WBB Game Notes: Georgia Faces Alabama in SEC Tournament

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

#21/24 Georgia Lady Bulldogs (20-8, 9-7 SEC) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (15-12, 6-10 SEC)
Thursday, March 3 | 9 p.m. ET
SEC Second Round
Bridgestone Arena | Nashville
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) 960 AM The Ref, WXKT 103.7 FM and the Georgia Bulldog App | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle, Carolyn Peck and Steffi Sorensen)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
History: UGA 44-12 (Full History)
Last Meeting: W 72-68 (1/9/22)

Opening Tip

Georgia has earned the No. 6 seed and will play No. 11 seed Alabama in the second round of the SEC tournament on Thursday. Tip time is set for approximately 9 p.m. ET.

The Lady Bulldogs own a 44-12 lead in the all-time series against Alabama and have won five straight overall. Five of the last eight meetings have gone into overtime -- all Georgia wins. The two teams last met in the SEC tournament in 2019.

Georgia trailed by as many as 21 points late in the first half against Alabama on Jan. 9. The Lady Bulldogs stormed back for the win thanks to nine third quarter points from Mikayla Coombs and 15 second-half points from Jenna Staiti.

Georgia enters the tournament ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll, No. 21 in the Coaches Poll and No. 22 in the NET rankings. In addition to competing for a championship, the Lady Bulldogs are working to move into one of the top 16 seeds for the NCAA tournament.

Last year, head coach Joni Taylor led Georgia to the SEC tournament finals for the first time since 2004. Georgia has won the SEC tourney on four occasions (1983, 1984, 1986 and 2001) and is looking for its third-straight appearance in the quarterfinals.

The Lady Bulldogs have played remarkably well away from home this year. Georgia boasts a 9-3 mark away from Stegeman Coliseum, with wins against Notre Dame and No. 2-ranked NC State.

Graduates Jenna Staiti and Que Morrison lead the Lady Bulldogs this season. The two All-SEC selections have led Georgia in scoring a combined 23 times in 28 games during the 2021-22 campaign.

Another bright spot for the Lady Bulldogs over the last few weeks has been the play of freshman guard Reigan Richardson. Richardson has scored in double figures in five of the last six games. She hit 60 percent from the field in a three-game stretch against Missouri, Auburn and Arkansas.

Trio of Lady Bulldogs Earn All-SEC Accolades

A trio of Lady Bulldogs and Georgia natives — Jenna Staiti, Que Morrison and Mikayla Coombs — earned All-Southeastern Conference postseason honors.

Staiti garnered first-team All-SEC accolades, while Morrison was named second team All-SEC and landed on the league's All-Defensive squad. Coombs was named the conference's Scholar Athlete of the Year, marking the third time under head coach Joni Taylor a Georgia player has earned that distinction.

A native of Cumming, Ga., Staiti is one of just 27 student-athletes in program history to boast first-team honors. Morrison, who hails from Riverdale, Ga., joins Caliya Robinson as the only three-peat All-Defensive Team selections. Coombs, from Buford, Ga., joins Marjorie Butler (2016) and Haley Clark (2018) as Georgia's Scholar Athletes of the Year.

Morrison Ties Georgia Record

Graduate guard Que Morrison has played in 135 career games during her time at Georgia, which ties a school record set by Cori Chambers from 2003-07. Jenna Staiti has played in 148 contests, but 35 of those were during her time at Maryland.

One of the top All-Around Players? No (Que) Stion About it Que Morrison is literally doing it all. If you look at an SEC stat sheet, you will find Morrison's name in a bevy of 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 23 times, has totaled 20 or more points on four occasions, recorded three or more steals 10 times and three or more assists in 25 of 28 games.

Steady Staiti in Elite Company

Jenna Staiti has now scored in double figures in 52 of her last 63 games with 21 double-doubles during that span. She is one of only five players in program history -- joining Tawana McDonald, Katrina McClain, Tracy Henderson and Caliya Robinson to score over 1,000 career points, bring down over 500 rebounds and block over 250 shots. With 260 swats, she needs just seven more to tie Henderson for the fifth most in program history.

Richardson's Remarkable run

Freshman guard Reigan Richardson has given Georgia a much needed lift late in the season. She has scored in double figures in five of the last six games, including a career-high 17 points at LSU and a team-high 15 at Arkansas. In a three-game stretch against Missouri, Auburn and Arkansas, the former McDonald's All-American hit 60 percent (13-of-22) from the field.

Nicholson Starts

Junior forward Javyn Nicholson started four-straight games at the '4' spot late in the season. Nicholson made the most of her starts over the last few weeks. Her plus-minus (a ratio of points Georgia scores versus opponent points when she is in the game) was a combined +20 in games against South Carolina, Missouri and Auburn. She had one of her best performances of the season with 11 points off 5-for-6 shooting against Auburn.

Win the Boards

Georgia boasts a 15-3 record when outrebounding its opponent, with the only losses coming to Kentucky, South Carolina and Auburn. In 20 wins, Georgia has outrebounded the opponent by a +8.7 margin, while the Lady Bulldogs are -2.3 in eight losses.

Paint Touches

The Lady Bulldogs have outscored their counterparts by an 936-745 ledger in the paint this season. Georgia averages nine more points per game in the paint than the opposing team.

Dawgs are SEC's Most unselfish

Georgia paces the SEC and ranks No. 21 nationally with 16.4 assists per game. The team has totaled 459 assists on 768 made field goals this season -- an average of 60 percent.

Many Contributors

Georgia's bench has outscored its opponents by a 644-298 margin, an average of 13 points per game, this season.

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 mark. Coombs recorded six steals in the first quarter alone to lead her team in the early going.

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.

Down Goes No. 2

Georgia's win at then No. 2-ranked NC State marked the program's first true road against a team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in program history. The victory ended the Wolfpack's 10-game win streak.

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.

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.

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, 2021 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year Que 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.

Chapman Sticks With Basketball

Junior guard Chloe Chapman was a member of 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.

All in the Family for Barker

Sarah Ashlee Barker's two brothers both play quarterback at the Division I level. Braxton is a redshirt-junior at the University of Alabama and Harrison is a redshirt-freshman QB at UAB.

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 became 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. It was 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: Georgia Faces Alabama in SEC Tournament

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Malury Bates

Chloe Chapman

Mikayla Coombs

Que Morrison

Javyn Nicholson

Jenna Staiti

WBB Game Notes: Georgia Faces Alabama in SEC Tournament

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Malury Bates

Chloe Chapman

Mikayla Coombs

Que Morrison

Javyn Nicholson

Jenna Staiti

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