Georgia Faces Defending National Champion Baylor

Wednesday, December 4

Waco, TX

8:00 PM

University of Georgia

Baylor

December 03, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Georgia Lady Bulldogs (6-2) vs. #6/7 Baylor Lady Bears (7-1)
Wednesday, Dec. 4 | 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT
Ferrell Center (10,284) | Waco, Texas
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) WXKT 103.7FM and GeorgiaDogs.com
TV: None
Stream: ESPN+ (John Morris and Jim Haller)

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		BAYLOR BEARS
67.4	Scoring	87.8
42.5%	FG%	52.6%
30.9%	3FG%	35.6%
40.4	Rebounds	42.8
13.1	Assists	22.4
3.4	Blocks	5.9
8.3	Steals	10.5
59.5	Scoring Def.	49.1
38.0%	FG% Def.	30.6%
36.3%	3FG% Def.	23.0%
+7.5	Reb. Margin+	14.3
-0.4	T/O Margin	+7.3
0.7	Ast-T/O Ratio	1.6

Opening Tip

Georgia takes its three-game win streak to Waco, Texas for a matchup against the defending NCAA national champion Baylor Lady Bears at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT Wednesday.
It marks just the second all-time meeting between these two women's basketball powerhouses. Sixth-ranked Baylor came back from an 18-point deficit to defeat the eighth-ranked Lady Bulldogs, 84-72, on Nov. 13, 2005 (State Farm Tip-Off Classic/Lubbock, Texas). The Lady Bears also entered that contest as the defending NCAA champions.
Baylor enters Wednesday's contest ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press poll. In its history, Georgia is an impressive 11-1 against teams ranked No. 7 in the AP poll and boasts a 120-64 all-time record (65 percent) against top-10 teams.
The Lady Bulldogs' last win on the road against a top-10 squad came in a 75-71 victory at No. 8 Kentucky on Feb. 3, 2013. Georgia defeated No. 10 Mississippi State, 47-43, at home during head coach Joni Taylor's first season in 2015-16. It is one of nine top-25 wins for the Lady Bulldogs under her leadership.
Baylor has won 44-straight games inside the Ferrell Center, with the team's last loss coming to Texas in 2017 (85-79).
Georgia junior guard Gabby Connally will be making a trip back to her home state on Wednesday. The San Antonio native was named the SEC Player of the Week on Tuesday, following a trio of double-figure scoring games. She leads Georgia in scoring with 15.9 ppg.
The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a Thanksgiving trip to the Daytona Beach Invitational, where they earned a pair of wins against teams that won 20 games and advanced to postseason play last year. Georgia defeated Butler, 69-36, and handed Virginia Tech its first loss of the season, 77-72, on Saturday.

Series History

Overall: Overall: Baylor leads, 1-0
In Athens: Never Met
In Waco: Never Met
Neutral Sites: Baylor leads, 1-0
Current Streak: Baylor won only meeting
Last Meeting: Baylor won, 84-72 (11/13/05) in Lubbock
Largest Margin of Victory: Same
Largest Defeat: NA
Full Series History

Scouting Baylor

Baylor saw its 36-game win streak snapped Saturday by South Carolina in a 74-59 defeat. The Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally in 12 categories, including field-goal percentage (52.6%), scoring defense (49.1 ppg) and rebound margin (14.3). Head coach Kim Mulkey, who boasts a 583-100 record in 20 seasons as Baylor's head coach, has been without the services of All-American Lauren Cox, who suffered a stress reaction to the second metatarsal on her right foot. The Lady Bears are led in scoring by NaLyssa Smith's 16.1 ppg.

Up Next for Georgia

Following its trip to Waco, Georgia breaks for 11 days during the University's exam period. The Lady Bulldogs return home on Dec. 15 for a 2 p.m. tip against Furman, before hosting 11th-ranked UCLA on Dec. 19 at 11 a.m.

Turnovers Improve

The Lady Bulldogs committed just 10 turnovers in the win against Virginia Tech this past Saturday. Georgia ranks 12th in the SEC in turnover margin at -0.4, but improved that to a +6.5 ledger in its last two games.

Advantage in the Paint

Georgia has outscored its opponents in the paint in all but one game this season (vs. Kennesaw State), owning a 262-180 point advantage. In three-straight wins, the Lady Bulldogs own a 116-60 edge, including a 44-26 advantage against Virginia Tech.

A Return to the Lone Star State

Georgia's Gabby Connally — a native of San Antonio — returns to play in the state of Texas for just the second time in her collegiate career. She made the most of her first trip back to the Lone Star State when she set the Georgia freshman record for points against a SEC opponent with 37 against Texas A&M in 2018.

More on Connally … A Closer Look at the SEC Player of the Week

Connally's return comes as she is playing her best basketball of the season. Last week, she 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 stripe in wins against Butler and Virginia Tech. Connally has led Georgia in scoring in six of eight games this season and has reached double figures in 11 of her last 13 contests dating back to last year.

In six wins this season, Connally is averaging 18.5 points per game, while she has scored just 8.0 ppg (16 total points) in two losses.

A Difference Behind the Arc

Georgia has hit big shots from 3-point range this season. In Georgia's six victories, the team has hit 39 percent (32 total 3-pointers) from behind the arc, compared to just two made 3-point baskets in its pair of losses.

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 is the 10th Georgian that head coach Joni Taylor has signed during her five years at the helm of the program.

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, Maryland 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.

Andiamos Bulldogs! Georgia Embarks on Trip to Italy

Georgia spent 11 days on a foreign tour to Italy this past summer. The Lady Bulldogs were there from July 29-Aug. 7 and took in the sights and sounds of Rome, Florence, Venice and Trieste. Georgia played three games in Italy, winning all three contests. Junior Maya Caldwell led all scorers with 12 points per game.

Another Top Signing Class

Head coach Joni Taylor and her staff signed another top-15 class. Five-star point guard Chloe Chapman and five-star forward Javyn Nicholson each rank among the nation's top-40 prospects according to espnW, while fellow freshman forward Jordan Isaacs was a highly sought after recruit who was tabbed a four-star player by ProspectsNation.com.

Defensive Dogs

Under head coach Joni Taylor, Georgia has finished in the top-5 of the SEC in both field-goal percentage defense and 3-point field-goal percentage defense in each of the last four years. Below is a closer look at those defensive numbers.

Year	Scoring Def./Rank	FG % Def./Rank	3-pt. FG%/Rank
2015-16	54.1 ppg/1st	35.0%/2nd	24.3%/1st
2016-17	62.4 ppg/8th	36.8%/2nd	28.6%/5th
2017-18	57.6 ppg/2nd	35.1%/1st	29.2%/4th
2018-19	60.1 ppg/5th	37.5%/3rd	29.8%/5th

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 986-430 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 488-108 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.

FOLLOW THE LADY BULLDOGS

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