Georgia Hosts No. 16 Texas A&M in Pivotal SEC Test

Thursday, February 20

Athens, Ga.

7:00 PM

University of Georgia

Texas A&M

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February 19, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Lady Bulldogs (14-11, 5-7 SEC) vs. #16/17 Texas A&M Aggies (20-5, 8-4 SEC)
Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020 | 7 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) | Athens, Ga.
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) WXKT 103.7FM and 960 AM The REF
TV: None
Stream: SEC Network + (Matt Stewart and Christy Thomaskutty)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG
Georgia Lady Bulldogs Possible Starters
Coach: Joni Taylor
95-55 in 5th season at UGA
95-55 in 5th season overall
2	Gabby Connally	12.3	3.4
G; 5-6; Jr.; San Antonio, Texas
23	Que Morrison	7.9	4.4
G; 5-7; Jr.; Riverdale, Ga.
11	Maya Caldwell	10.2	3.6
G; 5-10; Jr.; Charlotte, N.C.
3	Stephanie Paul	6.7	4.5
F; 5-10; Sr.; Naples, Fla.
14	Jenna Staiti	10.1	6.0
C; 6-4; R-Jr.; Cumming, Ga.

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		TEXAS A&M AGGIES
63.0	Scoring	70.5
40.3%	FG%	44.8%
28.3%	3FG%	33.5%
38.3	Rebounds	41.1
13.2	Assists	15.3
4.0	Blocks	3.2
7.5	Steals	7.4
61.4	Scoring Def.	57.9
38.8%	FG% Def.	38.0%
32.2%	3FG% Def.	29.4%
+2.2	Reb. Margin	+7.8
-0.8	T/O Margin	+1.9
0.8	Ast-T/O Ratio	1.1

Game Promotions

Fan Appreciation Day - fans sign up to win prizes throughout the game
Halftime performance by Red Panda

Opening Tip

Georgia hosts the Texas A&M Aggies this Thursday at 7 p.m. ET inside Stegeman Coliseum. The game is available on SEC Network +, with Matt Stewart and Christy Thomaskutty on the call.
Thursday's contest marks Georgia's Fan Appreciation Day. Fans can sign up for prizes throughout the game.
Texas A&M is the ninth top-25 opponent the Lady Bulldogs have played this season. Georgia -- with a strength of schedule that ranks No. 21 nationally -- has played five games against the top-10 teams in the country, including matchups against both No. 1 South Carolina and No. 2 Baylor.
San Antonio native Gabby Connally has played in each of the last two games after missing the Missouri matchup due to injury. Connally led Georgia with 20 points against Texas A&M earlier this year. She averages 25 points per contest in three career meetings against the Aggies.
Georgia outscored Texas A&M 43-29 in the second half during this year's previous meeting in College Station. The Aggies held on for the 64-63 win.
Redshirt-junior center Jenna Staiti is in the best three-game stretch of her career. She has scored in double figures in all three games, including a 24-point effort against Missouri and a double-double of 19 points and 15 boards at Florida. Staiti is averaging 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game over this current three-game stretch.
Junior guard Que Morrison has returned to the player that placed on the SEC Al-Freshman team in 2018. The Riverdale, Ga., native has scored in double figures in three of the last four games.

Series History

Overall: Texas A&M leads, 7-3
In Athens: Texas A&M leads, 3-2
In College Station: Texas A&M leads, 3-1
Neutral Sites: Texas A&M leads, 1-0
Current Streak: Texas A&M has won two-straight
Last Meeting: Texas A&M W, 64-63 (1/30/20)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia W, 69-59 (1/5/17)
Largest Defeat: A&M W, 79-38 (3/27/11)
Full Series History

UP NEXT FOR GEORGIA

Georgia is set for back-to-back road games at LSU and at Kentucky.

LADY BULLDOGS DOWN ALABAMA

Georgia is coming off a thrilling 76-75 overtime win against Alabama this past Sunday. The Lady Bulldogs led by 22 points -- 47-25 -- early in the third quarter before the Crimson Tide staged a furious comeback. Down 75-74, Gabby Connally was fouled on a 3-point attempt and knocked in two free-throws to win the game.

OWNING THE BOARDS

The Lady Bulldogs have owned the rebounding edge in four of the last five games, including contests at Mississippi State and Texas A&M. Georgia is 12-4 this season when owning the rebounding advantage.

TAYLOR APPROACHING 100 WINS

Georgia head coach Joni Taylor is just five wins away from reaching 100 career victories. Taylor is in her fifth season with the Lady Bulldogs after taking over the helm of the program in 2015.

CALDWELL'S SCORING INCREASES

Junior guard Maya Caldwell has scored in double figures in four of the last five games. Caldwell's 17-point effort against Missouri last Thursday marked a career high against an SEC opponent. This came a week after she totaled 15 points at Texas A&M, where she hit 7-of-13 from the field in 33 minutes of action.

DEFENSE TRAVELED TO FAYETTEVILLE

The Lady Bulldogs put together a remarkable performance against one of the nation's top offensive teams on Jan. 23 at Arkansas. Not only was it a season low in points and 31 below the team's average, but the Razorbacks also committed a season-high 20 turnovers. After being down 43-36 in the third quarter, Georgia went on a 19-2 run and outscored Arkansas 28-12 the rest of the way for the win.

SHANIYA PROVIDES SPARK

Georgia guard Shaniya Jones provided a much-needed offensive spark for the Lady Bulldogs, tallying back-to-back double-figure scoring games in wins against Auburn and Arkansas. Jones saw a considerable uptick in playing time, seeing the floor for a career-high 21 minutes against Auburn and then 20 minutes at Arkansas.

OVERCOMING BAD QUARTERS

Georgia has scored in single digits in at least one quarter during 11 games this season. The Lady Bulldogs are 3-8 when having at least one 'bad' quarter in a game, with wins against Auburn, Florida and Alabama.

SIGNEES ENDING STRONG

Georgia signees Sarah Ashlee Barker and Zoesha Smith are each having strong finishes to their prep careers. Barker recently led Spain Park (Ala.) High School to a win against top-ranked Hoover with her 35-point effort. Her team is currently in the Final Four of the state playoffs. Smith, from Brunswick, Ga., was most recently named the GACA Region 2-6A Player of the Year and has led Glynn Academy this season with 20.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game.

NICHOLSON'S FEAT LEADS TO SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONOR

Javyn Nicholson had a strong finish to 2019 and an impressive start to her collegiate career.

The Lawrenceville native became the first Lady Bulldog rookie since Tasha Humphrey in 2004 to record back-to-back double-doubles when she totaled 22 points and 10 boards against Gardner-Webb and 10 points, 10 rebounds versus East Carolina.

FRESHMEN POSTS PLAY WELL IN 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.

FREE-THROW NUMBERS IMPROVE FOR LADY BULLDOGS

As a team, Georgia has hit 80 percent or better from the free-throw line eight 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 third with a 73.1 percent clip.

TOP-25 SUCCESS UNDER TAYLOR

Georgia has won 10 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.

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. 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)

GEORGIA APPROACHING HISTORY

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 994-436 overall record since the 1973-74 season and can become one of just two SEC schools (joining Tennessee) to reach 1,000 victories. The Lady Bulldogs boast a 492-112 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).