Georgia Dominates West Georgia in Season Opener, 92-53

Monday, November 2

5:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

1-0,0-0SEC

West Georgia

0-1,0-0UAC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
West Ga.	15	8	14	16	53
Georgia	29	25	19	19	92

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November 02, 2026 | Women's Basketball

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GEORGIA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL VIDEOS

Highlights

Coach Guzzardo, Howard

ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia Lady Bulldogs opened the 2026-27 women's basketball season with a win over the West Georgia Wolves, 92-53, on Monday evening. Ten different Lady Bulldogs scored, with five finishing in double figures.

Notable

With the win, Georgia takes the series lead against West Georgia with a 6-5 record. This is also the 21st straight season-opening win, dating back to the 2005-06 season.
Coach Ayla Guzzardo became the fourth consecutive Georgia head coach to win their debut game with the Lady Bulldogs since Andy Landers in 1979.
Georgia completed the first half with 54 points and a 51.2 shooting percentage, Nya Smith leading the charge with 10 points and one rebound, as well as Blessing Adebanjo with seven rebounds.
Five Lady Bulldogs reached double figures in scoring, led by Dakota Howard with 18 points. Nya Smith added 15, Blessing Adebanjo scored 11, Jordana Codio contributed 11, and Milan Brown finished with 10.
The Lady Bulldogs outscored the Wolves 58-18 points in the paint.
Georgia forced seven turnovers and converted them into 24 points.
Georgia's 92 points are the most scored in a season opener since November 4, 2024.

Quotes:
Coach Ayla Guzzardo
On their defensive identity…
"Yeah, it's there; we had a lot of really good sparks. Everyone is looking at [Dakota Howard] like you just won 92-53, so everyone's looking at her crazy, but we're not satisfied. We gave up too many easy looks. Now, kudos to number 10; she shot the ball well. They played a great game, and they spread out. You know, they had easy drives to the basket, but that's not us. So, 53 is what we gave up, but there's a lot of them out there that we shouldn't have, so we're going to be stingy."

On the team chemistry to allow the bench to score over 30 points…
"Yeah, I love that. I love anytime somebody on my bench can push my starters a little bit harder, you know that they're coming. The ones on my bench, they don't want to sit there. They want to start; they want to play. So, we always have that competition, and its healthy competition. We know if Milan [Brown] is getting better always, she's going to push Jailyn [Banks] to get a little better because Jailyn doesn't want to let Milan beat her. So, it's healthy competition, and we like that at practice."

On how her first game at Georgia felt…
"It was amazing. Just you get to see the experiences, the timeouts, and everyone's got their phones out, and they're lighting up the Steg. I mean, those are those moments you don't expect, but when you're in it, you're like, wow, this is awesome. I mean, I had family there, high school teammates that drove out to see me. So, it was great. The atmosphere is just unreal, and I can't wait to experience it every single game."

Dakota Howard
#24 | F | Sophomore
On what she did well tonight…
"I think I communicate to my team well on the defensive end and helping my teammates talk through plays on the offensive end, and we just make sure I communicate with them and lead them when they need me to."

On how to practice defense right...
"You have to listen, you have to communicate. You have to make sure your teammates, when they're telling you, like, switches and threading and all those things."

What's Next
The Lady Bulldogs will be back in Stegman Coliseum Thursday night, November 5, against Winthrop. The game will be available to watch on SEC Network, tipoff is set for 7 p.m.