Gabby Connally scored 20 points and nailed a contested jumper with less than a second to go to lift the University of Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team over the 19th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks, 75-73, on Monday night.
Georgia improves to 13-2 overall this season and 5-2 in SEC play. The Lady Bulldogs have won seven of the last eight contests against the Razorbacks.
Senior center Jenna Staiti finished with 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, marking her sixth double-double on the season. Sarah Ashlee Barker came off the bench and scored 10 points.
“We were just going to rely on the ladies we had out there. We knew we were going to be in a tough game,” head coach Joni Taylor said. “Arkansas is so good. They are so battle tested, and their record does not reflect how good they are. They’re going to be a team that’s going to do great things. When Jordan got that rebound, I wanted to have the last shot. I’ve always said when you’re playing Arkansas, you have to score with them, and whoever can score the most points is going to win the game, and that’s a tall task because they average almost 80 points a game, but we were able to find some different ways to score tonight.”
Georgia and Arkansas traded baskets early until Connally hit two back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the first quarter to extend the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to 19-12. Georgia committed nine turnovers compared to Arkansas’ one. The Razorbacks scored 11 points off the Lady Bulldogs’ miscues as the two teams went into the second quarter tied at 25-all.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the second period on a 9-0 run to take a 34-27 lead, holding the Razorbacks scoreless for almost three minutes. Arkansas went on a run of their own scoring nine straight points while Georgia couldn’t find the basket for more than 4 minutes. Both teams went into the locker room tied at 39 apiece.
Georgia shot 35 percent from the field and was outscored 19-14 in the third quarter. With a minute left in the third period, Arkansas broke open and took their largest lead of the game at 58-51. The Razorbacks had a 58-53 edge going into the final period.
Arkansas hit a big 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, and Que Morrison answered right back with a shot from beyond the arc. With 2:29 left, Staiti made two clutch free throws to give Georgia their first lead since early in the third quarter.
Connally scored Georgia’s last four points in the remaining minute and the Lady Bulldogs outscored the Razorbacks 22-15 in the fourth period to rally back for a win.
Next up, the Lady Bulldogs will return to Stegeman Coliseum and host LSU at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.