The Georgia women basketball team’s season started last night as they hosted South Carolina State. The ladies were looking to win their 11th consecutive season-opening game, and they did just that. They beat South Carolina State 64-50.
A pleasant surprise was seeing junior forward, Mackenzie Engram back on the court and healthy. Engram missed 15 games last season due to an illness. She scored 15 points and had seven rebounds, and was the team’s leading scorer.
The Lady Dawgs overall performed well and had multiple people excelling on the offensive side of the ball. Pachis Roberts looked impressive as well, scoring 14 points and 11 rebounds. It was her first career double-double and a career high in rebounds.
Georgia just dominated on the boards as two other players put up impressive rebound stats as well. Halle Washington and Shanea Armbrister both had ten rebounds apiece.
However, it wasn’t just the veterans that showed out for the game. Transfer player, Simone Costa finished with 10 points as well.
Throughout the game, Georgia held on to a small lead, but South Carolina State was never far behind. During the first half of the game State only allowed the Lady Dawgs to shoot 32 percent from the field. The three-point shot was also a struggle for the Lady Dawgs.
However, the ladies eventually took a strong lead and closed the game out with a W. Engram helped on both sides of the ball and made an impact in this match. This game marked the 57th home non-conference win for the Lady Dawgs, which ranks No. 1 in the NCAA Division 1 standings.
“We are always aware, and our players are always aware of the streak that we have in season openers and even our non-conference streak of home victories, number one in the country. So we actually talk about that we don’t shy away from that. We don’t want them to feel pressure; we want them to kind of, we say pressure is a privilege,” Associate Head Coach Karen Lange said.
The women’s basketball team next game is on Sunday, November 13 as they go head to head against Mercer at 2 p.m.