#17/18 Georgia Lady Bulldogs (17-4, 9-4 SEC) vs. #17/19 Kentucky Wildcats (15-6, 8-5 SEC)
Thursday, Feb. 25 | 7 p.m. ET | Stegeman Coliseum (1,638) | Athens, Ga.
Watch: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck)
Watch Link: Click Here
Listen: Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler)
*960 AM The REF, WXKT 103.7 FM in Athens or via the Georgia Bulldogs App
Women’s Basketball Fan Attendance Policy
– Due to social distancing protocols, Stegeman Coliseum will be operating at a reduced capacity of approximately 20% with ticket opportunities in blocks of two or four seats only.
– Fans will be required to wear face masks at all times while in Stegeman Coliseum.
– No fans are allowed on the court level of Stegeman.
– All seating is reserved for the 2020-2021 women’s basketball season.
– Tickets are mobile for the 2020-21 season. Tickets for Thursday’s game ARE still available. Visit www.georgiadogs.com/tickets to purchase a mobile ticket.
Opening Tip Storylines
• A pair of top-20 teams meet with SEC implications on the line Thursday at Stegeman Coliseum. Tipoff between the Georgia Lady Bulldogs and Kentucky Wildcats is set for 7 p.m.
• Georgia and Kentucky are fighting for SEC seeding at next week’s conference tournament in Greenville, S.C. Georgia can take a step closer to earning a No. 3 seed with a win on Thursday.
• Georgia is ranked No. 16 in the NET rankings, No. 17 in the Associated Press top-25 and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll.
• The Lady Bulldogs are on a four-game win streak, including Sunday’s victory against No. 21 Tennessee. The win gave Georgia its first season sweep over the Lady Vols since the 1984-85 campaign.
• Georgia held Tennessee to a season-low in points (55) and field-goal percentage (28.8 percent). Tennessee’s previous low in points was against Kentucky (56).
• After being picked ninth in this year’s SEC preseason coaches poll, head coach Joni Taylor’s team is once again exceeding expectations. In four of her first five seasons, the Lady Bulldogs finished ahead of where they were predicted to finish, and that will once again happen in her sixth year at the helm of the program.
• Defense Travels has been the mantra for the Lady Bulldogs under Coach Taylor. Georgia has taken it to a new level this season. As the only squad to rank in the top-5 of every defensive category, Georgia has made its case for the best defensive team in the SEC.
• The Lady Bulldogs are first in scoring defense (59.1 ppg), first in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.265), third in field-goal percentage defense (.365), second in blocked shots (6.4 per game) and fourth in steals (9.1 per game).
• Senior guard Que Morrison is making a strong case for a second-straight SEC All-Defensive Team honor and for the SEC Defensive Player of the Year award. Morrison’s 29 steals in SEC play are tied with LSU’s Khayla Pointer for the most in the conference. Morrison, who routinely guards the opponents top player night-in and night-out, has held her opponent below its season average in 10 of 13 league games.
Series Breakdown
Overall: Georgia leads, 37-20
In Athens: Georgia leads, 17-7
In Lexington: Georgia leads, 14-11
Neutral Sites: Georgia leads, 6-2
Current Streak: Kentucky has won six of the last seven meetings
Last Meeting: Kentucky won 88-77 (2/27/20) in Lexington
Largest Margin of Victory: Georgia won, 113-67 (2/23/86)
Largest Defeat: Kentucky won, 82-61 (1/15/17)
https://www.bulldawgillustratedphotos.com/frame/slideshow?key=HHwkCx&speed=3&transition=fade&autoStart=1&captions=1&navigation=1&playButton=1&randomize=1&transitionSpeed=2&clickable=1Historical Hidden Figures
In honor of Black History Month, the SEC is highlighting pioneers and trailblazers in our sport. Cynthia Collins and Bernadette Locke (Mattox) were the first two African-Americans recruited to enroll at UGA and play for the Lady Bulldogs on scholarship. They were teammates on Andy Landers’ first Georgia team in 1979-80. Each set a standard of excellence for countless Lady Bulldogs and young women who followed.
Georgia Notables
More Good News … Georgia Inks Pair of McDonald’s All-Americans
Jillian Hollingshead (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Reigan Richardson (Huntersville, N.C.) — two signees in the Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team’s 2021 class — have been named McDonald’s All-Americans, the organization announced this past Tuesday.
It marks the first time in program history Georgia has signed two McDonald’s All-Americans in one class. Hollingshead and Richardson are the 11th and 12th McDonald’s All-Americans to sign with the Lady Bulldogs, and are the first to commit right out of high school since Ronika Ransford in 2010. Current Lady Bulldog Mikayla Coombs was a McDonald’s All-American in 2017.
Georgia is one of only three Southeastern Conference schools — joining South Carolina and Arkansas — to have a signee on this year’s list.
2 for Threeeee
Senior guard Gabby Connally goes by the nickname ‘2’ to honor her jersey number. The San Antonio native might want to think about changing it to ‘3’ following a pair of impressive shooting performances in the last two games.
After hitting a career-high six 3-pointers to tie her season-best of 29 points at Missouri, Connally made five 3-pointers in the win against Tennessee. She is the first Georgia player since Mary Beth Lycett (Smart) in 2003 to post back-to-back games with five or more 3-pointers against SEC teams.