Georgia Off to Baton Rouge to Face Third-Ranked Tigers

Thursday, February 2

Baton Rouge, La.

8:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

LSU

Georgia Off to Baton Rouge to Face Third-Ranked Tigers

February 01, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Georgia Lady Bulldogs Game Notes

Georgia (15-8, 4-5 SEC) vs. No. 3/4 LSU (21-0, 9-0 SEC)
Thursday, Feb. 2 | 8 p.m. ET
Pete Maravich Assembly Center | Baton Rouge, La.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) 960 AM The Ref, WXKT 103.7 FM and the Georgia Bulldog App | Affiliates
TV: None
Video Stream: SEC Network + (Lyn Rollins and Victor Howell)
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Social: @UGA_WBB
History: UGA 27-24 (Full History)
Last Meeting: - LSU, 73-67 (2/10/21)

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS
Ranking: NR
Head Coach: Coach ABE
Career Record: 387-165 (18th year)
Record at Georgia: 15-8 (1st year)

LSU TIGERS
Ranking: #3 (Coaches); #4 (AP)
Head Coach: Kim Mulkey
Career Record: 679-110 (22nd year)
Record at LSU: 47-6 (2nd year)

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Cl.	PPG	RPG
RECENT STARTERS
1	Chloe Chapman	G	5-7	Sr.	3.1	1.7
3	Diamond Battles	G	5-8	5th	13.9	3.2
20	Jordan Isaacs	F	6-0	Sr.	2.3	3.2
24	Brittney Smith	F	6-3	5th	11.9	5.7
31	Audrey Warren	G/F	5-9	5th	7.9	2.9

Storylines

» Georgia travels to Baton Rouge to face the LSU Tigers on Thursday. Tipoff is at 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on SEC Network +.

» Georgia is coming off a 62-34 win against Mississippi State. The 34 points are the fewest MSU has scored in a game in 10 seasons. This came after the Lady Bulldogs held Missouri to its second-lowest scoring output of the year with 51 points last Thursday.

» The Lady Bulldogs lead the SEC in turnover margin (+4.5) and are second in steals (10.5 per game). Georgia forced Mississippi State into a season-high 27 turnovers on Sunday. LSU comes into this contest ranked third in the league in steals.

» Georgia has forced 20 or more opponent turnovers in 15 of 23 games and has forced double-digit miscues in every contest.

» Georgia is ranked 49th in the latest NCAA Net rankings, while LSU is No. 3.

» Georgia holds a slim 27-24 lead in the all-time series against the Tigers, with LSU currently riding a three-game win streak against the Lady Bulldogs.

» The Lady Bulldogs are looking for their first win against a team ranked No. 3 or higher since last season's 82-80 overtime win against No. 2 NC State on Dec. 19, 2021.

» Brittney Smith has led Georgia through conference play with seven double-figure scoring games in nine league contests.

» Diamond Battles leads Georgia in scoring (13.9 ppg), assists (69) and steals (40). She was one of just 50 players named to the preseason Naismith National Player of the Year Watch List.

» Georgia picked up its 10th win on Dec. 17. It marked the program's quickest 10th win in a season since the 2014-15 campaign.

Dawgs Are Downright Defensive

In each of her last two seasons at UCF, Coach ABE's team led the nation in scoring defense. The success of her 'matchup' defense is now taking shape at Georgia. The Lady Bulldogs have held five teams (Jacksonville State, NC State, Mercer, San Diego State and Mississippi State) to their season lows in scoring.

We'll Take That... More on the Georgia "D"

Georgia's defensive pressure has forced double-digit turnovers in every game this season, while the team has recorded 10 or more steals 12 of 23 matchups. Georgia has held opponents to single-digit quarters on 12 occasions.

Lewis Leads

Alisha Lewis has the best assist-to-turnover ratio of any player in the Southeastern Conference this season. Lewis has a 2.6 ratio with 68 assists and just 26 turnovers. Offensively, Lewis has scored in double figures in two of the last three games, including an 18-point effort against Missouri. That performance marked her best scoring output since her sophomore campaign.

Brittney the Best in SEC Play

Brittney Smith leads the Lady Bulldogs during SEC play with her 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. Smith has scored in double figures in seven of Georgia's nine conference matchups, while in league games only, she ranks sixth in field-goal percentage (.533) and second in free-throw percentage (25-of-29/86 percent).

League-Leading 10 Newcomers

With five letterwinners back from last year's team, the Lady Bulldogs had 10 roster spots to fill this past offseason. Georgia welcomed three players from UCF, while also adding Texas transfer Audrey Warren, West Virginia transfer Kari Niblack and Vanderbilt transfer De'Mauri Flournoy. Four freshmen also joined the team, including Savannah Henderson, Stefanie Ingram, Fatima Diakhate and Amiya Evans.

The 10 newcomers on this year's roster ties Kentucky for the most in the SEC.

50th Season of Georgia Basketball

This marks the 50th season of Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball. This historic program ranks 15th all time in win percentage (.694) and 16th in total wins (1,053). Georgia ranks second nationally in NCAA tournament appearances with 35 and is still one of only three programs to boast a winning record every season since 1981.

Coach ABE Returns to Lead Georgia

Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was named just the third full-time head coach in Georgia history on March 26, 2022. Coach ABE played for the Lady Bulldogs from 1986-87 and was a member of the 1986 squad that captured the SEC Championship. Teammates Katrina McClain, Teresa Edwards, Lisa O'Connor and Carla Green, among others, helped lead Georgia to its third SEC title with Coach ABE playing in all 32 games as a freshman.

Success at Every Stop

Coach ABE has built successful programs in coaching stops at Albany, Missouri State and UCF. Her teams have won an unprecedented 70 percent of their games, an average of 22 victories per year, while capturing 16 conference titles in 17 seasons. At UCF, the 2021-22 squad won a school-record 26 games en route to the American Athletic Conference Championship, the AAC Tournament crown and a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament – the highest seeding in program history.

It's A Family

A big reason for the success of Coach ABE's programs lies with her coaching staff – a group that has been with her nearly every step of the way. Associate head coach Tahnee Balerio played for Coach ABE at Missouri State and is entering her 13th season on Coach ABE's staff. Assistant coach Isoken Uzamere is in her 11th year with Coach ABE, while legendary former UConn All-American Nykesha Sales is in her seventh season. Former Albany standout Ebone Henry-Harris enters her seventh year.

Georgia Players Have Postseason Success

Georgia's five returners and six transfers have a combined 23 NCAA tournament appearances between them. Diamond Battles, Brittney Smith and Alisha Lewis earned three NCAA bids at UCF. Texas transfer Audrey Warren helped her team advance to back-to-back NCAA Elite Eights, while Kari Niblack guided West Virginia to the second round of the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament.

Family Business

A big part of Georgia's impressive recruiting class this past offseason was a familiar name for Coach ABE. Savannah Henderson is the daughter of head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson and her husband Michael. The Orlando, Fla., native was a consensus top-50 prospect nationally as ESPN's No. 41 overall player and No. 10 wing recruit. She prepped at Timbercreek (Orlando) and played for Central Florida Elite.