Georgia Brings Win Streak Into Kentucky Game

March 02, 2019 | Women's Basketball

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Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (18-10, 9-6 SEC) vs. #11 Kentucky (23-6, 10-5 SEC)
Sunday, March 3| 1 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) | Athens, Ga.
Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network - 960 AM and 103.7 FM in Athens (Jeff Dantzler)
TV: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle and Tamika Catchings)
Video: SECN+

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
81-42 (4th year) at UGA
81-42 (4th year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	11.0	5.3
5-8; RS-Jr.; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	2	Gabby Connally	12.4	2.3
5-6; So.; San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis HS
G	23	Que Morrison	4.4	3.1
5-7; So; Riverdale, Fla./McEachern HS
G	11	Maya Caldwell	5.4	2.9
5-10; So.; Charlotte, N.C./Davidson Day
F	4	Caliya Robinson	14.8	8.3
6-3; Sr.; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		KENTUCKY WILDCATS
68.6	Scoring	72.3
43.8%	FG%	41.7%
30.6%	3FG%	37.1%
39.9	Rebounds	34.3
16.2	Assists	13.4
5.9	Blocks	3.7
8.4	Steals	10.6
59.2	Scoring Def.	57.9
36.8%	FG% Def.	40.7%
28.8%	3FG% Def.	30.6%
+5.0	Reb. Margin	-1.7
+0.8	T/O Margin	+8.1
1.0	Ast-T/O Ratio	1.0

Opening Tip

Georgia, which has won four-straight and five of its last six games this season, welcomes No. 11 Kentucky on Senior Day this Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Lady Bulldogs will honor lone senior Caliya Robinson roughly 20 minutes before opening tip.
Robinson will play one final time at Stegeman Coliseum. The All-SEC, two-time SEC All-Defensive team member and 2018 WBCA All-America honorable mention selection has put together a stellar career. She ranks top-10 among Georgia's career leaders in blocks (second with 285) and rebounds (10th with 857) and has started 61-straight games for the Lady Bulldogs.
Robinson needs just 13 blocks to own the Georgia career record. She currently has 285, which is just behind Tawana McDonald's school record of 297 set from 1998-2002.
With a win on Sunday, Georgia would clinch at least a No. 5 seed in the 2019 SEC Tournament and, depending on the Missouri vs. Alabama outcome, could move up to a No. 4 seed. With a loss, Georgia would fall no lower than a No. 7 seed.
Kentucky represents the fourth team Georgia has faced that is currently ranked in the top-15. In all three previous games (vs. Maryland, Mississippi State and South Carolina), Georgia either led or was tied late in the second half. Georgia lost those contests by an average of 8.0 ppg.
Redshirt-junior point guard Taja Cole ranks first in the SEC and sixth nationally in both total assists (183) and assists per game (6.8 per game).
A large reason for Georgia's late season success has been the play of Que Morrison. After recovering from a knee injury early in the season, Morrison has played 30 minutes or more in five-straight games.

Series History

Overall: Georgia leads, 37-18
In Athens: Georgia leads, 17-6
In Lexington: Georgia leads, 14-10
Neutral Sites: Georgia leads, 6-2
Current Streak: Kentucky has won four of last five
Last Meeting: Georgia won, 56-42 (1/7/18)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia 113, UK 67 (2/23/86)
Largest Defeat: UK 82, Georgia 61 (1/15/17)

Cole Moves into Top-10 of Georgia Record Book

With 183 total assists, redshirt-junior point guard Taja Cole is in sixth place in the Georgia record book for assists in a season and needs just two more to move into a tie with Bernadette Locke for fifth place.

Cole leads the Southeastern Conference and is sixth nationally with an impressive 6.8 helpers per game. Her 183 total assists (sixth most nationally) are 32 more than the next closest SEC player (Tyasha Harris, SC, 151). In addition, Cole has totaled 10 or more assists in a game five times this season and five more dimes in 22 of 27 contests.

Robinson Approaching Top Spot in Georgia History

Caliya Robinson needs just 13 blocks to pass Tawana McDonald's record of 297 blocks in a career. With 285 total swats over the last three and a half seasons, Robinson currently stands in third place in the Georgia career record book behind McDonald and Hall of Famer Katrina McClain (290).

More on Robinson ... Senior Reaches 200-rebound Total Again

Robinson has now gone over 200 rebounds for the third-straight season, becoming the first Lady Bulldog since Angel Robinson from 2007-10 to reach that mark in three consecutive years.

Georgia Hangs With Three Top Teams

Georgia has played three teams that are currently in the top-15 of this week's Associated Press poll. In all three games -- each on the road -- the Lady Bulldogs were either tied or led late in the second half.

Against then-No. 7 Maryland, Georgia led 40-38 in the third and was within two points -- 53-51 -- with 51 seconds remaining. On the road at then-No. 6 Mississippi State, Georgia built a 68-65 advantage with 6:12 remaining, but missed its last 10 shots in the loss. Then, at No. 11 South Carolina, Georgia tied the game at 53-53 with 6:49 to go, but was outscored 12-4 the rest of the way.

Morrison Heating up for Lady Bulldogs

Sophomore guard Que Morrison, who started 32 of Georgia's 33 games during her freshman campaign, has drawn starts in the last nine contests. Morrison was expected to play a large role for the Lady Bulldogs this season but has been limited due to her knee injury. After scoring 11 points against Florida, Morrison played 35 minutes at South Carolina and then 31 minutes against Ole Miss. Last Thursday, she scored a season-high 16 points in 37 minutes against Arkansas.

Caldwell Catching on Late in the Season

In addition to Morrison, another bright spot has been the play of sophomore Maya Caldwell, who has started at the 4 spot in each of the last eight games. She is averaging 9.5 ppg over the last nine games after just 3.4 ppg over the first 19 contests.

Free-Throw Numbers Up for Lady Bulldogs

As a team, Georgia's free-throw numbers are up by nearly 14 percentage points in SEC play compared to non-conference action. Against league opponents, the Lady Bulldogs have shot 74.9 percent from the free-throw line compared to just 61.3 percent against non-conference foes.

Redshirt-junior guard Taja Cole had the biggest jump from 45.2 percent to 77.4 percent, while Jenna Staiti jumped from just 52.8 percent to 76.2 percent. Gabby Connally is 30-of-34 (88.2%) at the FT line in SEC play.

Young Pups - Georgia is SEC's Youngest Team

With eight underclassmen and just four upperclassmen, the Lady Bulldogs are the youngest team in the Southeastern Conference. All seven of Georgia's available freshmen and sophomores (not counting Malury Bates who is out for the year after tearing her ACL) have averaged over 10 minutes played per game.

Lady Bulldogs Add Top Prospects in 2019 Signing Class

The initial signing period was a good one for the Lady Bulldogs as Georgia signed three players who are among some of the best in the nation. Currently, the Lady Bulldogs' 2019 class ranks 14th overall by ESPNW.

Mitchellville, Maryland native and five-star guard Chloe Chapman was the first to ink with Georgia. Chapman, a five-star prospect, is the No. 28 overall recruit and No. 7 point guard according to ESPNW. Later in the week, Georgia announced the signing of five-star forward Javyn Nicholson from Lawrenceville, Georgia. Nicholson is ranked No. 6 among the country's top power forwards. Another Georgia native, Jordan Isaacs from Alpharetta, rounds out Georgia's class. She is a five-star player according to Prospects Nation and No. 14 overall forward according to ESPNW.

Earlier this winter, Georgia inked Virginia Tech transfer Shaniya Jones, who was a four-star guard in the 2018 class. She is on campus and will be an eligible sophomore at the conclusion of the 2019 fall term.
For more information on the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, follow the team on Twitter (@UGA_WBB), Instagram (@uga_wbb) and Facebook (Facebook.com/UGAWomensBasketball).