Georgia forward Merritt Hempe (13) jumps for the ball to start off the Lady Bulldogs’ game against the Auburn Tigers at Stegeman Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Athens, Ga. (Photo by David Barnes)
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The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team (15-6, 3-5) used suffocating defense and dominant final three quarters to cruise past Auburn (13-8, 3-5) by a 63-30 final score on Thursday night (Jan. 28) at Stegeman Coliseum.
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After being tied 15-15 through 10 minutes of play, Georgia held the Tigers to just 15 points over the final three-quarters and won the final 30 minutes by a score of 48-15. It was Georgia’s widest margin of victory in a conference game since beating Ole Miss 87-52 on Feb. 12, 2012.
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The Lady Dogs were led by Tiaria Griffin and Shacobia Barbee on the offensive end, as the seniors scored 17 and 16 points, respectively. Caliya Robinson nearly joined them in double figures with eight points of her own. Georgia held Auburn to just 27.7-percent shooting from the field in the contest.
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Georgia guard/forward Shacobia Barbee (20) breaks through Auburn defense during the Lady Bulldogs’ game against the Auburn Tigers at Stegeman Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Athens, Ga. (Photo by David Barnes)
“Let’s give Auburn some credit, they’re a really good team,” said head coach Joni Taylor. “I think our team did a really good job preparing for them, and we stuck to the game plan. We were able to get out and run. We rebounded the ball, and that allows us to get out and push to create easy scoring opportunities.”
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The Lady Bulldogs raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first 45 seconds of the contest, but the offense stalled over the next four minutes as the visiting Tigers pulled ahead with a 7-5 edge at the media timeout. The home squad hung tough through the remainder of the first quarter, going into the second tied at 15 thanks to a buzzer-beating layup from Griffin.
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The second quarter was all Georgia, which suffocated Auburn to the tune of a 19-3 score in the frame. Sparked by Shanea Armbrister’s 3 to start the quarter, Georgia sprinted to a 13-1 run, then closed on a 6-0 streak to claim the commanding 34-18 halftime lead. The Lady Bulldogs were paced by seniors Griffin and Barbee, who combined for 12 points in the second 10 minutes of action.
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Georgia guard Shanea Armbrister (1) passes the ball during the Lady Bulldogs’ game against the Auburn Tigers at Stegeman Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Athens, Ga. (Photo by David Barnes)
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The third quarter was more of the same, with the Lady Dogs pushing their lead past the 20-point mark with a 12-2 run to open the half. The outburst was interrupted by a 15-minute delay due to technical difficulties in the arena as half of the lights went out. The break did not seem to adversely affect Georgia, though, which kept the defensive clamps on and led 52-26 at the end of the third.
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Once again it was Georgia jumping out of the gate at the start of the fourth quarter, scoring the first 10 points of the final frame as it coasted to the 33-point victory.
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