WBB Game Notes: Storied SEC Programs Meet at Stegeman

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

#13 Georgia Lady Bulldogs (15-3, 4-2 SEC) vs. #5 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (17-1, 6-0 SEC)
Sunday, Jan. 23 | 2 p.m. ET
Athens, Ga. | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) 960 AM The Ref, WXKT 103.7 FM | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network (Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
History: UT 51-19 (Full History)
Last Meeting: W 57-55 (2/21/2021)

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS
Ranking: #17 (AP) #15 (Coaches)
Head Coach: Joni Taylor
Career Record: 132-66 (7th season)
Record at Georgia (7th season): Same

TENNESSEE LADY VOLS
Ranking: #5 (AP) #6 (Coaches)
Head Coach: Kellie Harper
Career Record: 340-227 (17th season)
Record at UT: 55-19 (3rd season)

GEORGIA (Natl. Rank)	2020-21 STATISTICS	TENNESSEE (Natl. Rank)
73.3 (48)	POINTS PER GAME	72.0 (64)
57.3 (50)	SCORING DEFENSE	54.4 (20)
.449 (35)	FG PERCENTAGE	.425 (95)
.375 (94)	FG PERCENTAGE DEFENSE	.306 (1)
.321 (124)	3-PT. FG PERCENTAGE	.303 (181)
.292 (129)	3-PT. FG PERCENTAGE DEFENSE	.251 (17)
.730 (99)	FREE-THROW PERCENTAGE	.623 (332)
42.1 (33)	REBOUND AVERAGE	50.4 (1)
+8.2 (24)	REBOUND MARGIN	+16.6 (2)
17.2 (19)	ASSISTS PER GAME	15.5 (53)
+2.8 (79)	TURNOVER MARGIN	-2.6 (297)
9.2 (95)	STEALS PER GAME	6.8 (275)
6.3 (7)	BLOCKS PER GAME	6.1 (9)

Game Promotions

Head Coach Joni Taylor will be honored before the game for her effort in leading the USA Basketball U19 Team to a gold medal in the World Cup last summer.
We Back Pat - Fans are encouraged to wear purple to honor Pat Summitt as part of the SEC's We Back Pat week.
Students from Clarke and Oconee counties who read more than 15 books or 600 mins of reading received a free ticket and t-shirt. Participants can sign up for a chance to win prizes throughout the game.
Halftime Toddler Trot!

Opening Tip

Georgia is back home to host the No. 5-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET inside Stegeman Coliseum. The matchup will be carried nationally on the SEC Network.

Sunday's contest features the two winningest programs in SEC history. Tennessee leads the SEC with 1,418 wins in 77 years, while Georgia ranks second with 1,033 victories in 48 seasons.

The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Vols are two of only three teams (Wisconsin Green Bay is the other) to have a winning record every season since 1980.

Georgia has won two-straight and four of the last six games overall against Tennessee. The Lady Bulldogs are looking for their first three-game win streak in the series since a trio of victories from 1984-86.

Stegeman Coliseum will be a welcome sight for Joni Taylor's team. Georgia has played four of its last five games on the road, sporting a 3-1 record in those away contests.

Georgia used a 25-0 run to build a 27-point lead against Mississippi State on Thursday. The Lady Bulldogs held off a furious MSU comeback for a 66-63 win.

As they have done most of the season, Georgia's bench played a major role in the win against Mississippi State, outscoring the Bulldogs' bench 21-0.

Que Morrison scored in double figures for the 14th time in 18 games this season with her 14-point effort against MSU. Mikayla Coombs tied a season high with 13 points to go with a career-best nine rebounds against the Maroons.

The Lady Bulldogs are in search of their second top-5 win of the season. Georgia defeated No. 2 NC State in Raleigh back in December.

Sunday's game is Georgia's annual We Back Pat contest, honoring the legacy of former Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt.

Better Starts for Bulldogs

Georgia has stormed out to strong starts in each of the last two games, outscoring Missouri and Mississippi State 46-17 in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs hit 64 percent from the field in the first period against Mizzou and knocked in 53 percent in the first 10 minutes against the Bulldogs from Starkville.

Road Dawgs

The Lady Bulldogs own a 7-1 record in games played away from home this season, highlighted by wins against No. 19 Notre Dame and No. 2 NC State.

Shining at the Line

This year's Georgia team leads all SEC squads with a 73 percent shooting effort from the free-throw line. In fact, the Lady Bulldogs have hit over 80 percent from the charity stripe in each of the last four games. Staiti and Morrison each rank in the top-5 of the SEC in free-throw percentage.

SEC's Most Unselfish

Georgia paces the SEC and ranks No. 19 nationally with 17.2 assists per game. Georgia has totaled 310 assists on 520 made field goals this season -- an average of 60 percent.

Staiti Adds to National Honors

Jenna Staiti is being recognized as one of the top players in all of basketball. She has been tabbed to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List, the Naismith National Player of the Year Watch List and recently landed on the Wooden Award Top-25 Watch List. She has already totaled five double-doubles this season and has reached double figures in scoring in all but three contests.

The QUE (En) Does it All

Que Morrison -- the 2021 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection -- is literally doing it all. If you look at an SEC stat sheet, you will find Morrison's name in nearly every statistical category.

Over the course of the season, Morrison has hit big shot after big shot to carry her team. She has scored in double figures 14 times, has totaled 20 or more points on four occasions, recorded three or more steals seven times and three or more assists in every single game.

Coombs Swipes the Irish

Senior guard Mikayla Coombs nearly set the school record with eight steals in the win against Notre Dame -- a total that was just two shy of the school record. Coombs recorded six steals in the first quarter alone to lead her team in the early going.

On A Roll

Georgia has won 23 of its last 29 games dating back to last season. During the stretch going back to Feb. 4, 2021, Georgia has defeated five ranked teams, including No. 2 ranked Texas A&M and second-ranked NC State.

Barker's Bomb Shocks NC State

Sarah Ashlee Barker nailed a 25-foot heave at the buzzer to send the game against NC State into overtime. Barker finished with a career-best four 3-point field goals in the win, including back-to-back three's late in the game to stop a NC State rally.

No. 3 Heats up from 3

Barker has drastically improved her shooting from behind the arc throughout the course of the season. In the first four games, she hit just 2-of-14 (.143) from behind the arc, but has knocked in 46 percent (15-of-35) over the last nine contests.

Overtime Success

Georgia improved to an impressive 9-2 overall in overtime games under head coach Joni Taylor. In fact, Georgia has won four-straight and nine of its last 10 OT contests.

Down Goes No. 2

Georgia's win at then No. 2-ranked NC State marked the program's first true road win against a top-25 team in program history. The victory ended the Wolfpack's 10-game win streak.

Many Contributors

Georgia's bench has outscored its opponents by a 434-185 margin, an average of 14 points per game, this season. Every available player has touched the floor in six of the team's 18 games.

Bulldog Block Party

The Lady Bulldogs set a new school record with 18 blocks in the win against Alabama State on Nov. 21. That total broke a 34-year old record from 1987, when Georgia had 16 against Mercer. The Lady Bulldogs' 18 swats are tied for the second-most in a game in SEC history.

Offensive Improvement

Head Coach Joni Taylor and her staff implemented a new offensive philosophy prior to the 2020-21 season with the goal of playing a more up-tempo style with defensive pressure.

That move has paid dividends. Since last season, Georgia has scored over 90 points four times. The Lady Bulldogs scored over 90 points just four times combined in the five seasons prior.

UGA Seniors Earn Degrees

For the second-straight year, each of Georgia's seniors have already earned their college degrees. Malury Bates (sociology), Mikayla Coombs (sport management), Que Morrison (communication studies) and Jenna Staiti (human development and family science) have all graduated from the University of Georgia.

A Healthy Dose of Que

After suffering a string of injuries in her career, Morrison finally experienced a full healthy season for the Lady Bulldogs.

Here is a look back at some of the adversity Morrison has overcome.

The defensive stopper placed on the SEC All-Freshman Team after drawing 32 starts on Georgia's NCAA tournament team. Then, in her sophomore campaign, Morrison missed the first eight games due to a torn meniscus in her left knee. In 2019-20, she had an injury to her foot before the year began. She then suffered a torn labrum in her right shoulder to end her junior campaign midway through SEC play.

Coombs Takes on Leadership Roles

Mikayla Coombs — a native of Buford, Ga. — was selected by her peers to serve as the vice chair of the SEC Women's Basketball Leadership Council. As one of four elected officers, she will participate in various meetings throughout the year to provide feedback to Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators and Faculty Athletics Representatives.

This news came after she was chosen as the only student-athlete representative on the NCAA competition committee. Coombs graduated with a degree in sport management from the University of Georgia and is currently pursuing a master's in the same program. She was named a UGA Presidential Scholar in 2020, has placed on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll three times and made the Dean's List in 2021.

Coaching Consistency

Georgia has one of the longest tenured staffs in the SEC. With the return of Karen Lange, Chelsea Newton and Robert Mosley, Georgia is the only team in the conference to not have a single coaching change at any level -- head coach or assistant coach -- over the past six years.

Chapman Sticks with Basketball

Junior guard Chloe Chapman played two seasons with the Georgia soccer team, but after spending two years as a dual-sport athlete, she will now focus on just basketball. The Mitchellville, Md., native was a consensus top-40 prospect and was rated as the No. 8 overall point guard in the nation coming out of high school.

Georgia Freshmen Already Making History

Lady Bulldog freshmen Reigan Richardson and Jillian Hollingshead were both named McDonald's All-Americans, marking the first time in Georgia history the program has signed two McDonald's All-Americans in one class. Hollingshead and Richardson are the 11th and 12th McDonald's All-Americans to sign with the Lady Bulldogs and are the first to commit right out high school since Ronika Ransford in 2010. Current Lady Bulldog Mikayla Coombs was a McDonald's All-American in 2017.

A Storied History

Georgia is one of just two SEC programs (Tennessee) and one of just 16 teams nationwide to reach the 1,000 win total. The Lady Bulldogs accomplished the feat last season on the road at East Carolina, marking the latest impressive accomplishment for the storied program.

The Lady Bulldogs are one of only three teams, joining Wisconsin-Green Bay and Tennessee, to have a winning record every year since 1980 and have been to 34 of 39 NCAA tournaments.

WBB Game Notes: Storied SEC Programs Meet at Stegeman

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Malury Bates

Chloe Chapman

Mikayla Coombs

Que Morrison

Jenna Staiti

WBB Game Notes: Storied SEC Programs Meet at Stegeman

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Malury Bates

Chloe Chapman

Mikayla Coombs

Que Morrison

Jenna Staiti

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