The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team defeated the North Carolina A&T Aggies, 72-54, to win its second game of the season at Stegeman Coliseum Wednesday evening.
Junior Gabby Connally led Georgia (2-0) in scoring, registering 16 points. Two other Lady Bulldogs scored in double digits, as junior Maya Caldwell and redshirt junior Jenna Staiti tallied 15 and 14 points, respectively. Staiti also notched her second straight double-double with a career-high 15 rebounds.
“Jenna’s been great,” said Georgia head coach Joni Taylor. “Credit to her, we’ve been on her and we are going to continue to stay on her because I still think she’s got more in her. When she came here, she said she wanted to be great. As long as that is her goal, we are going to challenge her that way. Starters look a different way, talk a different way, and act a different way. That is the only conversation we needed to have and she’s been different ever since. ”
Each Lady Bulldog starter recorded points in the first quarter with eight scoring overall, highlighted by Staiti’s six points.
An early 10-0 run allowed Georgia to force its first double-digit lead of the game. The Lady Bulldogs never conceded their double-figure advantage, concluding the frame with a 22-12 lead.
Georgia continued its hot streak in the second quarter as sophomore Caitlin Hose drained a deep 3-pointer on the first play of the period. Connally followed shortly after with a three of her own, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 30-14 lead.
A buzzer-beater layup from Staiti gave Georgia the 39-26 lead at half. The Lady Bulldogs shot 50-percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
The Aggies scored four unanswered points early in the third quarter, bringing the score within single digits for the first time since Georgia led 12-4 with five minutes remaining in the first. Six points from Caldwell and four points from Paul with two minutes left on the clock kept North Carolina A&T at arm’s length, 55-44, heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs sprinted to an 18-point lead in the final period, their largest of the night, with Connally’s seven points and Caldwell’s four in the period. Two layups within the last minute capped the game for Georgia, 72-54.