The Georgia women’s basketball team improved to 7-0 after overwhelming the Furman Paladins 79-44 Thursday evening at Stegeman Coliseum.

 

The Georgia defense fueled the performance once again, holding an opponent to its season low in scoring for the second time in the last three games. The Lady Bulldogs totaled 33 points off 27 Furman turnovers – the most for the Paladins and the most by a Georgia opponent this season. The Lady Bulldogs are now 17-0 when holding an opponent to 50 points or less under Coach Taylor.

Georgia’s offense complimented the defensive effort with 11 scorers on the night, the most Lady Bulldogs to score in a game all season. Junior Caliya Robinson headlined the attack with 15 points and 11 rebounds, notching her first double-double of the season and the 11th of her career.

Senior Mackenzie Engram and redshirt sophomore Taja Cole rounded out the double-digit Georgia scorers with 10 apiece. Cole finished with a team-high five assists and career-high four steals.

“That’s how I want [the defense] to look all the time,” Taylor said. “Furman is a good team, and we thought one area where we could cause problems was on the ball. Everyone really committed to being great on-ball defenders whether that was with their speed or with their length from their hands and being disruptive.”

The Lady Bulldogs raced out to a 15-0 lead with pressure defense, forcing 10 turnovers while holding the Paladins scoreless in the first 7:18. Freshman Maya Caldwell’s 3-pointer with nine seconds left in the first quarter made it 18-4 after one quarter, marking the fewest points scored by a Georgia opponent to open a contest this season.

Georgia’s lead only accelerated in the second quarter, as the Lady Bulldogs extended the margin to 40-13 by halftime on account of 47-percent (16-32) shooting. Engram keyed the offense with 10 first half points, while Robinson notched nine points and six boards.

The second quarter featured the Lady Bulldogs’ second 15-0 run of the game. The sequence consisted of a trio of 3-pointers from Engram, Robinson and Caldwell. The other three scores came from layups, one of which Engram scored after a series of no-look passes between Cole and Robinson.

After two Paladin free throws to open the second half, Georgia pieced together seven unanswered points for the 47-15 edge. Cole followed a 3-pointer with her fourth steal of the night and found Robinson at the basket for a layup.

Georgia used 16 free throws in the second half, scoring a season-best 85.7 percent from the line to extend the Lady Bulldog advantage and seal the final 35-point edge.

Freshman Malury Bates debuted with her first points as a Lady Bulldog on two free throws in the third quarter. Robinson also extended her streak of games with a block to seven in the third quarter with a demonstrative swat.

CLICK HERE for the full box score and stats from Georgia’s 79-44 win over Furman.

Next up, Georgia hosts No. 2 Texas, the Lady Bulldogs’ highest-ranked non-conference opponent to enter Stegeman Coliseum since the Longhorns traveled to Athens in 2004. The game is slated for 4 p.m. ET. and will be available on SEC Network.