Lady Bulldogs Face Lady Vols in Knoxville

Georgia Lady Bulldogs (10-6, 1-2 SEC) vs. #23/24 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (12-3, 2-1 SEC)
Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020 | 1 p.m. ET
Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) WXKT 103.7FM and 960 AM The REF
TV: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck)
Stream: SEC Network +

No.	Name	PPG	RPG
Georgia Lady Bulldogs Possible Starters
Coach: Joni Taylor
91-50 in 5th season at UGA
91-50 in 5th season overall
2	Gabby Connally	12.8	3.3
G; 5-6; Jr.; San Antonio, Texas
23	Que Morrison	6.4	4.4
G; 5-7; Jr.; Riverdale, Ga.
11	Maya Caldwell	9.9	3.4
G; 5-10; Jr.; Charlotte, N.C.
3	Stephanie Paul	6.9	4.3
F; 5-10; Sr.; Naples, Fla.
14	Jenna Staiti	10.1	5.9
C; 6-4; R-Jr.; Cumming, Ga.

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		TENNESSEE LADY VOLS
64.6	Scoring	75.4
41.1%	FG%	45.1
%28.8%	3FG%	31.5
%39.5	Rebounds	51.1
13.9	Assists	18.1
3.9	Blocks	6.9
7.5	Steals	6.1
59.3	Scoring Def.	54.6
36.7%	FG% Def.	30.0%
32.9%	3FG% Def.	26.2%
+3.5	Reb. Margin	+16.9
-0.9	T/O Margin	-2.9
0.8	Ast-T/O Ratio	1.1

Opening Tip

Georgia travels to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Lady Volunteers this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The game will be televised nationally on the SEC Network, with Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck on the call.
The Lady Bulldogs have won two of the last three meetings between these programs, but have not won in Knoxville since Dec. 8, 1996 -- a 94-93 overtime victory for Georgia. That marks a string of 14-straight losses at Tennessee.
Georgia had won seven of its last nine games this season before its two-game slide against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. Three of Georgia's six losses are against teams ranked 13 or higher in the latest Associated Press poll (No. 6 Baylor, No. 8 UCLA and No. 13 Mississippi State).
Redshirt-junior center Jenna Staiti is coming off one of the best games of her career. She scored 18 points and brought down 11 boards against Vanderbilt on Thursday. Staiti has three double-doubles this season after only recording one in her first two collegiate seasons.
Senior forward Stephanie Paul leads the Lady Bulldogs in SEC play, averaging 11.3 points per game against league opponents.
Junior guard Que Morrison played 33 minutes against Mississippi State and 38 versus Vanderbilt. Morrison has registered back-to-back double-figure scoring games with 14 against the Bulldogs and 11 against the Commodores.
Freshman forward Javyn Nicholson has been a bright spot for Georgia. She has brought down six or more rebounds in six games this season.

Series History

Overall: Overall: Tennessee leads, 50-17
In Athens: Tennessee leads, 14-10
In Knoxville: Tennessee leads, 22-4
Neutral Sites: Tennessee leads, 14-3
Current Streak: Georgia has won two of the last three
Last Meeting: Georgia W, 66-62 (1/13/19)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia W, 78-51 (1/17/00)
Largest Defeat: Tennessee W, 102-43 (1/28/98)
Full Series History

Scouting Tennessee

The Lady Vols are in their first season under the leadership of head coach Kellie Harper. Tennessee is 12-3 overall and 2-1 in SEC play with league wins against Missouri and Ole Miss. Behind Rennia Davis' team-high 17 points, the Lady Vols dispatched of the Ole Miss Rebels, 84-28, Thursday night in Oxford. Davis leads the team in both scoring and rebounding with 17.4 points and 8.7 boards per contest.

Last Time Out Against Tennessee

A hot second-half shooting performance led the Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team to a 66-62 comeback win against the No. 13-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols last January in Athens.

After trailing by 12 at halftime, Georgia scored 25 points in the third period to snag the lead and eventually the win. Of the Lady Bulldogs' 25-point third period, then-redshirt-junior Taja Cole accounted for nine points, while Stephanie Paul and Gabby Connally added four points a piece in the third period.

Up Next for Georgia

Following the game against Tennessee, Georgia will have a week off before hosting Auburn at 2 p.m. ET next Sunday. The Lady Bulldogs then face Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Mississippi State in consecutive games.

Paul Paces Georgia to Begin SEC Play

Senior forward Stephanie Paul led Georgia in scoring in each of the first two SEC contests, scoring 18 points at Ole Miss and 15 against Mississippi State. Paul played a season-high 33 minutes against MSU.

Lady Bulldogs Fall Late to Mississippi State

Georgia trailed Mississippi State by just one point -- 48-47 -- going into the fourth quarter last Sunday. MSU began the fourth period on an 8-0 run to close the game. The Lady Bulldogs shot a season-best 51 percent from the floor in the loss. Georgia then shot just 33.3 percent against Vanderbilt -- the Lady Bulldogs' second-worst percentage of the year.

Free-Throw Improvement

As a team, Georgia has hit 80 percent or better from the free-throw line six times this season. The Lady Bulldogs only hit that 80 percent mark six times all of last season (30 games) . After finishing the 2018-19 campaign ranked 12th in the SEC in free-throw percentage, Georgia is currently ranked second with a 73.8 percent clip.

Winning Trends

The Lady Bulldogs are 8-0 when leading at halftime and 9-1 when winning the rebounding battle this season. The team averages 51.2 points per game in six losses, compared to 72.7 points per game in 10 wins.

Freshmen Posts Play Well in SEC Opener

Freshmen forwards Javyn Nicholson and Jordan Isaacs played valuable minutes in the first SEC game of their careers against Ole Miss on Jan. 2. Isaacs knocked in two shots in the second half, each giving Georgia the lead in a tie game. Nicholson played 25 minutes, including all 10 in the fourth quarter, and finished with nine boards. She has totaled nine or more boards in three games this season.

SEC's Youngest team Continues to Grow

With eight players who were either freshmen or sophomores, last year's Lady Bulldog basketball team was the youngest in the Southeastern Conference. This year's squad is starting to jell as Georgia's lineup has featured 11 players that have played in 14 or more games this season.

Shaniya Shines

It was quite the debut for redshirt-sophomore guard Shaniya Jones this past Sunday against Furman. Jones came off the bench to score 11 quick points in the second quarter, knocking down four of her first five shots in the period. Jones finished with 20 points in just 14 minutes of action against the Paladins.

The High Point, N.C., native was a highly-regarded, top-100 player out of high school and transferred to Georgia from Virginia Tech in January, 2019.

Connally Earns SEC Player of the Week

Gabby Connally averaged 18.5 points per game, hit 12-of-22 shots (54.5%) from the field, 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line in wins against Butler and Virginia Tech. Those performances helped the San Antonio native earn SEC Player of the Week.

Top-25 Success Under Taylor

Georgia has won nine games against top-25 opponents during head coach Joni Taylor's tenure. Georgia's last win against a top-10 team in Athens came in Coach Taylor's first season, when the Lady Bulldogs knocked off No. 10 Mississippi State, 47-43.

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 will be the 10th Georgian that head coach Joni Taylor has signed during her five years at the helm of the program.

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, Md., 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.

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).

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Players Mentioned

Maya Caldwell

Chloe Chapman

Jordan Cole

Taja Cole

Gabby Connally

Shaniya Jones

Que Morrison

Javyn Nicholson

Stephanie Paul

Jenna Staiti

University of Georgia Athletics