WBB Games Notes: Georgia Hosts Arkansas in Top-25 Matchup

Monday, January 25

Athens, Ga.

7:00 PM

University of Georgia

Arkansas

WBB Games Notes: Georgia Hosts Arkansas in Top-25 Matchup

January 23, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

#22/23 Georgia Lady Bulldogs (12-2, 4-2 SEC) vs. #15/17 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-5, 2-4 SEC)
Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 | 7 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523 - capacity around 20% this season) | Athens, Ga.
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) 960 AM The REF, WXKT 103.7 FM in Athens
TV: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck)
Video Stream: SEC Network +
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com

JONI TAYLOR - HEAD COACH

SIXTH SEASON // RECORD: 110-60 (.650)

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	10.5	2.1
G; 5-6; Sr.; San Antonio, Texas
23	Que Morrison	10.1	5.1
G; 5-7; Sr.; Riverdale, Ga.
11	Maya Caldwell	7.4	2.6
G; 5-11; Sr.; Charlotte, N.C.
20	Jordan Isaacs	4.4	2.7
F; 6-0; So.; Alpharetta, Ga.
14	Jenna Staiti	14.3	7.5
C; 6-4; R-Sr.; Cumming, Ga.

Women's Basketball Fan Attendance Policy

Due to social distancing protocols, Stegeman Coliseum will be operating at a reduced capacity of approximately 20% with ticket opportunities in blocks of two or four seats only.
Fans will be required to wear face masks at all times while in Stegeman Coliseum.
No fans are allowed on the court level of Stegeman.
All seating is reserved for the 2020-2021 women's basketball season.
Tickets are mobile for the 2020-21 season. Tickets for this game are still available. Visit www.georgiadogs.com/tickets to purchase a mobile ticket.

Opening Tip Storylines

Georgia and Arkansas meet in a top-25 battle this Monday at 7 p.m. ET. The matchup will be carried nationwide on the SEC Network.
Monday's game features the SEC's best offensive team (Arkansas -- 86.2 ppg) and the league's top defensive squad (Georgia opponents -- 57.1 ppg).
The Lady Bulldogs have won six of the last seven contests against the Razorbacks, including last season's 64-55 win in Fayetteville. The 55 points were a season low for an Arkansas team that averaged 83.4 points per game.
Georgia held South Carolina to its second-lowest scoring output of the season this past Thursday in Columbia. The Gamecocks -- who scored just 62 points against Georgia -- average over 80 points per game.
The Lady Bulldogs have been much improved offensively. The 50 points scored against South Carolina marked the first time during the 2020-21 campaign Georgia has scored below 60 points in a game. The Lady Bulldogs scored less than 60 points 12 times last season.
Georgia is ranked No. 13 in the NET rankings, No. 22 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 23 in the Coaches Poll.
Georgia began the year 8-0 in non-conference action, marking its best start in seven seasons.
Georgia has won 17 of its last 22 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 in the midst of a tough stretch with three contests against top-25 teams over four games.
Four seniors who have all earned their undergraduate degrees and are pursuing master's degrees sit atop Georgia's scoring column. Jenna Staiti, Gabby Connally, Que Morrison and Maya Caldwell rank 1-4 in season scoring averages for the Lady Bulldogs.
Staiti has scored in double figures in 21 of the last 23 games. She finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine boards against South Carolina.

Series Breakdown

Overall: Georgia leads, 35-6
In Athens: Georgia leads, 17-2
In Fayetteville: Georgia leads, 15-3
Neutral Sites: Georgia leads, 3-1
Current Streak: Georgia has won six of the last seven meetings
Last Meeting: Georgia won, 64-55 (1/23/20) in Fayetteville
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia W, 87-54 (2/24/96)
Largest Defeat: Arkansas W, 66-45 (2/24/02)
Full Series History

Defense Travels … Lady Bulldogs Top of the SEC in Defense

Georgia is the only team in the SEC to rank in the top-5 in scoring defense (No. 1; 57.1 ppg), field-goal percentage defense (No. 4; .362), 3-point field-goal percentage (No. 3; .261), blocked shots (No. 2; 6.2 per game) and steals (No. 5; 9.6 per game).

Georgia Senior Guards Heat Up

Seniors Que Morrison and Gabby Connally combined to hit 12 three-pointers and 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.

Winning on the Road

The Lady Bulldogs are 5-1 on the road this season, including wins in its first three games of the year — the first time in school history Georgia has accomplished that feat. Georgia's win at Tennessee was its first in Knoxville since 1996.

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 10th in the SEC in total steals with 26. In two games against Tennessee and Ole Miss , 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 74.4 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 14 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 87 total blocks. Senior center Jenna Staiti is second in the SEC with 38 total blocks.

Georgia One of League's Most Unselfish

The Lady Bulldogs average 17.4 assists per game, which ranks second in the SEC. Georgia has totaled a conference-best 243 dimes during the 2020-21 campaign.

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 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.

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.

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 21 of her last 23 games and has eight double-doubles during that time. A full breakdown of her last 21 games is on page 5 of the notes.

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.

Focus on Community

Georgia's Joni Taylor has put a focus on community service during her six seasons as head coach. This past fall, Taylor and her team took action once again by hosting a Water Bottle Drive for the local Boys and Girls Club of Athens. The community stepped up in a big way, donating close to 150 water bottles.

"We were absolutely blown away by the turnout," Taylor said. "COVID-19 has affected all of our lives in so many ways. For the Boys and Girls Club, COVID protocols eliminated the use of water fountains, so the organization needed new, re-fillable water bottles. When our ladies found out about this, they immediately wanted to help. I could not be more proud of their efforts and the efforts of all those who came by today. It's another step forward in making a meaningful impact in our community."