Robinson Leads Georgia Past Lipscomb, 77-45

Wednesday, December 19

Athens, GA

11 a.m. ET

University of Georgia

Lipscomb

Photo by: Kristin M. Bradshaw

December 19, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Stats

ATHENS, Ga. — A season-high blocking performance by Georgia women's basketball senior Caliya Robinson and an impressive effort in the paint highlighted the Lady Bulldogs' 77-45 victory over Lipscomb on Wednesday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.

Robinson entered Georgia's game against the Bisons with a season-high three blocks in a single game, but she tallied four blocks in the first period and another in the second to up her season-high to five blocks in a single game.

Georgia outscored its opponent in the paint for the ninth time this season, outscoring Lipscomb 36-12. Under Joni Taylor, Georgia is now 32-0 when holding opponents to 50 points or less.

"We were who we are supposed to be today," Georgia head coach Joni Taylor said. "I knew we could really pressure them. I wasn't sure how well they would handle pressure, so that was our objective. When we subbed, it slipped off, and we have to get better at that. When we sub in, we have to be really consistent about game-plan execution. I was really happy with how we pressured them and forced them to take shots that are very uncharacteristic of them."

Robinson and Gabby Connally led Georgia in scoring. Robinson finished the game five-of-seven at the line to add to her overall 21 points. Connally finished the game with her fourth-straight double-digit score, tallying 13 total points. Junior Stephanie Paul and redshirt-junior Taja Cole scored eight points apiece. Cole, who leads the SEC in assists, finished with nine assists to boost her record to 70 overall this season.

Georgia led Lipscomb the entire first half. Though the Bisons were able to cut the Lady Bulldogs' lead to five points midway through the second period, Georgia took advantage of Lipscomb turnovers by going on an eight-point run. First, Connally scored back-to-back layups and a free throw to make the score 29-19. From then on, the Lady Bulldogs advanced their lead to finish the first half. Paul added two points to give Georgia its 31-19 lead late in the second period, while freshman guard Caitlin Hose added a basket in the paint. At the buzzer, sophomore Maya Caldwell scored a 3-pointer to send Georgia into halftime leading 41-25.

Robinson continued her stellar performance to start the second half of Georgia's game against the Bisons. Coming out after the half, the Marietta, Georgia, native scored four baskets to give Georgia its first points of the second half and 49-30 lead over Lipscomb. Robinson secured a 20-point lead for the Lady Bulldogs with a free throw midway through the third period. In the fourth period, a basket at the buzzer tipped her over the 20-point scoring mark. This marks the second game this season Robinson has scored 20 or more points, the first being against Mercer when she scored 30 points.

Two Lady Bulldogs scored their first 3-pointers of the season. In her third game back since her injury, sophomore guard Que Morrison knocked down a 3-pointer. Junior Ari Henderson also added three points from behind the line in the final minute of the game, giving the Lady Bulldogs their 77-45 victory over the Lipscomb Bisons.

Wednesday's game also featured 7,090 fans, many being elementary school kids from the Athens-Clarke County area who attended for Elementary School Day. This is the largest home crowd for the Lady Bulldogs since Jan. 29, 2012, against Tennessee, when 10,523 were in attendance.

With this win, Georgia improves its record at home to 6-0. Georgia's matchup against Lipscomb was the first of three-straight home games to end the Lady Bulldogs' 2018 non-conference slate. Next up, Georgia will face the Georgia Southern Eagles on Friday, Dec. 21, at 1 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum.