Thursday, February 17
Athens, Ga.
7:00 p.m.
University of Georgia
18-7,7-6SEC
74
vs
49
Missouri
16-10,5-8SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Missouri
10
13
18
8
49
Georgia
16
18
26
14
74
Staiti Leads Georgia Past Missouri, 74-49
February 17, 2022 | Women's Basketball
ATHENS, Ga. — A dominant 22-point performance from graduate center Jenna Staiti helped the No. 21-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team roll past Missouri on Thursday night in Stegeman Coliseum, 74-49.
With the win, Georgia improves to 18-7 on the season and 7-6 in SEC play. Missouri falls to 16-10, 5-8.
Staiti led all scorers with 22, as well as bringing in nine boards. As a team, the Lady Bulldogs shot 50% from the field tonight.
"It feels good to win," shared head coach Joni Taylor. "When you've lost three in a row, you look at last week and knew it was going to be tough. But that's the benefit of having a mature team – we could keep things in perspective, move the page, turn the page, and come to work to get better. I think what you saw tonight is because, even when we were going through our losses last week, we had really spirited practices, competitive practices. Everybody was locked in. They're just continuing to trust the process, so tonight is a result of trusting the process and everybody being locked in."
Mikayla Coombs' drive and lay-in kicked off the night for the Lady Bulldogs as they raced off to a 7-0. Morrison and Reigan Richardson each contributed three-point efforts to help Georgia extend its lead over the Tigers. A defensive stand at the end of the first ensured a 16-10 lead going into the second quarter.
Richardson extended the Lady Bulldog lead to open the second quarter as she found space and drained her shot. A steady offensive roll helped Georgia continue to pull away from their Southeastern conference foes, and the Lady Bulldogs entered the locker room at halftime up 34-23.
Staiti and Richardson combined for 14 points in the third quarter to extend the Georgia lead, and the Lady Bulldogs were up 60-41 through three quarters of play.
Georgia's defense allowed just eight points in the fourth quarter and closed out their win over the Tigers.
All members of Georgia's active gameday roster saw action in tonight's Southeastern conference matchup.
Next up, the Lady Bulldogs travel to play Auburn on Sunday, February 20th at 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT. Coverage will be on SEC Network.
Team Notes
Individual Notes
Head Coach Joni Taylor
On tonight's win…
"It feels good to win when you've lost three in a row. You look at last week and knew it was going to be tough, but that's the benefit of having a mature team – we could keep things in perspective, move the page, turn the page, and come to work to get better. I think what you saw tonight is because, even when we were going through our losses last week, we had really spirited, competitive practices. Everybody was locked in. They're just continuing to trust the process, so tonight is a result of trusting the process and everybody being locked in."
On if the team discusses where they want to be at the end of the season…
"Yeah, absolutely. It varies with different teams, but, again, this is a mature team. We absolutely talk about it. It's always a jumble, a mix, of people. One game takes you from third to fifth to eighth, so they understand the value of every game we play. Number one, you're playing to win. You're playing to continue to get better, but seeding becomes really important too. It's something that we're aware of and we talk about."
On Sarah Ashlee Barker taking two back-to-back charges…
"She's tough. She's done that several times this year. She's diving on the floor. I jokingly tell her that she needs to start wearing kneepads because she's on the floor so much. She just sacrifices her body. She did a really good job tonight of staying chest on ball. It's something that we've worked on with her, just being chest on ball and not letting people drive by you. I was really happy for her to be able to do that. Her taking the charge is not anything that is shocking or new. She just put herself in a really good position tonight to do it."
On Jenna Staiti…
"Obviously, when she's scoring that way, it becomes difficult for people to stop her. Then, they bring people towards her, so it opens up things for other players. Malury (Bates) played well with her tonight and had some opportunities. Jenna (Staiti) was really good at knowing when to go inside out. When she was on the block and they doubled her, she passed it back out. We were able to get some open shots from our guards. What really was good tonight was she was hitting that jumper, free-throwline, wing jumper. When she's hitting that shot, it just stretches the defense and puts a lot of pressure on them."
Georgia Players
#14 Jenna Staiti | Gr. | Center
On tonight's win after a tough week last week…
"I just think we had a tough stretch those three games. You know, coming back and getting that win on your home floor it gives us a lot of confidence."
On cutting down turnovers in the second half…
"We repped in practice that they were going to zone us. We knew the paint was going to be packed, but we needed to move the ball. So, just shifting the defense and getting the ball where it needs to be worked."
#21 Reigan Richardson | Fr. | Guard
On what worked tonight versus the past few games…
"I would say executing. We executed our plays really well. We didn't turn the ball over as much as we did the past few games. So, I think that really helped us."
On Mallory Bates presence on the defensive floor…
"Mallory is great. Offensively and defensively, you can really see that. She puts in the extra work before practice, like I said, and after practice. And that really showed. Her defensive presence really gave us a boost."
On tonight's hustle and effort level…
"After the past couple of games and the losses that we took, we knew that this game was a chance for us to get our confidence back and boost our momentum. And with the hustle plays that Jenna (Staiti) and Sarah Ashlee (Barker) made, it really brought the energy."
With the win, Georgia improves to 18-7 on the season and 7-6 in SEC play. Missouri falls to 16-10, 5-8.
Staiti led all scorers with 22, as well as bringing in nine boards. As a team, the Lady Bulldogs shot 50% from the field tonight.
"It feels good to win," shared head coach Joni Taylor. "When you've lost three in a row, you look at last week and knew it was going to be tough. But that's the benefit of having a mature team – we could keep things in perspective, move the page, turn the page, and come to work to get better. I think what you saw tonight is because, even when we were going through our losses last week, we had really spirited practices, competitive practices. Everybody was locked in. They're just continuing to trust the process, so tonight is a result of trusting the process and everybody being locked in."
Mikayla Coombs' drive and lay-in kicked off the night for the Lady Bulldogs as they raced off to a 7-0. Morrison and Reigan Richardson each contributed three-point efforts to help Georgia extend its lead over the Tigers. A defensive stand at the end of the first ensured a 16-10 lead going into the second quarter.
Richardson extended the Lady Bulldog lead to open the second quarter as she found space and drained her shot. A steady offensive roll helped Georgia continue to pull away from their Southeastern conference foes, and the Lady Bulldogs entered the locker room at halftime up 34-23.
Staiti and Richardson combined for 14 points in the third quarter to extend the Georgia lead, and the Lady Bulldogs were up 60-41 through three quarters of play.
Georgia's defense allowed just eight points in the fourth quarter and closed out their win over the Tigers.
All members of Georgia's active gameday roster saw action in tonight's Southeastern conference matchup.
Next up, the Lady Bulldogs travel to play Auburn on Sunday, February 20th at 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT. Coverage will be on SEC Network.
Team Notes
- Georgia defeated Missouri 74-49 to extend the Bulldogs' win streak against the Tigers to three. The Bulldogs now hold the overall record between the programs 11-6.
- The Bulldogs opened the game with a 7-0 run.
- In the middle of the first quarter, the Bulldogs held the Tigers to a 3:02 scoring drought.
- To close out the first half, the Lady Dogs went on a 6-0 scoring run while forcing three Missouri turnovers.
- Halfway through the third period, Georgia connected on six consecutive field goals.
- Three Georgia players were in double-digit scoring. Jenna Staiti led the team with 22, followed by Que Morrison with 12 and Reigan Richardson with 11.
- The Bulldogs had 18 assists compared to the Tigers' eight.
- Georgia outrebounded Missouri 41-29. 14 rebounds came on offense while the other 27 were on defense.
- The Lady Dogs scored 18 second-chance points while holding the Tigers to seven.
Individual Notes
- Graduate Jenna Staiti's 22-point outing is her fifth time eclipsing the 20-point benchmark this season.
- Freshman Reigan Richardson's 11 points mark her fourth game scoring 10+ points this season.
- Senior Malury Bates led the team and tied her career-high of five blocks.
- Junior Jordan Isaacs matched her career-high of nine rebounds.
Head Coach Joni Taylor
On tonight's win…
"It feels good to win when you've lost three in a row. You look at last week and knew it was going to be tough, but that's the benefit of having a mature team – we could keep things in perspective, move the page, turn the page, and come to work to get better. I think what you saw tonight is because, even when we were going through our losses last week, we had really spirited, competitive practices. Everybody was locked in. They're just continuing to trust the process, so tonight is a result of trusting the process and everybody being locked in."
On if the team discusses where they want to be at the end of the season…
"Yeah, absolutely. It varies with different teams, but, again, this is a mature team. We absolutely talk about it. It's always a jumble, a mix, of people. One game takes you from third to fifth to eighth, so they understand the value of every game we play. Number one, you're playing to win. You're playing to continue to get better, but seeding becomes really important too. It's something that we're aware of and we talk about."
On Sarah Ashlee Barker taking two back-to-back charges…
"She's tough. She's done that several times this year. She's diving on the floor. I jokingly tell her that she needs to start wearing kneepads because she's on the floor so much. She just sacrifices her body. She did a really good job tonight of staying chest on ball. It's something that we've worked on with her, just being chest on ball and not letting people drive by you. I was really happy for her to be able to do that. Her taking the charge is not anything that is shocking or new. She just put herself in a really good position tonight to do it."
On Jenna Staiti…
"Obviously, when she's scoring that way, it becomes difficult for people to stop her. Then, they bring people towards her, so it opens up things for other players. Malury (Bates) played well with her tonight and had some opportunities. Jenna (Staiti) was really good at knowing when to go inside out. When she was on the block and they doubled her, she passed it back out. We were able to get some open shots from our guards. What really was good tonight was she was hitting that jumper, free-throwline, wing jumper. When she's hitting that shot, it just stretches the defense and puts a lot of pressure on them."
Georgia Players
#14 Jenna Staiti | Gr. | Center
On tonight's win after a tough week last week…
"I just think we had a tough stretch those three games. You know, coming back and getting that win on your home floor it gives us a lot of confidence."
On cutting down turnovers in the second half…
"We repped in practice that they were going to zone us. We knew the paint was going to be packed, but we needed to move the ball. So, just shifting the defense and getting the ball where it needs to be worked."
#21 Reigan Richardson | Fr. | Guard
On what worked tonight versus the past few games…
"I would say executing. We executed our plays really well. We didn't turn the ball over as much as we did the past few games. So, I think that really helped us."
On Mallory Bates presence on the defensive floor…
"Mallory is great. Offensively and defensively, you can really see that. She puts in the extra work before practice, like I said, and after practice. And that really showed. Her defensive presence really gave us a boost."
On tonight's hustle and effort level…
"After the past couple of games and the losses that we took, we knew that this game was a chance for us to get our confidence back and boost our momentum. And with the hustle plays that Jenna (Staiti) and Sarah Ashlee (Barker) made, it really brought the energy."
Team Stats
Mizzou
UGa
FG%
.352
.500
3FG%
.200
.375
FT%
.667
.778
RB
29
41
TO
16
11
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballG
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