Georgia Outlasts Kentucky, 72-65

Sunday, February 4

Athens, Ga.

Noon

University of Georgia

11-11,2-7SEC

Kentucky

9-14,2-7SEC

Kentucky

Georgia

February 04, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

ATHENS, Ga. – A game tying buzzer beater at halftime gave the University of Georgia women's basketball team a boost to the defeat the Kentucky Wildcats, 72-65, in a back-and-forth effort before 3,177 spectators Sunday afternoon in Stegeman Coliseum.

Kentucky (9-14, 2-7 SEC) used outside shooting, sinking four triples, to build a 22-7 lead in the first quarter.

Georgia (11-11, 2-7 SEC) trailed 30-15 midway through the second quarter before six points from Javyn Nicholson spurred a scoring run for the Lady Bulldogs. Asia Avinger drew four consecutive fouls and went 5-for-6 at the charity stripe to put Georgia within two with less than one second remaining in the half. De'Mauri Flournoy forced an in-bound turnover and sunk a midrange buzzer beater to knot the score at 30 going into halftime.

10 points from Flournoy gave Georgia its first lead of the game to start the second half leading 40-32. The Wildcats responded with a 10-2 run to tie the board at 42. Georgia regained the lead and carried a slim, 47-45, advantage in the final period.

Five points from the Lady Bulldogs carved a 58-52 lead with six minutes remaining in the game. Georgia continued to spread its scoring around the floor, capitalizing with four free throws to earn a 72-65 victory.

Storylines from Today's Game

The Lady Bulldogs have won three-straight games over Kentucky and four of the last five in the series.
Georgia pulled in 43 rebounds, its most in SEC play this season, while limiting the Wildcats to just 23 boards.
Georgia recorded 10 steals for the second-straight game while scoring 15 points off turnovers.

Career Highs/Player Superlatives

Javyn Nicholson paced Georgia's scoring effort with 23 points, marking her sixth 20-point effort this season.
Nicholson ranks second in the SEC with 12 double doubles as she grabbed 13 boards today.
De'Mauri Flournoy tallied 16 points, her fifth consecutive double figure scoring game, with seven rebounds.
Asia Avinger chipped in 14 points and is 12 points away from reaching the 1,000-career point threshold.
This was Avinger's third-straight double figure performance.
Jordan Cole tallied nine points and four rebounds.
Destiny Thomas grabbed seven rebounds and added two steals.

Quote of the Day

"It feels good," Georgia head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said. "My biggest thing with our team is that they just stayed the course and knocked it down. When you're in that position, and we obviously weren't in it last year, this is all new to us. We stayed the course and stayed locked in. I think we're getting way better offensively, which is a good thing. It's just taken a while."

What's Next

Georgia will travel to Starkville, Miss., to face Mississippi State on Thursday, Feb. 8. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be live on SEC Network+.