Members of the Georgia Women’s Basketball team fist bump members of the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball team before the start of the Lady Bulldogs’ game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Stegeman Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, in Athens, Ga. (Photo by David Barnes)
ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team puts its four-game SEC win streak on the line when it travels to Baton Rouge, La., to take on LSU at 3 p.m. ET Sunday.
Game Information:
Georgia (18-6, 6-5 SEC) vs. LSU (8-16, 2-9 SEC)
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016 | Maravich Center | 3 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network + // Lyn Rollins (pbp) and Victor Howell (analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Radio Network by IMG (Jeff Dantzler, PBP)
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter: @UGA_WBB
Opening Tip — Five Things To Know
– Georgia enters Sunday’s game riding its longest SEC win streak since 2012-13. The Lady Bulldogs are hoping to win five-straight league contests for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.
– The Lady Bulldogs are looking for their first win in Baton Rouge since 2001. The home team has won 14 of the last 17 regular season meetings between the two teams with Georgia losing the last eight contests at the Maravich Center.
– UGA is No. 27 in the latest RPI and is receiving votes in the AP top-25 poll. Georgia has defeated five teams with an RPI of 35 or higher, including wins against four ranked opponents during the regular season for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
– Georgia boasts the top defense in the Southeastern Conference. The Lady Bulldogs lead the league in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense.
– Freshman forward Caliya Robinson is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week. Robinson has played a pivotal role for the Lady Bulldogs over the current four-game win streak, averaging 10 ppg and 5.5 rebounds per contest during that span.
A Georgia Win Would …
– Improve UGA’s record to 3-2 in the last five meetings with LSU. The two teams have split the previous four contests.
– Give head coach Joni Taylor her 19th win in her first season at Georgia. Only three of the current SEC head coaches have compiled 20 wins or more in his or her first seasons at their current programs.
– Improve Georgia’s 2015-16 SEC record to 7-5, which would top last season’s six-win total against league competition.
Series Information
Overall: Georgia leads, 23-20
In Athens: Georgia leads, 13-6
In Baton Rouge: LSU leads, 10-6
Neutral Sites: Tied, 4-4
Current Streak: LSU, 2-0
Last Meeting: LSU won, 53-46 (1/24/16) Athens
Scouting LSU
LSU has lost four-straight games since its last win, which came against Georgia on Jan. 24. The Tigers are led by Jenna Deemer, who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding. Much like the Lady Bulldogs, LSU is a strong defensive team. The Tigers are holding teams to just 57.3 points per game — a total that ranks fifth in the SEC.
Last Time Out
Paced by a trio of seniors, Georgia defeated the Ole Miss Rebels by a 70-56 tally last Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.
Shacobia Barbee recorded her eighth double-double of the season, posting 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Tiaria Griffin tied her career best with five deep balls in the contest, finishing with a game-high 19 points. Forward Merritt Hempe also shined on the offensive end, totaling 17 points after scoring 10 in the first half. The win was Georgia’s fourth consecutive victory.
“Ole Miss is a really good team and they’re very athletic,” said Georgia head coach Joni Taylor. “Give them credit, they came out and hit open shots. We just had to stay the course and stay with it. We made some adjustments at halftime, and it worked in our favor.”
Georgia Notebook
Robinson Named SEC Freshman Of The Week
» Georgia freshman forward Caliya Robinson was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season on Feb. 9. Robinson earned the honor after recording a double-double on the road at then-No. 20 Missouri, before returning home to set a career high with five blocked shots in the win against Ole Miss. In the last three games, Robinson has scored in double figures twice and is averaging 8.0 rebounds per game over that time. The Marietta, Ga., native currently ranks second among SEC freshmen in blocked shots with 27 total this season.
Robinson was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 29 after averaging nearly a double-double in wins against Cincinnati and Tennessee Tech. After averaging just 3.4 points per game in the team’s first five SEC contests, Robinson has reversed that trend and is averaging 8.3 per game in the last six league contests.
Lady Bulldogs Setting Defensive Records
» Georgia is holding teams to just 52.2 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 in a single game (28 vs. Georgia Southern on Nov. 24) and points allowed by an SEC opponent (30 vs. Auburn on Jan. 28). The Lady Bulldogs have held 22 of 24 opponents at 40 percent or lower shooting this season.
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 264 career steals ranks ninth in Georgia history. Barbee is also fourth among active SEC players in career double-doubles with an impressive 18 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 last outing vs. Ole Miss. Griffin now has 204 made 3-point baskets, which is the top mark for any current player in the Southeastern Conference. The 5-foot-7 guard has hit 58 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 24 games this season and is third 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.
Georgia Gets W In Nashville
» Georgia used a 16-0 run in the first quarter and 14 points from freshman Caliya Robinson to down Vanderbilt on Jan. 31 in Nashville. The victory against the Commodores represented UGA’s first win at Memorial Gymnasium since 2006 and gave the Lady Bulldogs their second SEC road win of the year.
Lady Bulldogs Use Record-Breaking Performance To Down Auburn
» Georgia clamped down on the defensive end to hold Auburn to its lowest point output of the season and the lowest point total by any of UGA’s SEC opponents in school history. The Lady Bulldogs held the Tigers to just 15 points over the final three quarters and held AU scoreless for just over eight minutes in the third period.
Strong Start One For The Records
» The 12-1 start for Georgia head coach Joni Taylor ties for the third-best start by an SEC coach in his or her first season at a school since women’s basketball became an NCAA sport. Pokey Chatman (13-0, LSU in 2004-05) and Tom Collen (13-0, Arkansas in 2007-08) are the only two to have better starts through their first 13 games.
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