The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team scored its most points in a game since the 2000-01 campaign and is off to its best start in seven years with a 107-44 victory against Appalachian State Tuesday afternoon.
With an 8-0 record, it marks only the fifth time in Georgia history the Lady Bulldogs have started a season with an undefeated non-conference record and is its best performance since the 2014-15 squad began the year 12-0.
The 107 points scored on Tuesday are the most for a Georgia team since the 2000-01 team scored 107 against Georgia State. That 2000-01 Lady Bulldog squad went on to win the SEC Tournament Championship with a 27-6 record.
“Honestly, we’re deep. We have options. Today you caught us when we were playing well,” head coach Joni Taylor said. “Everybody played well on both sides of the floor. The last two days all we have said is, ‘hey guys, we’ve got to focus. Let’s end this the right way.’ These last two games before Christmas are the ones that you really worry about for a lot of reasons. Their ability to do what they need to do in the moment is something that we haven’t seen in a couple of years. That shows up on the floor and in practice.”
Senior guard Gabby Connally led the team in scoring with 16 points, off a 4-of-5 performance from beyond the arc. Jenna Staiti added 15 points and eight rebounds while Maya Caldwell, Javyn Nicholson, and Sarah Ashlee Barker each scored 12.
Georgia’s bench contributed 50 points.
Connally opened the first quarter the same way she ended it –– knocking down shots from the three-point line. The Lady Bulldogs had a slight 25-18 lead after the first frame, but for the next three quarters the lead kept growing.
Georgia opened the second quarter with heavy defensive pressure, holding Appalachian State scoreless for over eight minutes. The Mountaineers scored their first bucket of the period with 1:22 remaining until halftime.
The Lady Bulldogs had a near perfect 3-point shooting effort in the first half, drilling seven 3’s on an 87 percent effort. Georgia outscored Appalachian State, 30-4 in the second period and were up 55-22 going into the locker room.
The Mountaineers’ shooting struggles continued, while the Lady Bulldogs maintained their offensive consistency, extending their 33-point lead in the third quarter to 53 halfway through the fourth.
Overall, the Lady Bulldogs shot 63% from the field compared to the Mountaineers who finished 14 of 52 (26%). Georgia outperformed Appalachian State in the paint, 56-20, and hit nine of their 13 3-pointers to conclude the afternoon.
