University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs Familiar And New Shine In Hoops Openers
November 03, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Mia Woolfolk came ready to play Monday. So did Rylie Theuerkauf, Blue Cain, Kanon Catchings, and a whole lot of Georgia women's and men's basketball players.
"We've been practicing and working hard all summer for this moment right here," Woolfolk said.
On opening night for college basketball, the Lady Bulldogs and Bulldogs opened their seasons with decisive wins in Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia's women started things off with a 73-44 victory over Alabama State in which Woolfolk had nine points in the first 10 minutes and finished with a game-high 15. Later, the Georgia men took control of the game midway through the opening half against Bellarmine and won 104-59. Cain and Jeremiah Wilkinson led the way for the Bulldogs with 15 points each.
Asked what she was looking for out of her team in the opener, women's coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson joked: "I just wanted it to be over." Her real answer was that she "wanted to see everybody play, and I really wanted to see us really pick up our defense. And we did that, especially in the first quarter."
Twelve seconds into their season, the Georgia women took a 2-0 lead on a Vera Ojenuwa 15-foot jumper. Less than a minute later, Woolfolk rebounded an Ojenuwa miss and scored on the putback. Later, Dani Carnegie hit a 3-pointer to put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 8-2.
A Woolfolk layup, off one of Trinity Turner's six assists in the game, made it 10-2. Ninety seconds after that, Turner hit a pull-up 15-footer. On Georgia's next possession, Turner — an SEC All-Freshman Team selection last season, along with Woolfolk — hit a 3 from the top of the key, pushing the lead to 15-2.
It wasn't just on the offensive end that the Lady Bulldogs were making things happen. After Turner's 3, Theuerkauf, one of five transfers and eight new players on the roster, drew a charge in the paint. After Woolfolk added another layup and two free throws, Georgia's lead was 21-4 with 57 seconds left in the first quarter.
It was a quieter second quarter for the Lady Bulldogs, who only outscored the Hornets 10-6 in the period, but Georgia remained firmly in control. The lead was 31-14 at the half, and then the Lady Bulldogs got a bucket from Ojenuwa to open the third quarter, followed by a Woolfolk layup.
"I feel like this year is definitely a growing year for me," Woolfolk said. "I'm not a surprise anymore, and I have to buckle down on my fouls so I'm on the court longer to help my team this year."
With a little over three minutes left in the third, Miyah Verse knocked a rebound out of the hands of an Alabama State player, grabbed the loose ball, and then fired a pass to a cutting Woolfolk for an easy layup, pushing the lead to 41-23. That was followed by a pull-up 15-footer from another newcomer, Enjulina Gonzalez, who then got a steal at the other end and took it all the way for a layup.
Just before the buzzer, Theuerkauf hit a 3 from the right side to make it 48-28 heading to the fourth quarter. Of Georgia's 73 points in the game, 47 were scored by newcomers, led by Carnegie's 15, Theuerkauf's 11 and Gonzalez's 9.
"Shooting and scoring, shooting and scoring," Coach ABE said when asked what she was looking for in the transfer portal after the Lady Bulldogs struggled to a 13-19 record last season.
The perimeter shooting Monday wasn't as sharp as Coach ABE has seen it in the preseason, with Georgia going 6 of 22 from 3-point range, but she's confident it will continue to improve. And it needs to in order to draw defenders to the perimeter and free up space inside for Woolfolk, who saw plenty of double-teams against the Hornets, just as she did in the team's scrimmages.
Georgia had more size, speed and skill than the Hornets, and that was evident throughout, even when things got a bit ragged once the lead got up around 20. The lopsided matchup allowed the Lady Bulldogs to get 10 players at least 11 minutes of action, and nine of the players scored.Â
"I'm so happy I transferred here. It's everything I ever wanted," said Theuerkauf, who led Wake Forest in scoring last season with 12.0 points per game.
In the men's opener, the Bulldogs had a narrow lead over the Knights after the first seven minutes or so, and then Georgia got rolling. Catchings hit a 3 to make it 20-15, Kareem Stagg got a steal and a dunk, followed by another Catchings 3, and suddenly the lead was 25-15. Later, a steal by Cain led to a layup by Stagg and a 30-18 lead.
With 5:02 left in the half, Cain hit a 3. With 2:16 to go, Jeremiah Wilkinson hit a 3. By the time Cain threw down a dunk with 1:21 to go until halftime, the lead was 49-27.
After Bellarmine cut Georgia's lead to 54-40 early in the second half, Justin Bailey hit a 3. Bailey is one of five transfers and eight new players on the men's roster. Freshman Jake Wilkins, the son of Georgia and NBA legend Dominique Wilkins, scored 7 points in a hurry to make it 64-43, hitting a three, getting a steal and then a dunk, followed by another steal and a layup. Wilkins' flurry sparked an 18-0 run that blew the game open for good.
Wilkins filled up the box score in his Georgia debut. In 15 minutes off the bench, he scored 12 points, grabbed two rebounds, nabbed two steals, had an assist and a blocked shot.
Brandon Klatsky hit a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left to get the Bulldogs to 100 points. A former walk-on, it was the first basket of the redshirt junior's career. He added a steal and a layup for Georgia's final points of a very successful opening night.
The Georgia men are back at the Steg on Wednesday (7 p.m.), when they host Maryland Eastern Shore. The women are back in action at home Thursday against Furman (6:30 p.m.).
Staff Writer
Mia Woolfolk came ready to play Monday. So did Rylie Theuerkauf, Blue Cain, Kanon Catchings, and a whole lot of Georgia women's and men's basketball players.
"We've been practicing and working hard all summer for this moment right here," Woolfolk said.
On opening night for college basketball, the Lady Bulldogs and Bulldogs opened their seasons with decisive wins in Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia's women started things off with a 73-44 victory over Alabama State in which Woolfolk had nine points in the first 10 minutes and finished with a game-high 15. Later, the Georgia men took control of the game midway through the opening half against Bellarmine and won 104-59. Cain and Jeremiah Wilkinson led the way for the Bulldogs with 15 points each.
Asked what she was looking for out of her team in the opener, women's coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson joked: "I just wanted it to be over." Her real answer was that she "wanted to see everybody play, and I really wanted to see us really pick up our defense. And we did that, especially in the first quarter."
Twelve seconds into their season, the Georgia women took a 2-0 lead on a Vera Ojenuwa 15-foot jumper. Less than a minute later, Woolfolk rebounded an Ojenuwa miss and scored on the putback. Later, Dani Carnegie hit a 3-pointer to put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 8-2.
A Woolfolk layup, off one of Trinity Turner's six assists in the game, made it 10-2. Ninety seconds after that, Turner hit a pull-up 15-footer. On Georgia's next possession, Turner — an SEC All-Freshman Team selection last season, along with Woolfolk — hit a 3 from the top of the key, pushing the lead to 15-2.
It wasn't just on the offensive end that the Lady Bulldogs were making things happen. After Turner's 3, Theuerkauf, one of five transfers and eight new players on the roster, drew a charge in the paint. After Woolfolk added another layup and two free throws, Georgia's lead was 21-4 with 57 seconds left in the first quarter.
It was a quieter second quarter for the Lady Bulldogs, who only outscored the Hornets 10-6 in the period, but Georgia remained firmly in control. The lead was 31-14 at the half, and then the Lady Bulldogs got a bucket from Ojenuwa to open the third quarter, followed by a Woolfolk layup.
"I feel like this year is definitely a growing year for me," Woolfolk said. "I'm not a surprise anymore, and I have to buckle down on my fouls so I'm on the court longer to help my team this year."
With a little over three minutes left in the third, Miyah Verse knocked a rebound out of the hands of an Alabama State player, grabbed the loose ball, and then fired a pass to a cutting Woolfolk for an easy layup, pushing the lead to 41-23. That was followed by a pull-up 15-footer from another newcomer, Enjulina Gonzalez, who then got a steal at the other end and took it all the way for a layup.
Just before the buzzer, Theuerkauf hit a 3 from the right side to make it 48-28 heading to the fourth quarter. Of Georgia's 73 points in the game, 47 were scored by newcomers, led by Carnegie's 15, Theuerkauf's 11 and Gonzalez's 9.
"Shooting and scoring, shooting and scoring," Coach ABE said when asked what she was looking for in the transfer portal after the Lady Bulldogs struggled to a 13-19 record last season.
The perimeter shooting Monday wasn't as sharp as Coach ABE has seen it in the preseason, with Georgia going 6 of 22 from 3-point range, but she's confident it will continue to improve. And it needs to in order to draw defenders to the perimeter and free up space inside for Woolfolk, who saw plenty of double-teams against the Hornets, just as she did in the team's scrimmages.
Georgia had more size, speed and skill than the Hornets, and that was evident throughout, even when things got a bit ragged once the lead got up around 20. The lopsided matchup allowed the Lady Bulldogs to get 10 players at least 11 minutes of action, and nine of the players scored.Â
"I'm so happy I transferred here. It's everything I ever wanted," said Theuerkauf, who led Wake Forest in scoring last season with 12.0 points per game.
In the men's opener, the Bulldogs had a narrow lead over the Knights after the first seven minutes or so, and then Georgia got rolling. Catchings hit a 3 to make it 20-15, Kareem Stagg got a steal and a dunk, followed by another Catchings 3, and suddenly the lead was 25-15. Later, a steal by Cain led to a layup by Stagg and a 30-18 lead.
With 5:02 left in the half, Cain hit a 3. With 2:16 to go, Jeremiah Wilkinson hit a 3. By the time Cain threw down a dunk with 1:21 to go until halftime, the lead was 49-27.
After Bellarmine cut Georgia's lead to 54-40 early in the second half, Justin Bailey hit a 3. Bailey is one of five transfers and eight new players on the men's roster. Freshman Jake Wilkins, the son of Georgia and NBA legend Dominique Wilkins, scored 7 points in a hurry to make it 64-43, hitting a three, getting a steal and then a dunk, followed by another steal and a layup. Wilkins' flurry sparked an 18-0 run that blew the game open for good.
Wilkins filled up the box score in his Georgia debut. In 15 minutes off the bench, he scored 12 points, grabbed two rebounds, nabbed two steals, had an assist and a blocked shot.
Brandon Klatsky hit a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left to get the Bulldogs to 100 points. A former walk-on, it was the first basket of the redshirt junior's career. He added a steal and a layup for Georgia's final points of a very successful opening night.
The Georgia men are back at the Steg on Wednesday (7 p.m.), when they host Maryland Eastern Shore. The women are back in action at home Thursday against Furman (6:30 p.m.).
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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