University of Georgia
Georgia Southern
Lady Bulldogs Rout Georgia Southern, 93-52
November 25, 2014 | Women's Basketball
We spoke with head coach Andy Landers, senior guard Erika Ford and junior forward Merritt Hempe.
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ATHENS, Ga. --- The No. 22 Georgia Lady Bulldogs topped the Georgia Southern Eagles in a 93-52 contest on Tuesday night, posting their highest scoring output since December 2012. With the win, the Lady Bulldogs improve to 432-6 when scoring 80 or more points during head coach Andy Landers' 36 seasons at Georgia.
Merritt Hempe led the team in scoring with a season-best 17 points and in rebounds with eight. Shacobia Barbee, Erika Ford and Tiaria Griffin were also double-digit scorers for the Lady Bulldogs with 16, 15 and 14 points, respectively. Twelve of Griffin's points came from behind the arc.
"We were good defensively. We were good rebounding the ball. We took care of the ball and we turned them over and out-rebounded them," Landers said. "When you do all those things, it's usually going to be a really good night."
The Eagles jumped ahead 2-1 in the first minute of the game, but the Lady Bulldogs regained the lead on a Barbee layup and never looked back. Barbee added two more shots before Griffin hit a 3-pointer to spark a 12-0 run for Georgia.
Midway through the half, Georgia Southern's Patrice Butler hit three consecutive shots, including a 3-pointer, and Sierra Butler added another to narrow the score to 22-14. The next several minutes proved a rebounding battle between the teams before a jumper by Barbee at the 4:04 mark ignited a scoring drive for Georgia. The Lady Bulldogs used four steals and 16 unanswered points from six different scorers to hold a 48-22 lead at halftime.
Eight seconds into the second half, the Lady Bulldogs were back at the rim on a layup by Hempe. Eleven points from Ford in a five-minute span allowed Georgia to stretch its lead to more than 40 points, topping out at 48 points with 6:36 remaining. Georgia sealed the game with a steal by Jasmine Carter, who had a career-best four takeaways on the night.
Georgia posted multiple season bests in the contest, including 39 points-off-turnovers, 23 assists and a 51 percent shooting performance from the floor. It also recorded 23 steals, which is tied for eighth-best in program history.
The Lady Bulldogs will have a quick turnaround as they face off against Colgate on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
