WBB: Georgia Downs Alabama State
Thanks to a terrific defensive performance, the University of Georgia women’s basketball team topped the Alabama State Hornets 77-47 Thursday evening before 1,778 spectators at Stegeman Coliseum.
Senior Javyn Nicholson and Fifth-year Brittney Smith led Georgia (2-0, 0-0 SEC) with a pair of double-doubles. Nicholson posted 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, with 14 rebounds, while Smith notched 18 points on 9-for-18 shooting and 10 boards. Fifth-year’s Diamond Battles and Malury Bates rounded out Bulldogs scorers in double figures – Battles tallied 15 points and Bates with 13. For the game, the Bulldogs shot 42 percent from the field while holding the Hornets to just 35.2 percent shooting.
“We really challenged our post players in the last two days,” said Georgia head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson following the game. “They should be getting doubles-doubles. They are really good. (Jordan Issacs) wasn’t here, she had the flu, so those three (Bates, Nicholson and Smith) had to stay in the game… We knew they (Alabama State) were going to be undersized, so we worked on the high-low game, obviously, it worked. We’ve been talking to them about crashing the boards and getting offensive rebounds.”
In a defensive battle to open the game, the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead thanks to a pair of jump shots from Battles and a corner three by Audrey Warren before the Alabama State Hornets (0-2, 0-0 SWAC) made a basket. Georgia continued to press and play a fast-paced game, going on a 10-3 run over the next four minutes of play. The Bulldogs took a 23-5 lead into the second quarter.
Battles continued her sharpshooting effort, with a deep three-pointer to extend the Georgia lead to 21. The two squads began to trade baskets before the Bulldogs took a 34-14 lead into the media timeout. Coming out of the break, the UGA and ASU continued to play a back-and-forth game before the Hornet use a 5-0 run to end the half. The Bulldogs took a 39-23 lead into the locker room.
Coming out of the half, Georgia quickly extended its lead thanks to a layup and free throw by Nicholson. The teams continued to play a defensive battle before the Bulldogs took 19 point lead into the media break. Georgia used a pair of 4-0 runs to build its lead up to 25 before entering the fourth quarter up 58-35.
ASU opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run to cut the Georgia lead to 19, however, the Bulldogs responded with a 6-0 run of their own, thanks to a pair of jumpers by Smith and a pair of free throws by Battles to grow the margin back to 25. UGA continued to execute well on the defensive side of the court and went on to win 77-47.
BASEBALL: 2023 Schedule Announced
The Georgia Bulldogs 56-game schedule for the 2023 season includes Southeastern Conference home series with LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, and South Carolina.
The college baseball season begins Feb. 17, and the Bulldogs will open with a three-game set at home against Jacksonville State. In fact, Georgia’s first nine contests will be at Foley Field including a doubleheader with Princeton on Feb. 25. The Bulldogs will play host to Georgia Tech on Friday, March 3, travel to Atlanta for a game on Tech’s campus on Saturday the 4th and then conclude the series Sunday, March 5th at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville.
Georgia will be the home team at Coolray Field, which has a capacity for 10,427 fans. It serves as the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves known as the Gwinnett Stripers. The Bulldogs will return to Coolray Field on March 21st for a game against Georgia State where the Panthers will be the home team. Georgia State will come to Foley Field on April 25.
Georgia has one other game at a Minor League stadium. The March 7th contest with Georgia Southern will be in North Augusta, S.C., at SRP Park, home of the Augusta GreenJackets with a capacity around 5,000. They are the Class A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Georgia will be the home team against the Eagles that night, travel to Statesboro for a game on March 8th, and the series concludes at Foley Field on March 29th.
Also of note, Georgia will play a two-game set with rival Clemson. The Bulldogs will face Clemson at Foley Field on April 11th and then travel to Clemson on April 18th.
Georgia will open SEC play at home against the Gamecocks (March 17-19). The other SEC home series will be with the Wildcats (Apr. 7-9), the Razorbacks (Apr. 20-22), the Volunteers (May 5-7), and then close out the regular season with LSU (May 18-20). Georgia’s road trips in the conference will be to Auburn (March 23-25), Vanderbilt (March 31-Apr. 2), Florida (Apr. 14-16), defending national champion Ole Miss (Apr. 28-30) and Missouri (May 12-14).
The SEC Tournament will feature the league’s top 12 finishers in the regular season and be played in Hoover, Ala., from May 23-28. NCAA Regional action will be June 2-5 with Super Regionals slated from June 9-12, both played at various campus sites. The 2023 season culminates with the College World Series (CWS) from June 16-26 in Omaha, Neb. The Bulldogs have made six appearances in Omaha including winning the national title in 1990 and reaching the CWS Finals in 2008.
The Bulldogs are in their 10th year under Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin. The Bulldogs will have 24 returning lettermen, including six starters around the diamond, plus 17 newcomers. The 2022 Bulldogs advanced to an NCAA Regional in Chapel Hill, N.C., and finished the campaign with a 36-23 mark.
Please note game dates are subject to change for television scheduling with all times announced later this year. Season ticket applications and renewals will be available online in early December.
2023 Georgia Baseball Schedule
Dates Opponent Location
Feb. 17-19 Jacksonville State Foley Field
Feb. 24-26 ~Princeton Foley Field
Feb. 28 Presbyterian Foley Field
March 3 Ga. Tech Foley Field
March 4 @ Ga. Tech Atlanta, Ga.
March 5 vs. %Ga. Tech Lawrenceville, Ga.
March 7 vs. ^Ga. Southern North Augusta, S.C.
March 8 @ Ga. Southern Statesboro, Ga.
March 10-12 Charleston Southern Foley Field
March 14 Wofford Foley Field
March 17-19 *South Carolina Foley Field
March 21 vs. %Ga. State Lawrenceville, Ga.
March 23-25 @ *Auburn Auburn, Ala.
March 29 Ga. Southern Foley Field
March 31-Apr. 2 @ *Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn.
Apr. 4 @ Kennesaw State Kennesaw, Ga.
Apr. 7-9 *Kentucky Foley Field
Apr. 11 Clemson Foley Field
Apr. 14-16 @ *Florida Gainesville, Fla.
Apr. 18 @ Clemson Clemson, S.C.
Apr. 20-22 *Arkansas Foley Field
Apr. 25 Ga. State Foley Field
Apr. 28-30 @ *Ole Miss Oxford, Miss.
May 2 Kennesaw State Foley Field
May 5-7 *Tennessee Foley Field
May 10 USC Upstate Foley Field
May 12-14 @ *Missouri Columbia, Mo.
May 16 Western Carolina Foley Field
May 18-20 *LSU Foley Field
May 23-28 @ =SEC Tournament Hoover, Ala.
June 2-5 @ NCAA Regionals Campus Sites
June 9-12 @ NCAA Super Regionals Campus Sites
June 16-26 @ +College World Series Omaha, Neb.
*All dates subject to change for television scheduling. All times TBA. Home Games In Bold;
~Doubleheader on Feb. 25; %Coolray Field; ^SRP Park; *SEC Games; =Hoover Met.; +Charles Schwab Field
MBB: Georgia vs. Wake Forest Preview
Georgia (1-0) vs. Wake Forest (1-0)
Friday, November 11 at 8:30 p.m.
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,665) in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Series History: UGA leads, 4-2
Last meeting: UGA, 72-50, on 12/8/07
Streaming: ACC Network (Doug Sherman, pbp; Cory Alexander, analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network (WSB AM 750; SXM App: 983) (Scott Howard, pbp; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; John Rockwell, producer)
The Starting Five
• UGA owns a 4-2 advantage in its all-time series with Wake Forest, including a 1-1 record in Winston-Salem.
• Friday night’s outing at Wake Forest will be the Bulldogs’ first-ever appearance on the ACC Network.
• UGA’s 5 returning letterwinners accounted for 60.9 percent of the Bulldogs’ points last season.
• 5 of UGA’s 6 new transfers – Anselem, Hill, Holt, Moncrieffe & McBride – have played on NCAA Tourney teams.
• UGA signed 2 ESPN.com top-100 prospects – Dylan James and Lamariyon “Mari Jodan” – on Wednesday.
The Opening Tip
Georgia will venture on the first road trip of the 2022-23 season – and its initial away outing with Mike White as head coach – on Friday. The Bulldogs will face Wake Forest at – appropriately enough on Veterans Day – Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 8:30 p.m. The contest will air on the ACC Network, with Doug Sherman and Cory Alexander on the call.
Georgia enjoyed a successful start to the season on Monday as preseason All-SEC Kario Oquendo scored 18 points to lead the Bulldogs in a 68-55 win over Western Carolina.
Keepin An Eye On: Entering Today’s Game . . .
Mike White is…
• 6 wins from 250 for his career
Braelen Bridges is…
• 120 points from 1,000 for his career
• 64 rebounds from 500 for his career
Jailyn Ingram is…
• 70 points from 1,500 for his career
• 16 rebounds from 700 for his career
Series History With Wake
Georgia owns a 4-2 advantage in all-time meetings with Wake Forest in a series that dates back well over a century to Feb. 1913.
The Bulldogs and Demon Deacons have split their two previous matchups in Winston-Salem.
UGA and WFU last met on Dec. 8, 2007, with the Bulldogs securing a 72-60 win in Athens. That’s the Georgia team that went on an improbable run to win the 2008 SEC Tournament after the Georgia Dome was damaged by a tornado.
Sundiata Gaines and Terrance Woodbury posted game-high tallies of 15 points apiece to lead Georgia.
Georgia led 34-31 early in the second stanza before Woodbury scored six straight points to break open what had been a tight contest. That sparked a 12-0 surge that gave Bulldogs control the rest of the way.
Scouting The Demon Deacons
Wake Forest christened its campaign on Monday with a 71-59 victory over Fairfield. Andrew Carr, Cameron Hildreth and Daivien Williamson paced the Demon Deacons with 15 points apiece.
Wake used a 10-0 run over the final 3:58 of the first half to grab the lead for good. The Stags did pull within 50-49 with 5:58 left; however, the Demon Deacons closed out the contest on a 21-9 surge.
Williamson is the lone returning starter and Hildreth is among six letterwinners back from last year’s team that finished 25-10 overall and 13-7 in the ACC. Williamson contributed 12.2 ppg last season, while Hildreth added 3.9 ppg.
Carr is one of six newcomers. That ledger includes five transfers – two graduates, two juniors and a senior – and a freshman.
Jack Podlesny Named Semifinalist for Groza Award
According to an announcement from the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, Bulldog senior place-kicker Jack Podlesny has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award.
Podlesny, a native of St. Simons Island, Ga., is one of three Southeastern Conference players on this year’s list after also being named a semifinalist in 2020. Former Bulldog All-American Rodrigo Blankenship won the 2019 honor for being collegiate football’s top kicker.
Podlesny is the SEC co-leader and tied for second nationally at his position averaging 10.2 points per game. He has drilled 16 of 18 field goals (89 percent), including a season-long kick of 42 yards, and hit all 44 of his PATs. Podlesny’s 306 career points rank sixth best in school history. The two-time SEC Special Teams Player of the Week also handles kickoffs and has 43 touchbacks this season.
MBB: UGA Signs Two Top-100 Prospects
Georgia Basketball opened the NCAA’s early signing period with a bang, inking two players ranked among the nation’s top-100 prospects to scholarship papers to play for the Bulldogs. Lamariyon “Mari” Jordan and Dylan James are currently ranked No. 72 and No. 94 nationally by ESPN.com, respectively.
“It’s an exciting day for us to be able to sign two players that we targeted and invested a lot of time and energy in,” head coach Mike White said. “Both of these guys are excited to be Bulldogs. Mari grew up right down the road from Athens and has always admired this university. He is a high-energy player who possesses much versatility and has a very good positional size. Dylan has tremendous length for a guy who shoots the ball the way that he does. He also has the ability to post. Like Mari, he has a chance to be a very good defender as well.”
James, a 6-9, 190-pound power forward helped lead Winter Haven High School to the semifinals of the 2022 Florida Class 6A state tournament as a junior. He was selected as the Lakeland Ledger’s Player of the Year after averaging 15.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game last season for the Blue Devils, who finished 23-8 overall. James helped Winter Haven compile a 23-9 record as a freshman before playing at The Rock School during his sophomore year.
James’ and his Winter Haven teammates will begin the 2022-23 season ranked No. 67 nationally by MaxPreps.
James also was ranked as the nation’s No. 94 prospect by 247Sports.com, as well as No. 115 by On3.com and No. 133 by Rivals.com.
Jordan, a 6-6, 185-pound small forward was tabbed first-team All-State for Class 6A by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a junior after averaging 19.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game for Dacula High School. Over three seasons, Jordan has compiled 1,257 points, 434 rebounds, 128 blocks, 109 assists and 104 steals for the Falcons. He was voted the Region 8-6A Player of the Year and named second-team All-Gwinnett County by the Gwinnett Daily Post as a junior.
Jordan will spend his senior season playing at Norcross High School, where he has already been tabbed second-team preseason All-State by the Georgia High School Coaches Association (GHSA).
Nationally, Jordan is ranked No. 101 by 247Sports.com and No. 137 by Rivals.com.
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