Lady Bulldogs Face Winthrop on Sunday

November 10, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
#13/14 Georgia (1-0) vs. Winthrop (0-1)
Sunday, November 11 | 2 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network - 960 AM in Athens with Jeff Dantzler on the call
TV: None
Video: SECN+ (Kevin Copp and Christy Thomaskutty)

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
63-32 (4th year) at UGA
63-32 (4th year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	10.0	5.0
5-8; RS-Jr.; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	2	Gabby Connally	5.0	0.0
5-6; So.; San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis HS
G	11	Maya Caldwell	7.0	5.0
5-10; So.; Charlotte, N.C.
F	3	Stephanie Paul	6.0	9.0
6-1; Jr.; Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples
F	4	Caliya Robinson	15.0	9.0
6-3; Sr.; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		WINTHROP EAGLES
67.0	Scoring	41.0
40.3%	FG%	23.4%
21.1%	3FG%	15.4%
53.0	Rebounds	30.0
16.0	Assists	7.0
7.0	Blocks	4.0
8.0	Steals	14.0
40.0	Scoring Def.	76.0
21.8%	FG% Def.	42.3%
13.3%	3FG% Def.	29.2%
+16.0	Reb. Margin	-41.0
+3.0	T/O Margin	-6.0
+4.0	Ast-T/O Ratio	-9

Game Promotions

Promotions: Clash of the Classroom (students sign up for a chance to win a pizza party)
Halftime entertainment: Oglethorpe Country Starlet Twirlers

Lady Bulldogs Face Quick Turnaround Against Winthrop Fresh off a 67-40 season-opening win against St. Bonaventure on Friday, the Lady Bulldogs return home to host Winthrop at 2 p.m. ET Sunday inside Stegeman Coliseum. The game will be televised on SEC Network + with Kevin Copp and Christy Thomaskutty on the call.

Series History: Georgia and Winthrop Meet for First Time Since 1993 The Lady Bulldogs and Eagles are set to square off for the fifth time in program history. Georgia owns a 3-1 advantage in the series, with the only loss coming in 1975 in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The two teams have not met since Jan. 7, 1993, when Georgia defeated Winthrop, 108-58, in Athens.

Multiple Weapons Highlight First Game All available players saw action in Georgia's win against St. Bonaventure, with 10 Lady Bulldogs scoring a basket, nine with at least an assist and nine with at least a rebound. Lone senior Caliya Robinson led all scorers in the game with 15 points, marking her third-straight double-figure scoring game dating back to last season. Redshirt-junior Taja Cole finished five points shy of her career high with 10 points.

Newcomers Shine in Friday Night Opener Each of Georgia's three freshmen, along with transfer Jenna Staiti, played over 10 minutes in Friday's win. Staiti had perhaps the most impressive showing with a perfect 4-for-4 mark from the field, including a 3-pointer, to finish with nine points and three boards.

Defense Nothing New for Lady Bulldogs Georgia held St. Bonaventure to just 40 points off 21.8 percent shooting from the field. With the win, the Lady Bulldogs are now 26-0 under head coach Joni Taylor when holding an opponent to 50 points or less.

Scouting Winthrop The Eagles are coached by basketball legend Lynette Woodard, who is a two-time Olympian, a four-time All-American, Hall of Famer and the first woman to ever play for the Harlem Globetrotters. She is in her second season at Winthrop. Her team has played just one game this season — a 76-41 loss at Wisconsin. The Eagles, who were led in scoring by Jah'Che Whitfield's eight points, shot 23 percent from the field in the loss.

What 's Next For Georgia The Lady Bulldogs fly to Los Angeles on Monday in preparation for Wednesday's contest against the Pac-12's UCLA Bruins. Tip time for that contest is 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET at Pauley Pavilion.

Robinson Named to Wooden Award; Lady Bulldogs Picked in Top of SEC Georgia senior forward Caliya Robinson was one of 30 players from across the nation to be named to the Wooden Award Watch List and was tabbed to the Katrina McClain Award Watch List, which recognizes the nation's top power forward. The Marietta native also placed on both the media and coaches' 2018 Preseason All-SEC Team. Robinson has totaled 219 blocked shots and needs just 79 to break Georgia's career record of 297 set by Tawana McDonald.

In the league's preseason poll, media picked the Lady Bulldogs fourth behind Mississippi State, South Carolina and Tennessee. The coaches picked Georgia third behind MSU and South Carolina.

"Anytime you are mentioned among the top seven players in this league, it is a tremendous honor and I am happy for Caliya," head coach Joni Taylor said. "We know that preseason predictions are based largely on what a team accomplished last season and it is not where you start but where you finish. As always, the SEC is going to be highly competitive, and we are focused on getting better in every single thing we do. It's going to be a great season in this conference and we are ready to get started."

Exceeding Expectations Under Taylor Georgia continued its upward trend under head coach Joni Taylor last season. The Lady Bulldogs finished tied with South Carolina for second place in the final SEC standings after being picked eighth in the preseason poll. It's a trend that goes all the way back to Taylor's first year, when her squad was picked ninth and finished sixth. Then, in 2016-17, Georgia was picked 12th and finished eighth.

Top Scorers Return Six of the Lady Bulldogs' top seven scorers and 70 percent of the team's scoring returns. The team does lose leading scorer Mackenzie Engram and her 12.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, but returns starters Caliya Robinson (2018 All-SEC Team), Que Morrison (2018 SEC All-Freshman Team) and Taja Cole (sixth in SEC in assists).

More on Robinson … Lone Senior Among SEC's Best Robinson is arguably the most complete returning player in the league as the only returner to rank in the top-20 in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals a year ago. Robinson is also one of only two returning players in the SEC, joining Teaira McCowan from Mississippi State, to rank in the top-20 in scoring and top-10 in rebounding last season.

Defense Travels Year In and Year Out Georgia's mantra over the last few years has been Defense Travels. The Lady Bulldogs put up impressive defensive numbers last year, finishing first in the SEC in field-goal percentage defense (35.1 percent), second in blocked shots (196), second in turnovers forced (18.6 per game) and second in scoring defense (57.6 ppg). Those defensive numbers are reflective of Coach Taylor's first three seasons as head coach. In her tenure, Georgia is 25-0 when holding opponents to 50 points or less and has been one of the leading defensive teams in the league.

Most Wins Since 2013 The team's 26-7 overall record last year marked Georgia's most wins in a single season since 2012-13. The Lady Bulldogs stormed out to a 12-1 start at the conclusion of non-conference play and then defeated three ranked SEC opponents to finish with a 12-4 league record.

Among the Lady Bulldogs' most impressive wins was a 92-84 overtime win at Texas A&M and two victories against Missouri. The 12 wins in league play marked the most for Georgia since the team made the Elite Eight in 2012-13.

Georgia Set for Primetime Eleven of Georgia's 16 SEC games are set to air nationally on either ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU or the SEC Network.

Among the games selected for television, ESPN will carry the Lady Bulldogs' home contest against Tennessee on Jan. 13 at 3 p.m. Georgia will also host Alabama (Jan. 27, 2 p.m.) and Florida (Feb. 10, noon) on ESPNU and Texas A&M (Jan. 20, 4 p.m.) on ESPN2.

Georgia's SEC Network schedule includes road matchups at Mississippi State (Jan. 10, 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT), Missouri (Jan. 17, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT), Auburn (Feb. 3, 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT), South Carolina (Feb. 14, 7 p.m.) and Alabama (Feb. 24, 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT).

The SEC Network will also broadcast home games against Ole Miss on Monday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. and Kentucky on Sunday, March 3 at 1 p.m.

Taylors Expecting Second Child Jacie Taylor will be gaining a new brother or sister this spring as Coach Taylor and her husband Darius are expecting their second child. The baby is due to come sometime in the month of February. Taylor will still coach this season, but any head coaching duties during her absence will be handled by associate head coach Karen Lange. During Taylor's last pregnancy, Lange coached the first six games of the 2016-17 season, going 4-2 during that span.

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