With the loss, No. 22 Georgia sees its perfect 12-0 record at home this season and its 18-game home winning streak dating back to last January come to an end.
Freshmen Mackenzie Engram and Haley Clark led Georgia (17-6, 5-5 SEC) in scoring with eight points apiece. Erika Ford led the team in rebounds with six.
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Bianca Cuevas paced the Gamecocks (22-0, 10-0 SEC) with 16 points, while Aleighsa Welch recorded a team-high 14 rebounds.
“The X-factor, and believe it or not that’s the way I had it on the board, was (Cuevas),” Landers said. “Watching tape in preparation for the game, she’s gotten better and better in each game and has made really good strides. I told the kids before the game that she’s no joke. And I thought she came in and played really well.”
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Georgia bested the Gamecocks in points-off-turnovers, 18-10, and shot 60 percent from the line compared to their 44 percent.
Georgia kept pace with the Gamecocks out of the gate thanks to score-tying baskets from Tiaria Griffin and Engram. Griffin ended a six-minute scoring drought for the Lady Bulldogs with a 3-pointer at the 12:49 mark to tie the score at five a piece. A minute later, Georgia used a Griffin steal and jumper from Engram to match the Gamecocks at 7-all.
The Lady Bulldogs struggled to find the net for the remainder of the period, shooting only 17.9 percent to the Gamecocks’ 43.3 percent from the field. South Carolina outscored the Lady Bulldogs 21-7 in the final 10 minutes of the half and held a 16-point advantage at the break.
Griffin opened the second stanza for Georgia with a quick layup, followed by a jumper from Merritt Hempe. Clark added another basket and two points from the charity stripe, but Georgia continued to struggle in its offensive output.
Engram highlighted the period at the 10:31 mark with a long 3-pointer after her own defensive rebound. Pachis Roberts also added three points from the line, but Georgia could not contain the Gamecocks who tallied 38 points in the second half.
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The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Arkansas on Monday for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Razorbacks. The game will be broadcast nationally on the SEC Network. Georgia will return home to host Florida at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12.
Single-game reserved seat tickets for Lady Bulldog games are $5 for adults and $3 for children. UGA students, faculty and staff are admitted to all Lady Bulldog games free of charge with a valid UGA Card. Faculty and staff should pick up tickets at the Coliseum box office. Students are admitted to the arena via the entrance to the left of the box office by showing their UGA Card.
Single-game tickets are on sale via georgiadogs.com, by calling 877-542-1231 or in person at the UGA Ticket Office in the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall from 8:30-4:30 on weekdays. In[break] addition, single-game tickets go on sale at the Stegeman Coliseum box office (closest to Sanford Drive) beginning 60 minutes before tip-off of every home game.
Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball
Post-Game Notes & Quotes
Georgia vs. South Carolina Carolina
Thursday, February 5, 2015 • Stegeman Coliseum • Athens, Ga.
Notes
• The loss snaps Georgia’s home win streak at 18 games, which dated back to Jan. 16, 2014 versus Arkansas. Georgia was 12-0 at home this season before tonight’s loss.
• Georgia is now 33-10 overall versus the Gamecocks and 15-3 in Athens.
• The Lady Dogs were held to 14 points in the first half, marking the lowest scoring output in one half since Jan. 20, 2002 versus Vanderbilt.
• Georgia was held to their lowest point total since Dec. 8, 2008 at Rutgers where they tallied 34 points in the loss.
• Haley Clark posted career highs in minutes (25), points (6), and rebounds (4), and tied a career high in steals (2).
• Halle Washington played a season-high 18 minutes in tonight’s contest. This marks the fourth time this season Washington has reached this threshold. She previously achieved this mark versus Colgate (11/26) at Mississippi State (1/2) and versus Missouri (1/8).
• Erika Ford tallied a season-high six steals. This is the second time this season Ford has reached the six-steal mark, including Morgan State on Nov. 14.
Georgia Head Coach Andy Landers
On the first half…
“I thought defensively we were reasonably good. The x-factor, and believe it or not that’s the way I had it on the board, was No. 1. Watching tape in preparation for the game, she’s gotten better and better in each game and has made really good strides. I told the kids before the game that she’s no joke, this kid is real. I put her on the board in a different color than everybody else. And I thought she came in and played really well. She created the separation in the first half. Our inability to execute offensively, our misses at the free throw line and a combination of other things, really hurt us in the first half.”
On the game…
“Obviously we were short-handed tonight, but that’s not an excuse. Things happen that you have to deal with and overcome. We will get back to the drawing board and get ready to play Arkansas at Arkansas. And as we’ve said repeatedly this year, nothing is easy on the road.”
On Haley Clark…
“I thought Haley played well. I thought she was good defensively. I loved her scrap, I loved her on the floor after those balls. Now defensively, every time we shot one up, she was up under the rim, making an attempt to get to the basketball. I just thought she had a lot of energy.”