By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Javyn Nicholson did not expect to be where she was Sunday, sitting in front of some reporters talking about her performance in the Georgia women's basketball team's win over Gardner-Webb. But there the freshman was, smiling after a monster game in the Lady Bulldogs' 84-56 win.

A 6-foot-2 forward from Lawrenceville, Ga., Nicholson had seen action in nine of Georgia's first 11 games heading into Sunday's matchup in Stegeman Coliseum. Her best outing had been against Butler on Nov. 29, when she scored nine points in 16 minutes; she also had six rebounds against Mercer last month.

Against Gardner-Webb, Nicholson dominated inside, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes. She went 9-for-11 from the field in a big, big game that she didn't see coming.

"This wasn't planned, though, so it is a surprise for me," Nicholson said. "I just went out and did it."

When starting forward Stephanie Paul's bad leg was clearly giving her problems inside the first minute of the game, coach Joni Taylor pulled her out and she didn't return. That opened a lot of minutes for a post player off the bench. Nicholson got a lot of those minutes and made the most of her opportunity.

Nicholson scored a couple of quick baskets in the paint in the first quarter and added three more field goals in the second. At the half she had 10 points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot. And it was more of the same in the second — a very enjoyable and satisfying afternoon on the court for a freshman that said she came to Georgia with super-high expectations for herself.

"Well overdue, for me, but it's a relief to know that I'm getting it, I'm getting the rhythm, I'm my flow and I'm getting closer to where I want to be as a player," she said of finally getting a breakout game. "It's a relief."

Those high expectations led to Nicholson putting a lot of pressure on herself.

"I would say at the beginning, just coming in, I had huge expectations for myself — that's just who I am. And when I wasn't reaching the mark, it was discouraging, very discouraging, so this game, it was a relief, just knowing that I am capable of getting 22 and 10 or however many points, just playing up to that level," she said.

Like Nicholson, sophomore Caitlin Hose came off the bench and delivered some fireworks. The 5-8 guard from Hazel Green, Ala., who started earlier this season, poured in 12 points in the second quarter, passing her career high of 10 for a game, and finished with 14 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes.

"It felt good," Hose said, succinctly.

Nicholson smiled when asked about Hose's performance.

"She was shooting the ball, shooting the ball, and we tell her every day in practice, 'Shoot the ball, Cait, shoot the ball,' because that's what we need," Nicholson said. "It opens up the floor and brings the defense out on her and … we love to cheer her on when she makes shots."

There was a lot of cheering going on in that second quarter. Hose started it off with a layup 45 seconds into the 10-minute period, but her big-time quarter was really a big-time four minutes. After that initial layup, she didn't score again until she finished a fast break with another one, with 4:34 left in the half.

Another layup followed about 40 seconds later, then a 3-pointer at the 2:00 mark. Soon after, another 3, capping a 10-point burst in about three minutes.

Taylor was pleased that Hose had a good game offensively — "I'm happy for her, she played well, she shot the ball well — every time it leaves her hands I think it's going in" — but that wasn't the end of the floor that really had her attention.

"She was really good defensively for us," Taylor said. "That's the thing I told her, I was like, 'Caitlin, you've got to turn it up defensively, like you're capable. Especially when your shot's not falling, you've got to be able to defend and get us some steals.'"

Nicholson and Hose weren't the only non-starters to contribute in a big way against the Runnin' Bulldogs: Georgia's bench outscored the starters 55-29. 

"Everybody got to play, everybody contributed, it felt good," Hose said.

Freshman point guard Chloe Chapman, who missed the preseason and early part of the season while still playing on the soccer team, got to play extended minutes, including the entire second quarter. Chapman played a career-high 21 minutes, doing some good things (four points, four assists, four steals) but also showing some areas that need improvement (four turnovers).

"She's still just got to get a feel; it's extremely difficult for a freshman to come in and run the point, and then you factor in all the time that she missed, it's just a feel thing for her, still," Taylor said. "You see when she gets it and pushes it in transition, what she's really good at is eyes up, making the long pass or pushing it, she outruns everybody on the floor. And at that point it comes down to decision-making, she's still got to make better decisions when she's got us put there. And her understanding who she's playing with and who needs the ball where, she still doesn't have a really good grasp of that all the time, so that's where she's got to continue to improve. I know she will."

In all, 12 Georgia players scored as Taylor was able to give her reserves a lot of valuable minutes on the court. Those minutes in December can pay dividends later on in the season, once conference play begins.

"It's really, really important for us," Taylor said, "they need minutes, they need experience, because our freshmen are talented, our young players are talented and we're going to need them in the SEC."

After a short break for Christmas, Georgia returns to action on Dec. 29, at home against East Carolina, and then the Lady Bulldogs open SEC open on the road at Ole Miss on Jan. 2.

John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.