[su_spacer size=”20″] The Georgia Lady Bulldogs’ 2014-15 campaign came to an end on Friday night with a 75-41 loss to No. 5 Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Seniors Krista Donald and Erika Ford scored 13 points apiece to lead Georgia (19-12). Nia Moore came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points for Tennessee (26-4).
[su_spacer size=”20″] [su_spacer size=”20″] “We didn’t compete,” head coach Andy Landers said. “We came out in a fog, in a daze. We didn’t compete. We did all the bad things you don’t want to do in the first three or four minutes of the game. We’ve already done all the bad things that you don’t want to do. They’ve already got two offensive rebounds. We’ve already turned it over a couple of times. They’ve already gotten it down off of turnovers and laid it up. And I saw no positive reaction to it. The things that happened are foreseeable if you address them before they happen. If you don’t box out you’re going to give up offensive rebounds.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] A pair of quick buckets from Tiaria Griffin staked the Lady Bulldogs to an early 4-2 lead just over two minutes into the contest. Tennessee knotted the score on two free throws by Ariel Massengale 21 seconds later, opening a 15-0 run by the Lady Vols that made it 17-4 with 12:14 left in the half.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Griffin finally ended the drought with a 3-pointer at the 10:28 mark and Georgia pulled within 20-9. But the Lady Volunteers responded with a run of 12-0 to go up 32-9.
[su_spacer size=”40″] A second 12-0 surge early in the second stanza pushed Tennessee’s lead to 49-16.
[su_spacer size=”40″] A campaign that was filled with promise into late January quickly evaporated with a series of injuries and illnesses that forced Georgia to play without 60 percent of its starting lineup in February. Georgia was 17-3 after upsetting No. 10 Texas A&M on Jan. 22. The Lady Bulldogs lost at Tennessee in their next outing and endured an eight-game losing streak through February.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994 and just the third time since women’s athletics came under NCAA rule in the 1981-82 season.