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WBB: Georgia Welcomes Jacksonville State to the Stege

SERIES VS. JACKSONVILLE STATE
OVERALL Georgia leads, 2-0
IN ATHENS Georgia leads, 2-0
AT JAX STATE Never Met
NEUTRAL Never Met
LAST MEETING Georgia won 52-44 (11/13/22)

Opening Tip Storylines
» The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team welcomes the Jacksonville State Gamecocks to Athens for a 2 p.m. tip on Sunday.

» Fans are encouraged to wear red in support of the American Heart Association. Coach ABE is one of 19 head coaches nationwide to take part in the inaugural Hearts on the Court Collective, a part of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement. Coach ABE is committed to raising awareness of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death for women, while empowering student-athletes and fans to take charge of their own cardiovascular health.

» Georgia is off to its first 4-0 start since Coach ABE’s first year with the program back in 2022-23.

» The Lady Bulldogs have held each of their first four opponents under 50 points, marking the first time in school history Georgia has held its first four foes under the 50-point mark.

» Sophomore guard Dani Carnegie is coming off her best game as a Lady Bulldog in a 22-point effort at South Carolina State. It marked the seventh 20-point game of her career.

» Carnegie currently leads the SEC and is ranked fourth nationally with 15 made 3-pointers this season.

Sophomore guard Trinity Turner was just shy of a triple-double with 10 points, a career-high nine rebounds, and eight assists against SC State.

» Freshman forward Zhen Craft scored a season-high 11 points against South Carolina State. Earlier this year, she had a season-high five assists against USC Upstate.

» Georgia has used the same starting five in each of the first four games, and four of the five players (Carnegie, Woolfolk, Gonzalez and Theuerkauf) are averaging in double figures.

Kirby Smart’s Texas Postgame Interview

On the onside kick… 

“It made the decision for us, there were a couple things working there. We were 21-10, we just took the lead to an  eleven-point game. I’m looking at it since we’ve got the best returner in the country. If you kick it to him there’s a  chance he houses it, there’s a chance he gets it to the 50-yard line. We felt like we had about an 80% chance on the  onside based on our rate. We thought it was there, we worked it, we prepared for it. The hardest thing to do is call that  call after a scored touchdown because you could theoretically lose momentum but it was executed well by two players  who on Monday in 20-degree weather and 20 miles per hour wind, they were practicing it.” 

On the offense… 

“Gunner [Stockton] is a winner, he’s tough. He and Mike [Bobo] make a great pair. Mike is more and more comfortable  with him, aggressive, trusting, a good decision maker, plays with his legs, puts us on the right run. He’s operating at a  80/90 percent success rate on decision making. When you do that with great players, you’re going to be really  successful. Mike and them executed really well on offense tonight.” 

On the defense… 

“First, we had a lead. Second, we stopped the run. If you stop the run and take the lead, you get in passing situations.  We felt like we could rush the passer once we controlled the run game. And we were able to do that and that’s a big  part of who we are. We work on first and second down to get to third and long, we’ve always done “rush the passer.” I  don’t worry about what other people say, it’s a matter of getting the opportunity to do that and once you get a lead in  the game, which we haven’t had a lot of, we can rush the passer.” 

#14 Gunner Stockton | QB | R-Jr. 

On going for it on fourth down… 

“It was a big part. Whenever Coach Smart decides to go for it, I am like ‘heck yeah, let’s go!’ I am glad he made that  decision.” 

On receivers stepping up after Colbie Young’s injury… 

“They have done awesome. They just attack practice, they just see the way they are doing it. Colbie has been at every  away game and every practice. It is good to have him there, he is just a good guy.” 

On his improvement in the second half of the season… 

“I am getting better at situational football, just managing the game. Also, the confidence has grown as the season has  gone on.” 

#33 Quintavius Johnson | OLB | So. 

On how much the defense is benefiting from snaps and experience… 

“I feel like we get better week by week. I feel like the younger guys and the older guys, we just connect as a defense. We  know our main goal coming into the game.” 

On how the defense pressured Arch Manning upfront… 

“I feel like coming into this game, we knew what we wanted to do. We knew that we wanted to keep the quarterback on  track, and we knew that he was a capable runner, so we just did our job and rushed as a whole in the front.” 

On how far UGA has come since the Alabama game… 

“We have been coming in week by week and getting better. To be honest, I did not even know Alabama lost today. I  have been focused on my game and coming in ready to play my game.”

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