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Georgia improves to 16-3 with a 4-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play, while the Commodores fall to 10-8 on the year (1-4 SEC). With the win, the Lady Bulldogs remain undefeated at home this season at 11-0, with 17-straight victories in Stegeman Coliseum dating back to last year.
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Barbee paced the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points and 11 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season and the 11th of her career. Krista Donald tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, while Merritt Hempe and Marjorie Butler each added 11 points. Butler also recorded four assists.
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Both teams shot 40 percent from the field, and Vanderbilt made 38 percent of its 3-point shots, while Georgia was only 2-of-11 (18 percent) from long range. However, the Lady Bulldogs shot 80 percent at the line to the Commodores’ 63 percent.
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“Today we took really good care of the ball,” head coach Andy Landers said. “I thought we were doing a nice job of managing things for the most part, and then we made our free throws.”
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Georgia struggled to ignite an offensive campaign early in the first stanza, allowing Vanderbilt to build a three-point advantage. Mackenzie Engram hit the Lady Bulldogs’ first shot from behind the arc at the 7:37 mark, sparking a 13-5 run over a 5:28 span that put Georgia up 25-19. The Commodores closed the gap to three points by the half.
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Hempe opened the second period for Georgia with consecutive baskets, and Erika Ford added another, to boost Georgia to a seven-point advantage. But Vanderbilt battled to within a point thanks to a nearly four-minute Lady Bulldog scoring drought.
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That’s when Barbee took over on the court. She hit a jumper, layup and 3-pointer in straight trips to the basket. Moments later, Barbee forced a Vanderbilt turnover, stealing the ball and sinking another layup to give Georgia a 12-point lead with 2:55 on the clock, its largest lead of the game. The Commodores were forced to foul, and Georgia closed the game shooting 11-of-14 from the line in the final minutes.
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“It’s going to be a competitive game, and if you play reasonably well ,you’re going to have a chance to win it,” Landers said. “We welcome the challenge of Texas A&M coming in on Thursday. “
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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.
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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 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.
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No. 18/16 Georgia vs. Vanderbilt
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Sunday, January 18, 2015 • Stegeman Coliseum • Athens, Ga.
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Notes
• With the win, Georgia advances to 16-3 on the season and 4-2 in Southeatern Conference play.
• Georgia improves to 34-26 all-time against Vanderbilt, including a 18-7 record in Athens.
• With the win, Georgia guaranteed its 36th straight winning season.
• Georgia is now four wins from the program’s 900th victory.
• With the win, Coach Landers is nine victories from his 950th win as a collegiate head coach.
• Georgia extends its home winning streak to 17, dating back to January 16, 2014 against Arkansas.
• Erika Ford started for the first time this season and the 46th time in her career. Ford scored a season-high 20 points at Ole Miss on Thursday. Ford started 28 of 32 games last season but had come off the bench in the 17 games she played this season before Sunday.
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Lady Bulldogs In Double Digits
• Shacobia Barbee scored 14 points, her 12th double-digit performance of the season and 40th of her career.
• Shacobia Barbee had 11 rebounds, her 5th double-figure rebounding game of the season and 17th of her career.
• Shacobia Barbee recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 11th of her career.
• Krista Donald scored 13 points, her 6th double-digit performance of the season and 26th of her career.
• Merritt Hempe tallied 11 points, her 8th double-digit performance of the season and 21st of her career.
• Marjorie Butler put up 11 points, her 8th double-digit performance of the season and 21st of her career.
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Georgia Head Coach Andy Landers
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“Going back to Thursday night, we did two things that we normally don’t do: turn the ball over excessively – any turnover is excessive by the way – but we turned it over and missed free throws. But today we took really good care of the ball. I thought we were doing a nice job of managing things for the most part, and then we made our free throws.”
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On Shacobia Barbee’s big game…
“[She] played really well, which you hope she does and you expect her to. One of the things that gets in the way a little bit is sometimes I think we expect and she expects too much of herself. I think sometimes that can be a stumbling stone. But this afternoon she was terrific…the rebounding was out of sight.”
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On the upcoming difficult schedule…
“It is what it is. It’s the Southeastern Conference, and it really doesn’t matter most nights who’s playing who, it’s going to be a competitive game and if you play reasonably well you’re going to have a chance to win it, so we welcome the challenge of Texas A&M coming in on Thursday.