WBB Game Notes: Georgia Travels to Georgia Tech

Sunday, November 29

Atlanta, Ga.

2:00 PM

University of Georgia

Georgia Tech

November 27, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Lady Bulldogs (1-0) vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-0)
Sunday, Nov. 29 | 2 p.m. ET
McCamish Pavilion (8,600) | Atlanta, Ga.
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) WXKT 103.7 FM in Athens
TV: ACC Network (Jenn Hildreth (play-by-play)/Kelly Gramlich (analyst)
Video Stream: ESPN+

JONI TAYLOR - HEAD COACH

SIXTH SEASON // RECORD: 99-58 (.628)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2018 Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach of the Year Semifinalist
Two-time Atlanta Tip-Off Club Georgia College Coach of the Year
2016 Spalding Maggie Dixon National Rookie Coach of the Year
Three WNBA Draft picks
Led Georgia to a 26-7 record in 2017-18, marking the team's most wins in a single season since 2006-07
Georgia hosted the NCAA first and second rounds in Athens for first time since 2003 during the 2017-18 campaign
Five All-SEC honorees and two SEC Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Created the award-winning Beyond Basketball group

Opening Tip Storylines

Following their 83-64 victory at Mercer this past Wednesday, the Lady Bulldogs now make the short drive to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech Sunday at 2 p.m.
Sunday's contest will air on the ACC Network. Jeff Dantzler -- the Voice of the Lady Bulldogs -- will call the action for the Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network. Fans in Athens can listen to the game on WXKT 103.7 FM.
For the first time since the 2002-03 campaign, Georgia is opening a season with three-straight road games. The 2002-03 Lady Bulldogs went 2-1 in the first three games and finished the year in the NCAA Sweet 16.
Georgia owns a 35-7 lead in the all-time series against Georgia Tech and is 12-5 against the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. The two teams have split the last four contests at McCamish Pavilion.
Lady Bulldog senior guard Gabby Connally needs just two points to reach 1,000 in her career. She would be the 40th player in Georgia history to reach that milestone.
Joni Taylor is one win away from reaching the 100-victory mark of her head coaching career. Taylor -- now in her sixth season -- has averaged 19 wins per year as a head coach.
The Lady Bulldogs need just two victories to reach the 1,000 win mark in program history. Georgia is trying to become one of two SEC schools (Tennessee) and one of 16 nationwide to accomplish that feat. Georgia is still one of only three programs -- along with Tennessee and Wisconsin-Green-Bay -- to never have a losing season.
This year's Georgia team returns four senior starters. Each of the Lady Bulldogs' seniors earned their degrees from UGA this past May and all are currently pursuing master's degrees. Overall, the Lady Bulldogs returned 90 percent of their scoring and 88 percent of their rebounding.
Georgia used a balanced offensive effort to defeat Mercer. Every available player saw the floor for the Lady Bulldogs, with three scoring in double figures. Sophomore Javyn Nicholson led the attack, finishing with a team-high 15 points and seven boards.
Senior center Jenna Staiti was one of the most improved players in the SEC a season ago. She scored in double figures in nine-straight games, averaging 19.4 points and 9.4 boards per contest over that span. She scored eight points in just seven minutes against Mercer, sitting for three quarters due to back spasms.

Series History

Overall: Georgia leads, 35-7
In Athens: Georgia leads, 17-1
In Atlanta: Georgia leads, 12-5
Neutral Sites: Georgia leads, 6-1
Current Streak: Georgia Tech has won three of the last four meetings
Last Meeting: Georgia Tech won 73-40 in Athens (11/17/19)
Largest Margin of Victory: 58 points, Georgia won 96-38 in Athens (1/25/75)
Largest Defeat: 33 points, Georgia Tech won 73-40 in Athens (11/17/19)
Full Series History

Best Shooting Effort Since 2009

The Lady Bulldogs finished the Mercer contest hitting 32-of-53 shots (60.4 percent), marking the team's best single-game shooting percentage since March 5, 2009 against Kentucky (63.4 percent) -- a span of 11 seasons.

The Lady Bulldogs knocked in 8-of-10 (80 percent) field goals in the fourth quarter against the Bears. Eight of the 11 Lady Bulldogs who played hit 50 percent or better from the field.

Post Players Shine

Georgia had a steady and deep rotation of post players Wednesday night, using that depth to outscore Mercer 52-24 in the paint.

Javyn Nicholson and Malury Bates combined to make 8-of-11 shots and totaled 28 points and 11 boards to lead Georgia's post players. Jordan Isaacs also had a solid performance with eight points and four rebounds in her first career start.

Nicholson Leads in Opener

Sophomore forward Javyn Nicholson had one of the best games of her career Wednesday night. She led Georgia in scoring with 15 points, with the bulk of of those coming in the fourth quarter. The former five-star prospect hit 3-of-4 shots and finished with nine points in the final 10 minutes of action. It marks the first time she has scored in double figures since last December.

Georgia Returns Experienced Team

The last time Georgia had this much experience on its roster was back during the 2017-18 season when the team went 26-7 on its way to a second-place finish in the SEC standings. In 2018-19, Georgia had the youngest team in the SEC, while last year it had to replace its top two scorers.

The Lady Bulldogs now return over 90 percent of their scoring and 88 percent of their rebounding, including four starters and 10 total letterwinners.

A Closer Look at Staiti's Last Nine Games

Jenna Staiti had one of the best late season stretches of any player in the SEC last season, averaging 19.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. She also posted three double-doubles and five 20-plus point efforts. Staiti's game-by-game breakdown of the last nine games is available on page 5 of the game notes.

Staiti Steady at the Stripe

Jenna Staiti filled up the stat sheet with double-figure scoring efforts and double-doubles in her last nine games of the 2019-20 season. What might have gone unnoticed was Staiti's performance at the free-throw line. Staiti finished the year hitting 89 percent from the stripe -- good for the second-best single season average in Georgia history.

Pair of Lady Bulldogs Approaching Career Top-10

Georgia seniors Gabby Connally and Jenna Staiti are approaching the top-10 of a few Lady Bulldog career categories. Connally is just eight made 3-pointers away from reaching the career top-10. She has totaled 136 made shots from behind the arc in her career. With 118 blocks, Staiti needs four more to move into the top-10 at UGA for career blocked shots.

Chapman Best in the State

Two-sport star Chloe Chapman was named the Atlanta Sports Awards State of Georgia College Athlete of the Year this past summer. Chapman, who also plays soccer at UGA, is just the 11th Bulldog student-athlete to earn the honor. She received over 50,000 votes during the seven-day voting period back in July.

Chapman placed on the 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team in soccer before earning a spot in the lineup on the basketball floor.

Two-Sport Star in Rare Company

Chapman is one of only six Lady Bulldogs to play two sports while at UGA. Below is a list of these elite athletes.

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
Stephanie Paul – 2019-20 – Women's basketball/Track (discus)
Chloe Chapman – present – Women's basketball/Soccer

Building Off Strong Finish

Georgia finished the 2019-20 season on a high note, winning four of its final six regular season games and five of eight overall. Among the big wins during the final stretch was a 73-56 road victory at LSU -- a game in which the Lady Bulldogs led the entire way. Georgia also knocked off Alabama and Florida twice during the stretch-run of the season.

Georgia Seniors Earn Degrees

Each of Georgia's four seniors -- Gabby Connally, Maya Caldwell, Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti -- will wear the SEC graduate patch this season after earning their degrees. The four Lady Bulldogs are all pursuing master's degrees, with Connally focusing on public administration, Cadwell in non-profit management and leadership, and Morrison and Staiti in sport pedagogy.

Morrison Back After Season-Ending Injury

Senior Que Morrison was finally back to her freshman form before her injury last season against Texas A&M. She had successful surgery on Tuesday, Feb. 25 to repair a torn labrum in her right shoulder, bringing her junior campaign to an end.

This summer, Morrison spent time rehabbing her injury. She spent the last few months in quarantine working on her rehab back home in Riverdale, Ga.

Georgia Led League in Honor Roll Selections

The Georgia Lady Bulldogs led all Southeastern Conference basketball teams (women or men) with nine players on the league's Academic Honor Roll this past winter.

Each winter, student-athletes from across the conference are recognized for having a 3.0 GPA or above for either the preceding academic year or a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

The following Lady Bulldogs reached the above criteria. Malury Bates (Human Development, Roanake, Va.), Maya Caldwell (Communication Studies, Charlotte, N.C.), Gabby Connally (Criminal Justice, San Antonio, Texas), Ari Henderson (Civil Engineering, Stone Mountain, Ga.), Caitlin Hose (Financial Planning, Hazel Green, Ala.), Kaila Hubbard (Psychology, Jonesboro, Ga.), Que Morrison (Communication Studies, Riverdale, Ga.), Stephanie Paul (Sport Management, Naples, Fla.) , Jenna Staiti (Human Development, Cumming, Ga.).

One of Peach State's Best Joins 2021 Signing Class

Jillian Hollingshead, a 6-foot-5 forward from Powder Springs, Ga., added to an already impressive 2021 signing class for the Lady Bulldogs. She was the fourth signee of Georgia's class, joining fellow top-40 prospect Reigan Richardson (Huntersville, N.C.) as well as Alina Sendar (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Kimora 'Kimmie' Jenkins (Long Island, N.Y.).

Hollingshead was ranked as the No. 5 forward in the nation according to espnW and was also ranked No. 22 in the ESPN HoopGurlz Terrific 25 for the 2021 class.

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).