Georgia Hosts No. 14 Mississippi State

Sunday, January 5

Athens, Ga.

4:00 PM

University of Georgia

Mississippi State

Tickets

January 03, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Lady Bulldogs (10-4, 1-0 SEC) vs. No. 14/15 Mississippi State (13-2, 1-0 SEC)
Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020 | 4 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) | Athens, Ga.
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) WXKT 103.7FM and 960 AM The REF
TV: SEC Network (Tyler Denning and Andraya Carter)
Stream: SEC Network +

No.	Name	PPG	RPG
Georgia Lady Bulldogs Possible Starters
Coach: Joni Taylor
91-48 in 5th season at UGA
91-48 in 5th season overall
2	Gabby Connally	13.2	3.6
G; 5-6; Jr.; San Antonio, Texas
23	Que Morrison	5.6	4.4
G; 5-7; Jr.; Riverdale, Ga.
11	Maya Caldwell	10.1	3.6
G; 5-10; Jr.; Charlotte, N.C.
3	Stephanie Paul	6.7	4.1
F; 5-10; Sr.; Naples, Fla.
14	Jenna Staiti	9.6	5.6
C; 6-4; R-Jr.; Cumming, Ga.

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS
65.8	Scoring	64.2
65.2	Scoring	84.8
41.2%	FG%	48.0%
27.6%	3FG%	33.8%
40.1	Rebounds	40.5
13.9	Assists	15.0
3.6	Blocks	5.7
7.7	Steals	9.9
58.0	Scoring Def.	56.6
36.0%	FG% Def.	36.0%
32.6%	3FG% Def.	28.3%
+4.4	Reb. Margin	+4.4-
0.3	T/O Margin	+8.7
0.8	Ast-T/O Ratio	1.1

Game Promotions

WEAR RED – the first 500 fans receive a FREE red t-shirt.
TODDLER TROT– contact Leigh Ann Gibbons (lgibbons@sports.uga.edu) from Georgia promotions to sign your toddler up for this exciting halftime race featuring the youngest Bulldogs. Must be 2 years old and younger.

Opening Tip

Georgia welcomes the No. 14-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs to Stegeman Coliseum this Sunday for a 4 p.m. ET tipoff. The contest will be carried nationally on the SEC Network.
Sunday is Georgia's Red Out game, with fans encouraged to wear red.
The Lady Bulldogs have won seven of their last nine games this season, with their only losses during the current stretch coming to top-10 teams Baylor and UCLA.
Georgia leads the all-time series against the Bulldogs from Starkville, 28-18. The Lady Bulldogs own a 16-4 edge in Athens, including a 47-43 victory against No. 10-ranked Mississippi State during head coach Joni Taylor's first season in 2015-16.
Senior forward Stephanie Paul led Georgia with a season-high 18 points in the 58-51 road win at Ole Miss Thursday evening. Paul scored eight of those points in the fourth quarter.
Reigning SEC Freshman of the Week Javyn Nicholson continues to play well for the Lady Bulldogs. In the last three games, she has recorded two double-doubles and is averaging 9.7 rebounds per contest. Nicholson played all 10 minutes in the fourth quarter during Thursday's win against Ole Miss.
Junior guard Gabby Connally leads the Lady Bulldogs. The Preseason All-SEC performer has scored in double figures in 15 of her last 19 games dating back to last year.
Georgia has played a strong schedule so far this season. The Lady Bulldogs' strength of schedule ranks No. 28 nationally, with 12 of 14 opponents boasting winning records.

Series History

Overall: Overall: Georgia leads, 28-18
In Athens: Georgia leads, 16-4
In Starkville: MSU leads, 12-10
Neutral Sites: Tied, 2-2
Current Streak: MSU has won three-straight
Last Meeting: MSU W, 80-71 (1/10/19)
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia 87, MSU 47 (2/8/1986)
Largest Defeat: MSU 86, Georgia 54 (1/21/1978)
Full Series History

Scouting Mississippi State

Under the guidance of head coach Vic Schaefer, Mississippi State enters Sunday's contest averaging 84.8 points per game, which is the second-best mark in the SEC behind Arkansas. The Bulldogs shoot an SEC-best 48 percent from the field, including a 33.8 percent clip from behind the arc. Defensively, MSU owns a +8.7 turnover margin against its opponents and forces an average of 22.2 turnovers per game.

The Bulldogs are 13-2 this season, with their only two losses coming to No.4 Stanford and No. 19 West Virginia. Jordan Danberry leads the Bulldogs at 13.6 points per game, while Jessika Carter averages 10.6 boards per contest. Those two players have started each of Mississippi State's 15 games.

Last Time Out Against Mississippi State

During last season's meeting in early January, Georgia hit 16 of its first 22 shots in the second half to build a late second-half lead against then-No. 6 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs from Athens led 66-63 with just over six minutes remaining, but missed their last 10 shots in the 80-71 loss. Then-senior forward Caliya Robinson scored a game-high 26 points, while current Lady Bulldog Gabby Connally finished with 13.

Up Next for Georgia

Following Sunday's game, Georgia hosts Vanderbilt, which boasts an 11-3 record. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET tip Thursday, Jan. 9.

Freshmen Posts Play Well in SEC Opener

Freshmen forwards Javyn Nicholson and Jordan Isaacs played valuable minutes in the first SEC game of their careers. Isaacs knocked in two shots in the second half, each giving Georgia the lead in a tie game. Nicholson played 25 minutes, including all 10 in the fourth quarter, and finished with nine boards. She has totaled nine or more boards in each of the last three games.

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 year's squad is starting to jell as Georgia's lineup has featured 11 players that have played in 12 or more games this season.

Georgia Reaches Milestone in Win

Georgia's win against East Carolina marked the 90th victory of head coach Joni Taylor's five-year head coaching career. The Lady Bulldogs have also totaled 990 all-time wins and are looking to become one of 15 programs nationwide to reach the 1,000-win mark.

Free-Throw Numbers Improve for Lady Bulldogs

As a team, Georgia has hit 80 percent or better from the free-throw line six times this season. The Lady Bulldogs only hit that 80 percent mark six times all of last season (30 games) . After finishing the 2018-19 campaign ranked 12th in the SEC in free-throw percentage, Georgia is currently ranked second with a 73.8 percent clip.

Winning Trends

The Lady Bulldogs are 8-0 when leading at halftime and 9-1 when winning the rebounding battle this season. Offensively, Georgia is 9-0 when it scores 60 points or more. The team averages 46.5 points per game in four losses, compared to 72.7 points per game in 10 wins.

Nicholson, Hose Step Up 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.

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.

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 990-432 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 490-109 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.

FOLLOW THE LADY BULLDOGS

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