Lady Bulldogs Back From Break to Host East Carolina

Sunday, December 29

Athens, Ga.

2:00 PM

University of Georgia

East Carolina

Tickets

Lady Bulldogs Back From Break to Host East Carolina

December 28, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Lady Bulldogs (8-4) vs. East Carolina Pirates (3-9)
Sunday, Dec. 29 | 2 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) | Athens, Ga.
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) WXKT 103.7FM and 960 AM The REF
TV: None
Stream: SEC Network + (Matt Stewart and Christy Thomaskutty)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG
Georgia Lady Bulldogs Possible Starters
Coach: Joni Taylor
89-48 in 5th season at UGA
89-48 in 5th season overall
2	Gabby Connally	13.8	3.6
G; 5-6; Jr.; San Antonio, Texas
23	Que Morrison	5.7	4.5
G; 5-7; Jr.; Riverdale, Ga.
11	Maya Caldwell	10.0	3.5
G; 5-10; Jr.; Charlotte, N.C.
3	Stephanie Paul	6.3	4.4
F; 5-10; Sr.; Naples, Fla.
14	Jenna Staiti	9.8	5.9
C; 6-4; R-Jr.; Cumming, Ga.

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
65.7	Scoring	57.8
41.2%	FG%	35.5%
28.7%	3FG%	26.7%
39.6	Rebounds	30.2
13.5	Assists	10.2
3.4	Blocks	1.0
8.0	Steals	13.8
59.3	Scoring Def.	65.9
36.9%	FG% Def.	46.5%
32.5%	3FG% Def.	30.6%
+4.3	Reb. Margin	-10.5
-0.1	T/O Margin	+9.7
0.8	Ast-T/O Ratio	0.6

Game Promotions

Halftime performance by the Classic City Majorettes
Postgame clinic

Opening Tip

The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team hosts the East Carolina Pirates in the final non-conference game of the season this Sunday at Stegeman Coliseum. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. ET.
This is the first time these two teams have played since 1983, when Georgia defeated ECU, 80-61. The all-time series is tied at 2-2, with each game coming at neutral sites.
The Lady Bulldogs enter Sunday's game after scoring a season-high 84 points against Gardner-Webb last week. Georgia defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs, 84-56, behind a double-double of 22 points and 10 boards from freshman Javyn Nicholson.
Nicholson had a coming out party against Gardner-Webb, recording the first double-double by a Georgia freshman since the 2017-18 season. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native hit 9-of-11 shots, knocking in five of her first six. In two games last week, Nicholson shot 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the field.
Two of Georgia's four losses this season have come against teams currently ranked in the top-10 of the two major polls (No. 6 Baylor and No. 10 UCLA). The Lady Bulldogs' strength of schedule was ranked No. 11 nationally as of Dec. 21.
Head Coach Joni Taylor is just one win away from her 90th victory as head coach. The Lady Bulldogs are also approaching 1,000 all-time program wins with 988 victories entering Sunday's game.
Georgia's bench is outscoring its opponents by an average of 10.8 points per game this season. In the team's last game against Gardner-Webb, the Lady Bulldogs' bench owned a 55-3 advantage.
Following Sunday's game, Georgia opens SEC play at Ole Miss this Thursday at 7:45 p.m. ET. The Lady Bulldogs host No. 14-ranked Mississippi State next Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

Series History

Overall: Tied, 2-2
In Athens: Never Met
In Greenville, N.C: Never Met
Neutral Sites: Tied, 2-2
Current Streak: Teams have alternated wins
Last Meeting: Georgia W, 80-61 (1/21/83)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia W, 80-61 (1/21/83)
Largest Defeat: ECU W, 92-76 (2/12/78)
Full Series History

Scouting Gardner-Webb

Kim McNeill is in her first season as head coach at East Carolina. McNeill spent four seasons on head coach Andy Landers' staff from 2007-11. Most recently, she coached Hartford to three-straight winning seasons. This year, the Pirates rank fourth in the nation in steals per game, averaging 13.8 steals per contest. Offensively, East Carolina is led by Lashonda Monk's 13.8 points per game.

Nicholson, Hose Step Up Against Gardner-Webb

Sophomore guard Caitlin Hose and freshman forward Javyn Nicholson each played their best games of the season against Gardner-Webb on Dec. 22. Hose tallied a career-best 14 points, while Nicholson led all scorers with a career-high 22-point effort. Hose also knocked in a career-high five field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers in the win.

Shaniya Shines

It was quite the debut for redshirt-sophomore guard Shaniya Jones this past Sunday against Furman. Jones came off the bench to score 11 quick points in the second quarter, knocking down four of her first five shots in the period. Jones finished with 20 points in just 14 minutes of action against the Paladins.

The High Point, N.C., native was a highly-regarded, top-100 player out of high school and transferred to Georgia from Virginia Tech in January, 2019.

Free-Throw Numbers Improve for Lady Bulldogs

During the 2018-19 season, the Lady Bulldogs finished 12th in the SEC with a 67.1-percent effort from behind the line as a team. Currently, Georgia ranks second in the league, shooting 74.5 percent at the free-throw stripe. The Lady Bulldogs have five players who are hitting over 80 percent, led by Maya Caldwell's 90-percent clip. Last season, Georgia had just two players shoot over 80 percent.

Bench Coming Up Big

Georgia has played a deep rotation this season with 11 players who have played in 10 or more games. The Lady Bulldogs' bench has outscored its opponents in all but three contests, including a 20-2 advantage against Virginia Tech, a 39-22 edge versus Furman and a 55-3 advantage against Gardner-Webb.

Advantage in the Paint

Georgia has outscored its opponents in the paint in all but three games this season (vs. Kennesaw State, Baylor and), owning a 376-276 point advantage. In three-straight wins from Nov. 26-Nov. 30, the Lady Bulldogs owned a 116-60 edge, including a 44-26 advantage against Virginia Tech.

Connally Earns SEC Player of the Week

Gabby Connally averaged 18.5 points per game, hit 12-of-22 shots (54.5%) from the field, 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line in wins against Butler and Virginia Tech. Those performances helped the San Antonio native earn SEC Player of the Week.

Top-25 Success Under Taylor

Georgia has won nine games against top-25 opponents during head coach Joni Taylor's tenure. Georgia's last win against a top-10 team in Athens came in Coach Taylor's first season, when the Lady Bulldogs knocked off No. 10 Mississippi State, 47-43.

Peach State Players

Georgia's roster features seven players from the state of Georgia. During the initial signing period, the Lady Bulldogs inked Brunswick native Zoesha Smith, who will be the 10th Georgian that head coach Joni Taylor has signed during her five years at the helm of the program.

SEC's Youngest team Continues to Grow

With eight players who were either freshmen or sophomores, last year's Lady Bulldog basketball team was the youngest in the Southeastern Conference. This season's junior class -- which was a top-10 signing class back in 2017 -- returns four players who have combined to start 90 games coming into this season.

Pair of Two-Sport Stars

Georgia's roster this season features a pair of two-sport athletes -- the Lady Bulldogs' first since ESPN-star Maria Taylor played both basketball and volleyball. Incoming freshman Chloe Chapman plays soccer and basketball, while senior Stephanie Paul will compete on the track team, with her specialty being the discus.

All-Time Lady Bulldog Two-Sport Athletes
Tina Price -- 1975-78 -- Women's basketball/Tennis
Donna Noonan – 1975-77 – Women's basketball/Golf
Beth Timmons – 2000 – Women's basketball/Swimming
Maria Taylor – 2007 -- Women's basketball/Volleyball
Chloe Chapman – present – Women's basketball/Soccer
Stephanie Paul – present – Women's basketball/Track (discus)

Chapman Named to Soccer's SEC All-Freshman Team

Chloe Chapman put together a remarkable year on the soccer field as she led Georgia with six goals on her way to placing on the SEC All-Freshman Team. The Mitchellville, Md., native was named SEC Freshman of the Week after scoring two goals on the road at Missouri. She also notched Georgia's lone goal in a draw at then-No. 6 Arkansas.

Georgia Approaching Unique Milestones

Georgia has a long and storied history, dating back to the 36-year tenure of Hall of Fame head coach Andy Landers. As the Lady Bulldogs enter the 2019-20 campaign, the program is nearing its 1,000th win and is also approaching the 500-victory mark inside Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia boasts a 988-432 overall record since the 1973-74 season and can become one of just two SEC schools (joining Tennessee) and one of 14 programs nationwide to reach 1,000 victories. The Lady Bulldogs boast a 489-109 all-time record at Stegeman Coliseum.

Lady Bulldogs Sign Pair of Highly-Touted Prospects

Sarah Ashlee Barker — a guard from Birmingham, Ala. — and Zoesha Smith — a forward from Brunswick, Ga. — have signed national letters of intent with the Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball program. Each are highly-rated recruits who will join the Lady Bulldogs as freshmen, beginning with the 2020-21 season. According to espnW, Barker is a four-star recruit and ranked in the top-25 nationally among guard prospects. The same recruiting service tabbed Smith as the No. 23 overall forward in the nation.

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For more information on the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, follow the team on Twitter (@UGA_WBB), Instagram (@uga_wbb) and Facebook (Facebook.com/UGAWomensBasketball).