(Photo by John Kelley)
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015 | Stegeman Coliseum | 7 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network +
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Radio Network by IMG (Jeff Dantzler, PBP)
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Georgia vs. Kennesaw State
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015 | Stegeman Coliseum | 7 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network +
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Radio Network by IMG (Jeff Dantzler, PBP)
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com (Click Here)
Twitter: @UGA_WBB
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Winners of four-straight games this season, the Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team returns home to host Mercer on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. UGA will then face a quick turnaround with a home matchup against Kennesaw State on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
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Opening Tip — Five Things To Know
– Georgia has won 18-straight games against Mercer and owns a 20-12 all-time series advantage over the Bears entering Wednesday’s contest. Thursday’s game will only be the second all-time between Georgia and Kennesaw State.
– The Lady Bulldogs have won 50-straight non-conference home games dating back to the 2008-09 season. Georgia’s last loss at home vs. a non-conference opponent came against Xavier in a 56-44 defeat on Dec. 30, 2008.
– Lady Bulldog senior guard Tiaria Griffin was named the MVP of the 2015 Radisson Chatsworth Thanksgiving Classic after scoring over 20 points in back-to-back games. Griffin has been on fire to begin her senior season. She has set new career-high point totals in back-to-back games and enters the month of December just 29 points shy of reaching 1,000 for her career.
– Georgia has held each of its first six opponents to below 40 percent shooting and has committed fewer turnovers than its opponents in each game this season. The Lady Bulldogs currently rank second in the SEC (6th nationally) in assist/turnover ratio at 1.6 and second in the league (3rd nationally) in turnovers per game, averaging just 10.5 per contest.
– Senior guard Shacobia Barbee enters the Mercer game as the career active steals leader in the SEC. Her 229 career steals total also ranks sixth nationally among active players. She is currently No. 10 on UGA’s all-time career steals chart, just nine away from Dr. Carla (formerly Green) Williams for eighth place.
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A Georgia Win On Wednesday Would …
– Improve Georgia’s win streak to 51-straight over non-conference opponents in Athens.
– Be the Lady Bulldogs fifth-straight win of the season.
– Improve Georgia’s record to 6-1 under new head coach Joni Taylor. Her 5-1 record through six games represents the best start by any UGA women’s basketball coach — either full-time or part-time — in school history.
– Make Georgia’s record 103-35 all-time against NCAA Division I teams from the state of Georgia. The Lady Bulldogs’ last loss against an in-state team came in 2010 against Georgia Tech.
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Series Information Georgia vs. Mercer
Overall: Georgia leads, 20-12
In Athens: Georgia leads, 20-5
In Macon: Georgia leads, 9-5
Neutral Sites: Mercer leads, 2-0
Current Streak: Georgia 18-straight
Last Meeting: Georgia W, 68-49 (12/4/14) Macon
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Series Information Georgia vs. Kennesaw State
Overall: Georgia leads, 1-0
In Athens: Georgia leads, 1-0
In Kennesaw: Never Met
Neutral Sites: Never Met
Current Streak: Georgia won the only previous meeting
Last Meeting: Georgia W, 91-32 (12/15/13) Athens
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Scouting Mercer
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– The Mercer Bears enter Wednesday’s contest with a 4-2 record and wins against Coastal Georgia, Tennessee Tech, Georgia Southern and Howard. The Bears, who are coached by veteran Susie Gardner, are led in scoring by Kahlia Lawrence, who averages 17.2 ppg and 5.7 rebounds per contest. Mercer owns a +5.3 turnover margin this season and committ just 12.7 per game.
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Scouting Kennesaw State
– KSU enters Thursday’s contest with a 3-4 overall record and wins against Presbyterian, Western Carolina and New Orleans. The Owls score just 58.9 points per game, but allow just 61.9 points per game. KSU is led in scoring by Jasmin McAllister, who averages a double-double with 11.7 ppg and 10.4 boards per contest.
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Last Time Out
– Georgia claimed the 2015 Radisson Chatsworth Thanksgiving Classic Title with wins against BYU and Cal State Northridge. Tiaria Griffin was named MVP of the tournament with her back-to-back 20-plus scoring efforts. Teammate Shacobia Barbee joined Griffin on the All-Tournament team with her back-to-back 18-point showings. The Lady Bulldogs committed just nine turnovers in the first game against BYU and just eight vs. CSUN. Both BYU and CSUN were NCAA Tournament teams a year ago.
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Georgia Notebook
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Robinson, Armbrister Make UGA Debuts
– A couple of Lady Bulldog newcomers made their collegiate debuts over the Thanksgiving break. Freshman forward Caliya Robinson and junior guard Shanea Armbrister each made contributions last week with Robinson recording 20 points in three games, including a 13-point performance in the championship game of the 2015 Radisson Chatsworth Thanksgiving Classic. Meanwhile, Armbrister recorded seven rebounds in her UGA debut vs. Georgia Southern.
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Double-Digit Dogs
– Georgia, a team that averaged just 58.9 points per game last season, has upped that average to 70.5 so far in the 2015-16 campaign. Four of UGA’s five starters average in double figures (Griffin, 16.8 ppg; Hempe, 13.7 ppg; Barbee, 13.3 ppg; Engram, 10.2 ppg) as the Lady Bulldogs are outscoring their opponents by an average of 15 points per game.
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Griffin Closing In On 1,000
– Tiaria Griffin is just 29 points away from 1,000 career points (971). Griffin also ranks No. 8 at UGA in career 3-point field goals made with 160 and would be the 36th Lady Bulldog all-time to record 1,000 career points.
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Books And Basketball For Butler
– Georgia senior point guard Marjorie Butler currently ranks second in the SEC and nationally in assist/turnover ratio (5.60 — 28 assists/5 turnovers). As a team, Georgia ranks second in the SEC, sixth nationally, in assist/turnover ratio and third nationally in fewest turnovers per game.
– Butler is making a name for herself both on and off the court. She entered college with over 50 hours of college credits, and is currently going through medical school interviews. The Knoxville, Tenn., native already has a degree in exercise science and will graduate with a second degree in biology.
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