WBB Game Notes: Georgia Meets South Carolina in Top-25 Matchup

Thursday, January 21

Columbia, S.C.

6:30 PM

University of Georgia

South Carolina

WBB Game Notes: Georgia Meets South Carolina in Top-25 Matchup

January 20, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

#22/23 Georgia Lady Bulldogs (12-1, 4-1 SEC) vs. #3/4 South Carolina (10-1, 5-0 SEC)
Thursday, Jan. 21 | 6:30 p.m. E
Colonial Life Arena | Columbia, S.C.
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) 960 AM The REF, WXKT 103.7 FM in Athens
TV: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle (play-by-play)/Carolyn Peck (analyst)
Video Stream: SEC Network +
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com

JONI TAYLOR - HEAD COACH

SIXTH SEASON // RECORD: 110-59 (.651)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2018 Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach of the Year Semifinalist
Two-time Atlanta Tip-Off Club Georgia College Coach of the Year
2016 Spalding Maggie Dixon National Rookie Coach of the Year
Three WNBA Draft picks
Led Georgia to a 26-7 record in 2017-18, marking the team's most wins in a single season since 2006-07
Georgia hosted the NCAA first and second rounds in Athens for first time since 2003 during the 2017-18 campaign
Five All-SEC honorees and two SEC Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Created the award-winning Beyond Basketball group

No.	Name	PPG	RPG
Georgia Lady Bulldogs Most Recent Starters
2	Gabby Connally	10.8	2.2
G; 5-6; Sr.; San Antonio, Texas
23	Que Morrison	9.8	5.0
G; 5-7; Sr.; Riverdale, Ga.
11	Maya Caldwell	8.0	2.6
G; 5-11; Sr.; Charlotte, N.C.
20	Jordan Isaacs	4.5	2.9
F; 6-0; So.; Alpharetta, Ga.
14	Jenna Staiti	14.2	7.4
C; 6-4; R-Sr.; Cumming, Ga.

Opening Tip Storylines

Georgia is set to face the No. 3-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks Thursday at 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.
The Lady Bulldogs, who are 12-1 this season, are ranked No. 13 in the NET rankings, No. 22 in the Associated Press top-25 and No. 23 in the Coaches Poll. Georgia has been ranked in 534 editions of the AP poll throughout its history.
Georgia began the year 8-0 in non-conference action, marking its best start in seven seasons.
Georgia has won 17 of its last 21 games dating back to last year, with the only losses coming to top-15 teams South Carolina, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Kentucky.
The Lady Bulldogs are 5-0 in road games during the 2020-21 campaign. Georgia started the year with three-straight road victories for the first time in school history.
Georgia's mantra for the last several years has been 'Defense Travels.' That has once again been the case as the Lady Bulldogs are near the top of the league in most defensive categories.
Georgia ranks first in scoring defense (56.7 ppg), fourth in field-goal percentage defense (.362), third in 3-point FG percentage defense (.266), second in blocks (6.2 per game) and fifth in both steals (10.0 per game) and turnover margin (+3.1).
The Lady Bulldogs are averaging 76.3 points per game, up 14 points from last season's average of 63.2 ppg. Georgia has scored 80 or more points in four contests compared to just twice in 31 contests last year.
Georgia's depth was once again on display last Thursday against Tennessee. Mikayla Coombs, Maori Davenport and Malury Bates came off the bench and helped lead Georgia to the win. Coombs played the full 20 minutes in the second half, Davenport scored six points in 19 minutes and Bates made several key defensive stops down the stretch to seal the win.
Georgia leads the all-time series against South Carolina, 33-19, but is looking to snap a 12-game losing skid in the series.
Georgia is looking for its first win over a top-5 team since defeating No. 4 Stanford in the 2013 NCAA Sweet 16.
Lady Bulldog rookie Sarah Ashlee Barker was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday, marking the second honor for her this season. Barker is Georgia's first two-time Freshman of the Week since Caliya Robinson in 2016.

Series Breakdown

Overall: Georgia leads, 33-19
In Athens: Georgia leads, 15-6
In Columbia: Georgia leads, 14-7
Neutral Sites: South Carolina leads, 6-4
Current Streak: South Carolina has won 12-straight meetings
Last Meeting: South Carolina won 89-56 (3/6/20) in Greenville
Largest Margin of Victory: 43 points, Georgia won 78-35 (2/1/97) in Columbia
Largest Defeat: 35 points, South Carolina won 88-53 (1/26/20) in Athens
Full Series History

Georgia Senior Guards Heat Up

Seniors Que Morrison and Gabby Connally have combined to hit 12 three-pointers and have totaled 67 points in Georgia's last three wins against Florida, Tennessee and Ole Miss. The two combined to hit just five 3-pointers in the first two SEC games of the year.

Options at the Post

Georgia has relied on a deep rotation of post players this season. Against Florida, Javyn Nicholson came off the bench and scored eight points in the first half after Jenna Staiti got into foul trouble. It was Maori Davenport and Malury Bates who led the Georgia frontcourt against Tennessee as the two combined to play 33 minutes in the final two quarters.

Coombs Georgia's Newest Defensive Back

Redshirt junior guard Mikayla Coombs grew up wanting to play football, and she has certainly carried that passion over to the basketball floor. Coombs is one of Georgia's top defensive players as she currently ranks eighth in the SEC in total steals with 26. In the last two games, Coombs has hit 9-of-14 from the field (64 percent), scored 19 points, totaled seven rebounds, 12 assists and four steals.

Not Just Defense … Georgia Sees Offensive Improvement

The Lady Bulldogs are a much improved team on the offensive end compared to last season. Georgia is averaging 76.3 points per game in 2020 after scoring just 63.2 points per game in 2019-20. The team has scored over 80 points four times through the first 13 games. Last season, the Lady Bulldogs scored 80 or more points twice in 31 contests.

Block Party for the Bulldogs

The Lady Bulldogs are second in the SEC and fourth nationally with 80 total blocks. Senior center Jenna Staiti leads all conference players and is fourth in the country with her 37 swats (2.8 per game).

Georgia League's Best in Assists

The Lady Bulldogs have totaled 230 assists —a total that leads all SEC schools and ranks sixth in NCAA women's college basketball. Georgia averages 17.7 dimes per game, which is also tops in the conference.

Reaching 100

Georgia scored 107 points against Appalachian State on Dec. 22. That total marked the most points by a Georgia team since the 2000-01 campaign and was the first time the Lady Bulldogs have reached the 100-point mark since 2007.

Barker Named SEC Freshman of the Week ... Again

Sarah Ashlee Barker has been named SEC Freshman of the Week twice this season. She earned her most recent honor after scoring 11 points, including nine points off a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter, against Ole Miss.

Barker has made several key plays for the Lady Bulldogs this season.

With 2:19 left in the overtime period against Georgia Tech, Barker broke open a tie game with a made jump shot to put her team up 65-63. The Lady Bulldogs did not give up the lead the rest of the way en route to a 75-69 win. Barker then hit a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma, giving Georgia its largest lead of the game at 14.

Georgia Reaches 1,000-Win Milestone

With its win against East Carolina on Dec. 3, Georgia became one of just two SEC programs (Tennessee) and one of 16 nationwide to reach the 1,000-win mark. The team commemorated the milestone with a special social media video narrated by Andy Landers and Joni Taylor.

Taylor, Connally Reach Important Marks Against Tech

Georgia defeated Georgia Tech this year to improve the Lady Bulldogs' record to 36-7 against the Yellow Jackets. The win also marked the 100th of Coach Taylor's career. Senior guard Gabby Connally reached the 1,000-point mark with a first-half basket against Tech.

Staiti's Streak

Jenna Staiti had one of the best late season stretches of any player in the SEC last season, averaging 19.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game over the last nine contests. That trend has continued into the 2020-21 campaign. She has now scored in double figures in 20 of her last 22 games and has eight double-doubles during that time.

Staiti Among Georgia's All-time Best Shot Blockers

With 155 blocks , Jenna Staiti stands in ninth place on Georgia's all-time blocked shots chart. Tawana McDonald owns the UGA career record with 297 in her career.

Connally Reaches Career Top-10

Georgia senior Gabby Connally has moved into ninth place on UGA's career 3-pt field goals made chart. Connally has totaled 159 during her time at Georgia.

Two-Sport Star in Rare Company

Sophomore guard Chloe Chapman is one of only six Lady Bulldogs to play two sports while at UGA. Below is a list of these elite athletes.

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
Stephanie Paul – 2019-20 – Women's basketball/Track (discus)
Chloe Chapman – present – Women's basketball/Soccer

Georgia Seniors Earn Degrees

Each of Georgia's four seniors -- Gabby Connally, Maya Caldwell, Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti -- will wear the SEC graduate patch this season after earning their degrees. The four Lady Bulldogs are all pursuing master's degrees, with Connally focusing on public administration, Cadwell in non-profit management and leadership, and Morrison and Staiti in sport pedagogy.

Georgia Led League in Honor Roll Selections

The Georgia Lady Bulldogs led all Southeastern Conference basketball teams (women or men) with nine players on the league's Academic Honor Roll this past winter.

Each winter, student-athletes from across the conference are recognized for having a 3.0 GPA or above for either the preceding academic year or a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

One of Peach State's Best Joins 2021 Signing Class

Jillian Hollingshead, a 6-foot-5 forward from Powder Springs, Ga., added to an already impressive 2021 signing class for the Lady Bulldogs. She was the fourth signee of Georgia's class, joining fellow top-40 prospect Reigan Richardson (Huntersville, N.C.) as well as Alina Sendar (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Kimora 'Kimmie' Jenkins (Long Island, N.Y.).

Hollingshead was ranked as the No. 5 forward in the nation according to espnW and was also ranked No. 22 in the ESPN HoopGurlz Terrific 25 for the 2021 class.