WBB Notes: Pair of Unbeatens Meet in Atlanta

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (4-0) vs. Georgia Tech (3-0)
Sunday Nov. 20 | 2 p.m. ET
McCamish Pavilion (8,600) | Atlanta
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler) 960 AM The Ref, WXKT 103.7 FM and the Georgia Bulldog App | Affiliates
TV: ACC Network (Ben Shulman and Christy Thomaskutty)
Video Stream: SECN+ (Matt Stewart and Anne Marie Armstrong)
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
History: UGA 36-8 (Full History)
Last Meeting: - 12/5/2021 - L 54-55

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS
Ranking: RV (Coaches)/RV (AP)
Head Coach: Coach ABE
Career Record: 376-157 (18th year)
Record at Georgia: 4-0 (1st year)

GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
Ranking: NR
Head Coach: Nell Fortner
Career Record: 223-148 (13th year)
Record at GT: 63-31 (4th year)

GEORGIA (Natl. Rank)	2022-23 STATISTICS	GEORGIA TECH (Natl. Rank)
74.0 (121)	POINTS PER GAME	60.7 (259)
49.8 (39)	SCORING DEFENSE	44.0 (8)
.448 (98)	FG PERCENTAGE	.373 (254)
.317 (34)	FG PERCENTAGE DEFENSE	.261 (7)
.304 (175)	3-PT. FG PERCENTAGE	.326 (137)
.261 (105)	3-PT. FG PERCENTAGE DEFENSE	.185 (17)
.667 (204)	FREE-THROW PERCENTAGE	.716 (121)
44.0 (71)	REBOUND AVERAGE	44.3 (68)
+11.8 (49)	REBOUND MARGIN	+6.7 (106)
17.8 (53)	ASSISTS PER GAME	10.3 (277)
+5.5 (77)	TURNOVER MARGIN	-0.7 (210)
10.8 (84)	STEALS PER GAME	7.0 (235)
4.7 (81)	BLOCKS PER GAME	4.0 (109)

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Cl.	PPG	RPG
RECENT STARTERS
0	Zoesha Smith	F	6-1	Jr.	10.0	4.5
3	Diamond Battles	G	5-8	5th	15.7	4.0
24	Brittney Smith	F	6-3	5th	11.0	9.3
31	Audrey Warren	G/F	5-9	5th	7.3	4.0
35	Javyn Nicholson	F	6-2	Sr.	13.0	8.7

Opening Tip

» Georgia hits the road for the first time this season with a trip to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech at 2 p.m. ET Sunday. The game will air nationally on the ACC Network.

» The Lady Bulldogs own a commanding 36-8 lead in the all-time series against Tech, including a 13-5 mark in Atlanta. Georgia has lost three of the last four meetings overall.

» Georgia's 4-0 record this season marks the best start for any head coach in Lady Bulldog history.

» Sunday's matchup features two of the top defensive programs nationally. Georgia has held opponents to 49.8 ppg, while Tech has limited teams to just 44.0 ppg.

Last season, Coach ABE's UCF squad led the nation in scoring defense at 47.8 ppg, while Georgia Tech ranked sixth, holding teams to just 52.7 ppg.

» A balanced effort led Georgia past Kennesaw State this past week. All 11 players who saw action scored a point, led by a season-high 20 from Brittney Smith.

» Georgia junior Zoesha Smith made the most of her first career start on Wednesday. Smith scored a career-high 15 points -- the third time in four games she has reached a new career high in scoring. Smith played 31 minutes against Jacksonville State and 25 versus Kennesaw State. Prior to this season, Smith had never played over 20 minutes in a game.

» Another bright spot for Georgia has been the play of newcomers Savannah Henderson and De'Mauri Flournoy. Henderson hit 3-for-5 from 3-point range against Kennesaw State, while Flournoy scored a season-high 11 points.

» Preseason All-SEC and Naismith National Player of the Year Watch List selection Diamond Battles leads the Lady Bulldogs this season. She paces the team in points (13.3), assists (17 total) and minutes played (31. 4 per game).

Anybody's Night

A bright spot for this year's Georgia team has been its balance and depth. The Lady Bulldogs have had a different player lead the team in both scoring and rebounding in three of the first four games. Ten or more players have scored at least a point in a single game twice so far this year.

Smith's Streak

UCF transfer and fifth year senior Brittney Smith is on impressive streak. The Orlando, Fla., native has scored in double figures in 13 of the last 18 games, including a career-high 26 point effort against Florida in the NCAA tournament and 20 earlier this season against Kennesaw State. She has also totaled four double-doubles during this current 18-game stretch. The 2022 American Athletic Conference Sixth Player of the Year averaged 10.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg a season ago.

Roundtree Named Finalist for Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Georgia legend Saudia Roundtree was named one of 12 finalists for the 2023 induction of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. The list of inductees will be announced on Nov. 27.

Roundtree led Georgia to the 1995 and 1996 Final Fours as well as the '96 SEC Championship. She was the 1996 National Player of the Year as well as the SEC Player of the Year. In 2013, she was inducted into Georgia's Circle of Honor. Georgia has four legends in the WBB Hall of Fame, including Katrina McClain (2006), Andy Landers (2007), Teresa Edwards (2010) and Janet Harris (2015).

50th Season of Georgia Basketball

This marks the 50th season of Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball. This historic program ranks 15th all time in win percentage (.694) and 16th in total wins (1,043). Georgia ranks second nationally in NCAA tournament appearances with 35 and is still one of only three programs to boast a winning record every season since 1981.

Coach ABE Returns to Lead Georgia

Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was named just the third full-time head coach in Georgia history on March 26, 2022. Coach ABE returns to Georgia, where she played for the Lady Bulldogs from 1986-87 and was a member of the 1986 squad that captured the SEC Championship. Teammates Katrina McClain, Teresa Edwards, Lisa O'Connor and Carla Green, among others, helped lead Georgia to its third SEC title with Coach ABE playing in all 32 games as a freshman.

Success at Every Stop

Coach ABE has built successful programs in coaching stops at Albany, Missouri State and UCF. Her teams have won an unprecedented 70 percent of their games, an average of 22 victories per year, while capturing 16 conference titles in 17 seasons. At UCF, the 2021-22 squad won a school-record 26 games en route to the American Athletic Conference Championship, the AAC Tournament crown and a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament – the highest seeding in program history.

It's A Family

A big reason for the success of Coach ABE's programs lies with her coaching staff – a group that has been with her nearly every step of the way. Associate head coach Tahnee Balerio played for Coach ABE at Missouri State and is entering her 13th season on Coach ABE's staff. Assistant coach Isoken Uzamere is in her 11th year with Coach ABE, while legendary former UConn All-American Nykesha Sales is in her seventh season. Former Albany standout Ebone Henry-Harris enters her seventh year.

League-Leading 10 Newcomers

With five letterwinners back from last year's team, the Lady Bulldogs had 10 roster spots to fill this past offseason. Georgia welcomed three players from UCF, while also adding Texas transfer Audrey Warren, West Virginia transfer Kari Niblack and Vanderbilt transfer De'Mauri Flournoy. Four freshmen also joined the team, including Savannah Henderson, Stefanie Ingram, Fatima Diakhate and Amiya Evans.

The 10 newcomers on this year's roster ties Kentucky for the most in the SEC.

Georgia Players Have Postseason Success

Georgia's five returners and six transfers have a combined 23 NCAA tournament appearances between them. Diamond Battles, Brittney Smith and Alisha Lewis earned three NCAA bids at UCF. Texas transfer Audrey Warren helped her team advance to back-to-back NCAA Elite Eights, while Kari Niblack guided West Virginia to the second round of the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament.

Dominant Defense

Under Coach ABE's leadership, UCF led the nation in scoring defense in each of the last two seasons. The Knights held teams to just 47.8 points per game last year and just 50.5 ppg during the 2020-21 campaign. UCF held 18 opponents to 50 points or fewer with seven failing to reach 40 points during the 2021-22 season.

Success Against SEC

During Coach ABE's six seasons in Orlando, UCF boasted a 3-2 record against teams from the SEC. The Knights downed Arkansas (52-51) and Florida (69-52) and narrowly lost to Tennessee (41-49) during last season's remarkable run to the American Athletic Conference Championship. The win against Florida marked the first NCAA tournament win in program history.

Diamond Shines Bright

Fifth-year guard Diamond Battles developed into one of the top players in the nation during her time at UCF. She was the program's first-ever AAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and was a consensus first-team All-Conference selection. The Winter Haven, Fla., native led UCF in scoring 16 times with 23 double-figure scoring efforts last year.

Family Business

A big part of Georgia's impressive recruiting class this past offseason was a familiar name for Coach ABE. Savannah Henderson is the daughter of head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson and her husband Michael. The Orlando, Fla., native was a consensus top-50 prospect nationally as ESPN's No. 41 overall player and No. 10 wing recruit. She prepped at Timbercreek (Orlando) and played for Central Florida Elite.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Diamond Battles

Fatima Diakhate

Amiya Evans

De'Mauri Flournoy

Savannah Henderson

Stefanie Ingram

Alisha Lewis

Kari Niblack

Javyn Nicholson

Brittney Smith

Zoesha Smith

Audrey Warren