unique Milestones

Georgia has a long and storied history, dating back to the 36-year tenure of Hall of Fame head coach Andy Landers. As the Lady Bulldogs enter the 2019-20 campaign, the program is nearing its 1,000th win and is also approaching the 500-victory mark inside Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia boasts a 982-429 overall record since the 1973-74 season and can become one of just two SEC schools (joining Tennessee) and one of 14 programs nationwide to reach 1,000 victories. The Lady Bulldogs boast a 486-107 all-time record at Stegeman Coliseum.

Lady Bulldogs Sign Pair of Highly-Touted Prospects

Sarah Ashlee Barker — a guard from Birmingham, Ala. — and Zoesha Smith — a forward from Brunswick, Ga. — have signed national letters of intent with the Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball program. Each are highly-rated recruits who will join the Lady Bulldogs as freshmen, beginning with the 2020-21 season. According to espnW, Barker is a four-star recruit and ranked in the top-25 nationally among guard prospects. The same recruiting service tabbed Smith as the No. 23 overall forward in the nation.

FOLLOW THE LADY BULLDOGS

For more information on the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, follow the team on Twitter (@UGA_WBB), Instagram (@uga_wbb) and Facebook (Facebook.com/UGAWomensBasketball).