Lady Bulldogs Travel to #11 South Carolina

February 13, 2019 | Women's Basketball

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Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (14-9, 5-5 SEC) at #11/14 South Carolina (17-6, 9-1 SEC)
Thursday, Feb. 14| 7 p.m. ET| Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) | Athens, Ga.
Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network - 960 AM and 103.7 FM in Athens (Jeff Dantzler)
TV: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle and Christy Thomaskutty)
SEC Network +

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
77-41 (4th year) at UGA
77-41 (4th year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	10.6	5.3
5-8; RS-Jr.; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	2	Gabby Connally	12.8	2.5
5-6; So.; San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis HS
G	23	Que Morrison	3.0	2.4
5-7; So; Riverdale, Fla./McEachern HS
G	11	Maya Caldwell	4.5	2.9
5-10; So.; Charlotte, N.C./Davidson Day
F	4	Caliya Robinson	14.0	8.2
6-3; Sr.; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
67.3	Scoring	75.9
43.5%	FG%	43.3%
30.7%	3FG%	33.5%
40.3	Rebounds	39.3
16.3	Assists	13.4
6.4	Blocks	6.2
8.1	Steals	9.0
57.8	Scoring Def.	65.2
35.7%	FG% Def.	39.0%
30.1%	3FG% Def.	30.9%
+5.5	Reb. Margin	+2.5
0.0	T/O Margin	+3.0
1.0	Ast-T/O Ratio	1.0

Opening Tip

Georgia heads to Columbia to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks at 7 p.m. ET this Thursday on the SEC Network.
The Lady Bulldogs defeated Florida, 93-58, on Sunday, marking Georgia's highest point total against an SEC opponent in seven seasons (defeated Alabama, 95-83, on Jan. 10, 2013). In all, 10 Georgia players scored against the Gators.
Senior forward Caliya Robinson has recorded double-doubles in back-to-back games with 22 points, 10 rebounds at Auburn and 17 points, 12 rebounds against Florida.
Robinson is second in the SEC this season with 2.3 blocks per game (53 total). She needs just 27 swats to break the Georgia career record (Tawana McDonald - 297 - 1998-02).
Thursday's game features the top two shot-blocking teams in the SEC. Georgia ranks first in blocks with 147 total and 6.4 per game. South Carolina is second with 143 total and 6.2 blocks per contest.
Georgia redshirt-junior point guard Taja Cole is the SEC assist leader by a wide margin. Cole, who totaled 12 assists against Florida, paces the conference with 6.8 per game and 149 total. That total is 30 more than the next closest SEC player (Jazzmun Holmes (119), Mississippi State).
The Lady Bulldogs have lost nine-straight games against South Carolina. Georgia's last win in Columbia came in 2012 -- a 61-59 victory. Prior to the current nine-game skid, Georgia won 33 of the first 40 meetings between the two programs.
Georgia owns a 7-7 mark all time in Valentine's Day matchups, including a 2-0 mark under head coach Joni Taylor.

Series History

Overall: Georgia leads, 33-16
In Athens: Georgia leads, 16-4
In Columbia: Georgia leads, 14-6
Neutral Sites: South Carolina leads, 5-4
Current Streak: South Carolina has won nine straight
Last Meeting: South Carolina won, 71-49 (3/3/18)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia won 78-35 (2/1/97)
Largest Defeat: South Carolina won 72-48 (3/3/17)

Offensive Explosion Against Florida

Georgia shot a season-best 58 percent from the floor against the Florida Gators on Sunday. Eight Lady Bulldogs scored at least eight points a piece, while 10 scored at least a basket in the win. The 93 points were the most against Florida this season and the most for a Georgia team against an SEC opponent since 2013.

Caldwell Catching Fire as of Late

A bright spot for the Lady Bulldogs over the last few weeks has been the play of sophomore Maya Caldwell. She has started in three-straight games and has scored in double figures in three of the last four contests. Prior to this current run, her last double-figure scoring game came against North Florida back on Dec. 28, 2017 - a string of 39-straight contests.

Connally's Feat a First Since Coco

Georgia sophomore guard Gabby Connally scored 21 points and totaled eight assists in the win at Arkansas on Jan 31. She is the first Lady Bulldog since Coco Miller against South Carolina in 2001 to score at least 20 points and total eight assists or more in an SEC road game. Last season, Connally set the Georgia freshman single-game record by scoring 37 points against Texas A&M. That total was just eight shy of Coco's overall school record of 45 points in a single game.

Free-Throw Numbers up for Lady Bulldogs

As a team, Georgia's free-throw numbers are up by nearly 15 percentage points in SEC play compared to non-conference action. Against league opponents, the Lady Bulldogs have shot 75.8 percent from the free-throw line compared to just 61.3 percent against non-conference foes.

Redshirt-junior guard Taja Cole had the biggest jump from 45.2 percent to 81 percent, while Jenna Staiti jumped from just 52.8 percent to 78.9 percent. Gabby Connally is a perfect 18-for-18 at the FT line in SEC play.

Morrison Back in Starting Five

Sophomore guard Que Morrison, who started 32 of Georgia's 33 games during her freshman campaign, has drawn starts in the last four contests. 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 found more time in the lineup.

Robinson Named to Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Midseason 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.

Donnetta Johnson Tabbed 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.

Young Pups - Georgia is SEC's Youngest Team

With eight underclassmen and just four upperclassmen, the Lady Bulldogs are the youngest team in the Southeastern Conference. All seven of Georgia's available freshmen and sophomores (not counting Malury Bates who is out for the year after tearing her ACL) have averaged over 10 minutes played per game.

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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