Pair of SEC's Best Battle Out West

January 13, 2018 | Women's Basketball

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Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia Lady Bulldogs (15-2, 3-1 SEC) vs. #16 Texas A&M Aggies (14-4, 3-1 SEC)
Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018 // 3 pm ET
Reed Arena (12,800) // College Station, Texas
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network by IMG // Jeff Dantzler (play-by-play) In Athens: 960 AM and 103.7 FM
TV: SEC Network (Eric Frede - play-by-play; Carol Ross - analyst)
Video: SECN+

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
51-27 (3rd year) at UGA
51-27 (3rd year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	7.7	2.5
5-7; RS-So.; TR; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	12	Haley Clark	4.1	2.8
5-9; Sr.; 3L; Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS
G	23	Que Morrison	8.7	4.6
5-7; Fr.; HS; Riverdale, Ga./McEachern HS
F	33	Mackenzie Engram	12.4	6.4
6-2; Sr.; 3L; Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove HS
F	4	Caliya Robinson	12.8	7.2
6-3; Jr.; 2L; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Texas A&M Aggies
Coach: Gary Blair
346-145 (15th year at A&M)
753-308 (33rd year overall
G	12	Danni Williams	15.5	3.3
5-5; Jr.; North Little Rock, Ark.
G	0	Khaalia Hillsman	15.7	7.9
5-9; So.; Mason, Ohio
G	3	Chennedy Carter	20.8	3.4
5-10; Gr.; Coffeyville, Kan.
F	5	Anriel Howard	11.2	12.6
6-1; So.; Little Rock, Ark.
F	21	Jasmine Lumpkin	5.1	5.3
6-0; Jr.; St. Vincent, Ark.

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		TEXAS A&M
72.5	Scoring	76.8
44.5%	FG%	44.5%
36.0%	3FG%	35.5%
41.8	Rebounds	41.8
17.4	Assists	14.3
6.5	Blocks	3.7
8.8	Steals	6.9
57.2	Scoring Def.	66.9
34.7%	FG% Def.	40.5%
32.7%	3FG% Def.	32.9%
+6.3	Reb. Margin	+8.4
+2.9	T/O Margin	+0.6
1.1	Ast-T/O Ratio	1.1

Opening Tip - Notes To Know Heading Into The Game

The Lady Bulldogs take their three-game SEC win streak into College Station, Texas Sunday afternoon for a matchup with No. 16 Texas A&M. The contest is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT and will be broadcast nationwide on the SEC Network.
Georgia is 6-0 on the road this year, marking its best start away from home since 1999. The Lady Bulldogs have not started a season 7-0 on the road since the 1994-95 NCAA Final Four team began the year with 11-straight victories away from Stegeman Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs have won two of the last three games against Texas A&M, but both of those contests came in Athens. Georgia has never beaten the Aggies in College Station.
This is Georgia's third matchup against a ranked team this season. Since Joni Taylor became head coach three seasons ago, her squads have six wins against top-25 teams.
Junior forward Caliya Robinson is Georgia's leader and paces the team in both points (12.8 ppg) and rebounds (72. rpg). She has recorded back-to-back double-doubles with 12 pts., 11 rebs. at Kentucky and 21 pts., 12 rebs. against Arkansas.
Freshman guard Que Morrison is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week. Last Sunday against Kentucky, Morrison led all scorers with 14 points, including seven made free-throws in the fourth quarter.
As a team, Georgia ranks fourth in the SEC in assists (17.4 per game) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) The Lady Bulldogs have also recorded 111 total blocks this season --- the most of any team in the SEC.

Series Information

Overall: Texas A&M leads, 5-2
In Athens: Tied, 2-2
In College Station: Texas A&M leads, 2-0
Neutral Sites: Texas A&M leads, 1-0
Current Streak: Georgia has won two of last three
Last Meeting: Georgia 69, Texas A&M 59 (1/5/17)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia 69, Texas A&M 59 (1/5/17)
Largest Defeat: Texas A&M 79, Georgia 38 (3/27/11)

Last Time Out

A pair of 21-point performances from the veteran frontcourt of junior Caliya Robinson and senior Mackenzie Engram led the Georgia Lady Bulldogs to a 78-65 victory against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

Robinson's point total tied a season-high outing, while Engram's mark set a new season high. Robinson posted her third double-double of the season and 13th of her career with 21 points and a career-tying 12 rebounds. Along with draining three 3-pointers for the second time in her Georgia tenure, the Marietta native added five assists and five blocks, keeping her atop the Southeastern Conference with 56.

"First of all, let's give Arkansas a lot of credit," Georgia head coach Joni Taylor said. "We didn't think it was going to be easy at all. I'm proud of our girls for being able to sustain the lead and not give it up, and get stops when they needed to and stretch the lead by scoring."

Joining Engram and Robinson was freshman guard Gabby Connally, who set a new season-high in points with 13, shooting 7-of-8 from the charity line. Senior guard Haley Clark also posted a career-topping 10 rebounds.

It Starts With Defense Under Taylor

Georgia prides itself on defense, and that has paid off this season. The Lady Bulldogs have held four opponents (BYU, Furman, Vanderbilt and Kentucky) to their season lows in scoring. In all, the Lady Bulldogs are 19-0 under Coach Taylor when holding an opponent to 50 points or less over the past three seasons and are 13-0 when an opponent shoots less than 40 percent this year.

Newcomers Making a Difference

Three of Georgia's top five scorers this season are in their first years in Athens. Que Morrison (8.7), Taja Cole (7.7) and Gabby Connally (7.2) rank third, fourth and fifth, respectively, among the Lady Bulldogs' scoring leaders. The ninth-ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to ESPN.com, has been a welcome addition to this year's roster after Georgia played with just eight scholarship players a season ago.

Freshmen Stars Reach Milestones

Freshmen guards Gabby Connally, Que Morrison and Maya Caldwell have made an immediate impact for the Lady Bulldogs. Each who have played in all 17 games and have reached several milestones this season. Morrison scored the most points in a freshman debut (19 against Wofford) since Tasha Humphrey in 2004, while Caldwell's 20 points against Howard were the most by a Georgia freshman in a single game since Mackenzie Engram in 2014. Connally, who scored in double figures in the first two road games of her career, is third on the team in assists with 39.

Quality Wins for Lady Bulldogs

Georgia has six wins against teams that won 20 or more games and made postseason play a year ago, with the Lady Bulldogs' only two losses coming to top-10 squads Texas and Mississippi State. Georgia, which is ranked 32nd in the RPI, has quality wins against Virginia, Mercer, BYU, Georgia Tech, Wright State and Kentucky -- all teams that won 20 or more games in 2016-17. During Joni Taylor's tenure, the Lady Bulldogs have recorded six wins against top-25 teams in three seasons.

Strong Non-Conference Performance

Georgia finished with a 12-1 non-conference record for the second time in three years. In all, the Lady Bulldogs own a 33-8 non-conference record under Coach Taylor, a near 80-percent win percentage. This season, Georgia won its non-conference contests by an average margin of 17 points per contest.

Georgia's Offensive Outburst

Although the Lady Bulldogs pride themselves on defense, Georgia has also been able to put up a lot of points this season. In fact, this year's team has scored 1,233 points through 17 games, an average of 72.5 points per game, which is the most scored by a Georgia squad since 2007-08, when the team scored 1,260 points through the first 17 contests.

Balanced Bulldogs

Georgia's balanced scoring has helped the team to a fast start this season. Through 17 games, eight or more players have scored in 15 contests. In all, every available player on the Lady Bulldogs' roster has scored a point, while eight players average 15 or more minutes per game.

Lady Bulldogs' Bench Shines

Georgia's bench play has been impressive this season. The Lady Bulldogs' bench players have outscored their opponents, 458-252, in the first 17 games, an average of 12.1 points per contest. During Georgia's outing against Howard on Dec. 19, the Lady Bulldogs outscored the Bison 54-14 and outmatched North Florida's bench 40-5 on Dec. 28. In the game against Vanderbilt on Jan. 4, Georgia's bench held a 41-15 edge.

Robinson Named to Naismith, Katrina McClain Award Watch Lists

Lady Bulldog junior forward Caliya Robinson has received national attention for her efforts on the court. Among the SEC's returning leaders in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, Robinson was named to the Citizen Naismith Trophy National Player of the Year Watch List, joining 50 of the top players from around the country. Before the season started, she was tabbed a Katrina McClain Award Watch List candidate, placing Robinson's name among the top 20 power forwards from across the country.

Morrison's Debut Among Best For Georgia Freshmen

Que Morrison's 19-point effort in the season-opener against Wofford puts her name among a prestigious group of Lady Bulldog freshmen. Morrison's total is the most for a Georgia rookie in a season-opening game since Tasha Humphrey scored 25 versus Furman at the beginning of the 2004-05 season.

Georgia's Clark Already A College Graduate

A three-time selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Haley Clark graduated in just three years and received her diploma from UGA during graduation ceremonies this past May. Clark received her bachelor's degree in business and finance and is pursuing a master's in financial planning. One of her career goals is to work in corporate finance and help other athletes with financial planning.

A native of Orlando, Florida, Clark was Georgia's starting point guard in each of the team's 31 games last season. She ranked in the top-5 in the Southeastern Conference in assists per game during league play, averaging 4.7 per contest, with 122 total for the season. On a roster that featured just eight scholarship players, Clark played close to 33 minutes per game after starting just four contests in her previous two seasons combined.

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