Georgia guard Marjorie Butler (24) during the Gators’ game against the Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday, January 14, 2016 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL / UAA Communications photo by Matt Ramirez
Game Information:
Georgia (19-7, 7-6 SEC) vs. No. 22 Florida (20-6, 8-5 SEC)
Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 | Stegeman Coliseum | 1 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network // Jenn Hildreth (PxP) and Gail Goestenkors (Analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Radio Network by IMG (Jeff Dantzler, PBP)
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter: @UGA_WBB
The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team returns home to host No. 22 Florida on Sunday for a 1 p.m. ET tip at Stegeman Coliseum.
Sunday’s contest is Senior Day for five Georgia seniors — Shacobia Barbee, Marjorie Butler, Tiaria Griffin, Terryuana Godwin and Merritt Hempe — who will all be honored before the game.
The matchup between Georgia and Florida is also UGA’s annual Play4Kay game. The Lady Bulldogs will be wearing pink in honor of those who are affected by breast cancer. Fans are encouraged to join the cause by wearing pink to Sunday’s game.
For more information about the game, follow the Lady Bulldogs on Twitter (@UGA_WBB), Instagram (@uga_wbb) and Facebook (Georgia Women’s Basketball).
Opening Tip
– Georgia has won six of the last seven meetings against Florida, including a 71-61 victory in Gainesville earlier this season. The Gators are the 10th ranked team Georgia has faced this year — the most in the regular season since the 2008-09 campaign.
– The Lady Bulldogs enter Sunday’s contest after narrowly falling to No. 2 South Carolina in Columbia on Thursday. Georgia got within five points — 50-45 — with 2:29 remaining and held the Gamecocks to their second-lowest SEC scoring output this season.
– Georgia currently finds itself in the middle of a tight SEC race. The Lady Bulldogs are in a four-way tie for sixth place and just one game out of third in the league standings.
– The Lady Bulldogs are currently 25th in the latest RPI with wins against five teams in the RPI top-50. Georgia is also receiving votes in the latest AP poll.
– Senior guard Tiaria Griffin is coming off a 24-point effort against the second-ranked Gamecocks on Thursday. Griffin, who scored 10 of those points in the third period, finished just one point shy of her career high. Fellow senior guard Shacobia Barbee ranks in the top-5 in the SEC in rebounds, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio this season.
– UGA rookie Caliya Robinson has been named SEC Freshman of the Week three times this season, including each of the last two weeks. Robinson has played a pivotal role for the Lady Bulldogs, averaging 8.4 ppg and 5.9 rpg in wins and 3.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg in losses this season.
A Georgia Win Would …
– Be Georgia’s fifth win against a ranked opponent this season. The Lady Bulldogs have not defeated five ranked teams in the same season since the 2006-07 campaign.
– Give the Lady Bulldogs their third-straight win against the Gators.
– Be the 20th win in head coach Joni Taylor’s first season. Only three other current SEC coaches had 20 or more wins in their first seasons at their respective schools (Holly Warlick, Nikki Fargas and Melanie Balcomb).
Series Information
Overall: Georgia leads, 52-15
In Athens: Georgia leads, 27-4
In Gainesville: Georgia leads, 23-10
Neutral Sites: Georgia leads, 2-1
Current Streak: UGA, two straight
Last Meeting: UGA won 71-61 (1/14/16) Gainesville
Scouting Florida
Florida enters Sunday’s game as one of the highest scoring teams in the SEC, averaging 79.6 points per game this season. The Gators feature a very balanced attack with 10 of their players averaging 5.0 ppg or more. No. 22 Florida is also one of the top rebounding teams in the conference, averaging 42.6 per game. Ronni Williams leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 11.0 ppg and 7.8 rebounds per contest.
Georgia Notebook
Senior Class Leaves Mark
» Georgia will pay tribute to its 2015-16 senior class before Subday’s game. Five seniors — Shacobia Barbee, Marjorie Butler, Tiaria Griffin, Merritt Hempe and Terryuana Godwin — are approaching their final games as Lady Bulldogs. This year’s senior class has combined for 326 career starts, two NCAA tournament appearances and an 86-38 record during their time at UGA. This season, the UGA senior class is looking to lead the Lady Bulldogs back to the NCAA tournament, with Georgia’s top three scorers all seniors.
Sunday is Play4Kay Pink Game
» Sunday’s contest against Florida is Georgia’s Play4Kay Pink Game, benefiting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Georgia players will be wearing pink during today’s game, while fans are asked to wear pink in honor of those affected by breast cancer.
Robinson A Three-Time SEC Freshman Of The Week
» Georgia freshman forward Caliya Robinson has earned back-to-back SEC Freshman of the Week honors and three times overall this season as she is now third on the team in scoring (7.1 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.1 rpg) in conference play.
Robinson earned the most recent honor thanks to a strong performance on the road at LSU last Sunday. The 6-foot-3 forward scored a career-high 19 points and tallied a career-best 11 rebounds as she led Georgia in scoring and recorded her third double-double of the season.
Lady Bulldogs Setting Defensive Records
» Georgia currently leads the league in all three major defensive categories — scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense.
Georgia is holding teams to just 52.3 points per game this season. If that average holds, it would break a school record of 53.9 points per game allowed, which was set back in the 2012-13 season. The Lady Bulldogs have already broken the school record for both points allowed by an opponent (28 vs. Georgia Southern on Nov. 24) and points allowed by an SEC opponent (30 vs. Auburn on Jan. 28) in a single game.
The Lady Bulldogs have held 24 of 26 opponents at 40 percent or lower shooting this season and have held six teams — Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State, Wright State, Mississippi State, Auburn and Missouri — to their season lows in scoring.
Georgia Guards Rank 1-2 In Assist-To-Turnover Ratio
» Lady Bulldog senior guards Shacobia Barbee and Marjorie Butler rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the SEC, respectively, in assist-to-turnover ratio. Barbee has tallied 112 assists and committed just 53 turnovers this season, while Butler has recorded 115 assists and 58 turnovers. As a team, Georgia boasts the top assist-to-turnover ratio in the league (1.07), is second in total assists (15.6 per game) and is third in fewest turnovers committed (15.0 per game).
Barbee Among Career Leaders
» Georgia senior guard Shacobia Barbee has become arguably one of the most versatile players in the SEC throughout her career. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native currently ranks among the SEC’s career active leaders in several categories, including rebounding, steals and assists. Barbee ranks in the top three in each of these statistical rankings, while her 269 career steals ranks ninth in Georgia history. Barbee is also fourth among active SEC players in career double-doubles with an impressive 19 over the last three and a half years.
Griffin’s Mark From The Arc
» Senior guard Tiaria Griffin went over 200 made 3-point baskets for her career in the team’s outing vs. Ole Miss. Griffin now has 209 made 3-point baskets, which is the top mark for any current player in the Southeastern Conference. The 5-foot-7 guard has hit 63 shots from behind the arc this season — a total which also ranks first in the SEC. She is currently No. 4 on UGA’s all-time career 3-point baskets made chart.
Butler Named To CoSIDA District 4 Academic All-America Team
» Georgia starting point guard and aspiring orthopedic surgeon Marjorie Butler has been named to the CoSIDA District 4 Academic All-America Team, making her eligible for the Academic All-America squad, which will be announced in March.
Butler, who has started each of Georgia’s 26 games this season and is second in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio, will graduate with her second degree from the University of Georgia this coming May. The Knoxville, Tennessee native, who already has a degree in exercise science, currently sports a 3.81 GPA in biology.
She has already been accepted to some of the top medical schools in the nation, including the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University, University of Florida, UAB, Meharry (Tenn.) College and East Tennessee State University.
Four Ranked Wins For The Lady Bulldogs
» Georgia has won four games over ranked opponents during the regular season for the first time since 2009-10. Three of those victories have come against SEC foes — then-No. 10 Mississippi State, then-No. 20 Florida and No. 21 Missouri. All three contests in SEC play were strong defensive efforts by the Lady Bulldogs, as Georgia held each team to its respective season low in scoring and a sub-40 shooting percentage.
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