The 14th ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs suffered a tough loss at home against arch-rival, Florida 54-51 at Stegman Coliseum.

Today’s Southeastern Conference showdown came down to the wire. Georgia now falls to 17-5 on the season and 6-4 in SEC play.

Georgia had a slow start offensively and could not get into a rhythm. It took the Lady Bulldogs almost 7 and ½ minutes to score their first points in today’s game. “I thought we got good shots, but they just didn’t go in today,” said head coach Joni Taylor. Georgia was only hit at a little more than 30% from the field. As a team, the Lady Bulldogs struggled immensely to make shots they normally sink today.

Regardless of the difficult loss, Malury Bates had 13 points today and led all scorers. Bates also matched her career-high, which she set against Florida on the road earlier this season.

Georgia kept fans on their toes throughout the first quarter. Javyn Nicholson got the offense started with a nice lay-up. Followed by a nice shot from Sarah Ashlee Barker. At the end of the first quarter, Bates helped tighten Florida’s lead 9-8.

In the second quarter, Georgia started to find their offensive rhythm. Made possible by Que Morrison’s six points. Georgia trailed at half 26-22.

The Lady Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run during the third and led the Lady Gators 42-38 entering into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was a constant back and forth battle between the two teams. The energy between both teams was constantly changing. Barker was unable to sink a three-pointer in the final seconds.

The Lady Bulldogs are on the road Thursday, February 10th to take on LSU in Baton Rouge.