WBB: Georgia Holds On, Beats Mississippi State on the Road
After building a 27-point lead in the first half, the No. 13 Georgia Lady Bulldogs defeated Mississippi State 66-63 at Humphrey Coliseum Thursday evening.
Redshirt senior Mikayla Coombs led Georgia in scoring with 13 points, highlighted by a clutch jumper that put the Lady Dogs in front 64-63 in the final minute. Que Morrison, who scored 12, hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to give the Lady Dogs the final 66-63 lead. Rickea Jackson poured in 27 for Mississippi State. She missed a potential game-tying three with three seconds remaining.
Jenna Staiti had eight points and 10 boards for Georgia.
Coombs and redshirt senior Malury Bates both set a new personal best on the night, combined for nine blocks.
Georgia improves its record to 15-4 (4-2 SEC) while Mississippi State drops to 11-6 (2-3 SEC). The victory breaks MSU’s six-game win streak in the series and extends the Lady Bulldogs winning streak on the season to three games.
“Mississippi State made some adjustments; they have two great scorers in Rickea Jackson and Anastasia Hayes, as well as Myah Taylor who is a leader,” said head coach Joni Taylor. “They’ve got people who have experience and we knew they were going to make a run. To limit them to seven points in the first quarter was really good on our part, but it’s not typical of them.”
Georgia trailed 7-4, and then went on an astounding 25-0 run to grab control of the game. The Lady Bulldogs’ biggest lead was 27, as Georgia stormed ahead 38-11 in the second quarter.
Outstanding defense and cold MSU shooting were a big part of Georgia’s run. State missed 19 consecutive shots in the first half.
The Lady Bulldogs led at the half, 44-24.
Mississippi State opened up the half with an 18-2 run to cut Georgia’s lead to four points. Led by Coombs, the Lady Bulldogs answered back and scored eight points to extend the lead 54-46.
Mississippi State took its second lead of the game with less than a minute remaining 63-62. Coombs and Morrison then responded as Georgia scored the final four points of the game.
GYM: It’s Georgia vs. Florida Tonight
The University of Georgia gymnastics team is set to face Florida for its home opener on Friday, January 21 at Stegeman Coliseum with competition scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. The meet will be broadcast live on SEC Network.
BAUMANN SISTERS BATTLE IN GEORGIA- FLORIDA RIVALRY
Senior Rachel Baumann is set to face her older sister, Florida graduate senior Alyssa Baumann in the fourth and final “Battle of the Baumanns”. The first duel in 2019 was the first time the sisters competed against each other and the GymDogs came out on top with an upset victory over the Gators, 197.450-197.375. It marked the first time the GymDogs beat Florida in Gainesville since 2008. The Gators won the next two dual-meets in 2020 and 2021.
Rachel is expected to compete beam for the GymDogs, while Alyssa will be in the lineup on beam and floor for the Gators.
FACING COVID CHALLENGES EARLY
The GymDogs had to postpone meets two and three- at Kentucky and home against Iowa- due to COVID protocols within the program. The rescheduled date for Kentucky is February 4 in Lexington, the Iowa meet has yet to be determined.
COMPETING NEW SKILLS
Haley de Jong is competing a round-off, back handspring, back layout 3/1 in the first pass of her floor routine. She competed this skill prior to coming to Georgia, but this is the first season she is competing it as a GymDog.
STEPPING UP FOR THE TEAM
Prior to this season, senior Abbey Ward had only competed bars twice in her collegiate career. When she saw the lack of depth on the event, she stepped up and consistently trained the event so that she would be ready to compete for the GymDogs.
HAWTHORNE CONTINUES THE MOONWALK
Junior Soraya Hawthorne assumed the responsibility of taking over the Georgia moonwalk tradition on beam as a sophomore and debuted the move at LSU in 2021. She is the seventh GymDog to perform the moonwalk on the balance beam, following Nikki Childs, Cassidy McComb, Lindsey Cheek, Mary Beth Box, Morgan Reynolds, and Sabrina Vega.
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