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WBB: Georgia defeats Kentucky 72-65

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+.

WTEN: Georgia Falls Against Texas, 4-3, in Austin

The No. 4 Georgia women’s tennis team fell 4-3 in a tightly contested battle against No. 10 Texas on the road at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday.

Starting off the day with doubles action, the Bulldogs (2-2) showcased an even competition early on all courts before the Longhorns (4-1) pulled away to secure the doubles point. On court three, the duo of Mell Reasco and Alexandra Vecic battled to erase an early deficit, coming up just short in several games before ultimately falling 6-1 to Charlotte Chavatipon and Vivian Ovrootsky (Texas).

Opening to an even-contested start on court one, momentum swayed opposite late as the No. 58 tandem of Aysegul Mert and

The No. 4 Georgia women’s tennis team fell 4-3 in a tightly contested battle against No. 10 Texas on the road at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday.

Starting off the day with doubles action, the Bulldogs (2-2) showcased an even competition early on all courts before the Longhorns (4-1) pulled away to secure the doubles point. On court three, the duo of Mell Reasco and Alexandra Vecic battled to erase an early deficit, coming up just short in several games before ultimately falling 6-1 to Charlotte Chavatipon and Vivian Ovrootsky (Texas).

Opening to an even-contested start on court one, momentum swayed opposite late as the No. 58 tandem of Aysegul Mert and Dasha Vidmanova fell 6-3 to Sabina Zeynalova and Taisiya Pachkaleva (Texas).

In singles play, the Bulldogs picked up the pace with five first set wins through six matches. On court six, No. 108 Mai Nirundorn provided a spark for Georgia as she leveled the team score at 1-1 after knocking off Ovrootsky (Texas) 6-4, 6-3 in straight sets. Nirundorn’s victory marked her third consecutive straight-set win in dual matches this season.

No. 30 Vidmanova followed shortly with her own outstanding performance, as the Prague, Czech Republic-native was stellar and produced strong runs en route to earning her third ranked win of the season after defeating No. 20 Tanya Sasnouskaya (Texas) 6-3, 6-3 on court two.

Despite results on courts three, four and five clinching Texas the win at 4-2, both sides finished the final match on court one where No. 35 Vecic defeated Zeynalova (Texas) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4).

The Bulldogs will now prepare to go on the road once again as they will compete in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 9-12 in Seattle, Wash. Georgia will aim to make another run for the title after finishing runners-up in last season’s edition of the tournament while last winning the competition in 2019.

Singles Results

No. 35 Alexandra Vecic (UGA) def. Sabina Zeynalova (Texas) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4)

No. 30 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) def. No. 20 Tanya Sasnouskaya (Texas) 6-3, 6-3

No. 45 Malaika Rapolu (Texas) def. No. 116 Mell Reasco (UGA) 7-6 (8-6), 7-5

No. 106 Charlotte Chavatipon (Texas) def. No. 70 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2

Taisiya Pachkaleva (Texas) def. Guillermina Grant (UGA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

No. 108 Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Vivian Ovrootsky (Texas) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles Results

Sabina Zeynalova/Taisiya Pachkaleva (Texas) def. No. 58 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) 6-3

Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (Texas) vs. No. 15 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) 2-5, unfinished

Charlotte Chavatipon/Vivian Ovrootsky (Texas) def. Mell Reasco/Alexandra Vecic (UGA) 6-1

Match Notes

No. 4 Georgia 2-2

No. 10 Texas 4-1

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,2,4,3,5,1)

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