Double-digit efforts from Jenna Staiti and Reigan Richardson and a stout defensive effort helped the No. 14-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team to a dominant win over Saint Francis this afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum, 82-45.
Staiti and Richardson led all scorers this afternoon with 16 and 13, respectively. Georgia shot 53 percent from the field and totaled 28 assists on 34 made field goals.
The Lady Bulldogs improve to 10-1 this season and are now 2-0 all-time versus Saint Francis.
“We have to continue to move our feet and do things we are supposed to do,” shared head coach Joni Taylor. “It’s an effort thing. Rebounding on both ends of the basketball is an effort thing. If you look at us at NC State, I thought we went and got offensive rebounds and kept them from getting to the board as much as we could. And then you look at today, and it’s not the same. That’s my conversation with them all the time – how consistent can we be?”
The Lady Bulldogs raced out to a 5-0 start against the Red Flash behind a swift lay-up from Staiti and a three-point jumper from Sarah Ashlee Barker. Shots fell for both teams before a silky passing move led to Mikayla Coomb’s layup, which was the final score of the quarter as Georgia led 22-16.
An 8-0 run by the Lady Bulldogs midway through the second quarter saw the lead grow to 16 points. Javyn Nicholson and Jillian Hollingshead put up 6 and 5 points each to help Georgia take a 47-30 halftime lead. Staiti leads all scorers with 10.
Staiti and Isaacs went back-to-back on the opening two Lady Bulldog possessions in the second half, each knocking down a jumper. The Georgia lead increased to 28 points at the end of the third quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs closed out the win over Saint Francis behind Richardson’s five fourth-quarter points.