Georgia guard Tiaria Griffin (3) dribbles the ball during the Lady Bulldogs’ game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Stegeman Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, in Athens, Ga. (Photo by David Barnes)
The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team takes its five-game win streak into a matchup against No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
The game will be available on SEC Network + via the WatchESPN app.
Game Information:
Georgia (19-6, 7-5 SEC) vs. No. 2 South Carolina (24-1, 12-0 SEC)
Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016 | Colonial Life Arena | 7 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network + // Derek Scott (play-by-play) and Caroline Cann (analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Radio Network by IMG (Jeff Dantzler, PBP)
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter: @UGA_WBB
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 — Five Things To Know
– Georgia is in the midst of a five-game win streak entering Thursday’s game. It marks UGA’s longest SEC win streak since the 2010-11 campaign. The team is going for its fourth-straight league road victory on Thursday, something the Lady Bulldogs have not accomplished since the 1999-2000 SEC Championship season.
– The Lady Bulldogs have been road warriors this season, knocking down Vanderbilt in Nashville for the first time since 2006 and defeating LSU in Baton Rouge for the first time since 2001. Georgia also has two wins against ranked opponents on the road with victories against then-No. 20 Florida and then-No. 21 Missouri.
– UGA is currently ranked No. 26 in the RPI and has compiled five wins against teams with an RPI of 35 or higher. Georgia, which has four wins against ranked teams this season, is currently receiving votes in the weekly AP top-25 poll.
– Part of Georgia’s recent success is due to freshman forward Caliya Robinson, who enters Thursday’s game as a three-time SEC Freshman of the Week, including each of the past two weeks. Robinson has averaged 11.6 ppg and 6.2 rebounds per contest during the current win streak.
– Georgia boasts the top defense in the SEC, leading the league in scoring defense (52.0), field-goal percentage defense (34.1), and 3-point field-goal percentage defense (23.6).
A Georgia Win Would …
– Give the Lady Bulldogs their 10th victory all-time against a team ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP or Coaches polls.
– Be Georgia’s first win against a top-5 team since downing No.3 Tennessee, 53-50, on Jan. 21, 2010. The Lady Bulldogs’ last win against a team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the polls came in 2004 — a 78-64 victory against No. 2 Texas.
– Be the team’s sixth-straight victory of the season, matching its longest SEC win streak since the 2010-11 season.
Series Information
Overall: Georgia leads, 33-10
In Athens: Georgia leads, 15-3
In Columbia: Georgia leads, 14-4
Neutral Sites: Georgia leads, 4-3
Current Streak: USC, three straight
Last Meeting: USC won 58-35 (2/5/15) Athens
Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina enters Thursday’s contest as one of the top teams in the nation, with its only loss this season coming to No. 1 Connecticut, 66-54, on Feb. 8. A 2014-15 NCAA Final Four team, the Gamecocks are led by three preseason All-SEC selections in A’Ja Wilson, Tiffany Mitchell and Alaina Coates, who are each averaging in double figures. The physical Gamecocks are beating teams by an average of 17 points per game and lead the league in rebounding margin and blocked shots.
Last Time Out
Freshman Caliya Robinson scored a career-high 19 points and recorded a career-best 11 rebounds, leading the Georgia Lady Bulldogs to their fifth-straight Southeastern Conference win with a 58-47 victory against LSU this past Sunday afternoon.
The win marked Georgia’s first in Baton Rouge since 2001. Robinson added four blocks to go along with her career-high points and rebounds. She was joined in double-digit scoring by Shacobia Barbee, who recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“LSU is a really good team,” head coach Joni Taylor said. “Give credit to them. They play with such effort and they work so hard and do a great job defensively. We knew that it was going to be tough here. We hadn’t won here since 2001 and there was a reason why. They are really tough to beat in this arena. Credit our players because we told them to be ready and it would be an all hands on deck kind of game. We were fortunate to come out of here with a win.”
Georgia Notebook
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 (7.2 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.2 rpg) in conference play.
Robinson earned the most recent honor thanks to a strong performance on the road at LSU on Sunday. The 6-foot-3 forward led Georgia in scoring and recorded her third double-double of the season.
Lady Bulldogs Setting Defensive Records
» Georgia is holding teams to just 52.0 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 23 of 25 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 with a 2.1 mark. Barbee has tallied 107 assists and committed just 50 turnovers this season, while Butler has recorded 111 assists and 53 turnovers. As a team, Georgia boasts the top assist-to-turnover ratio in the league (1.1), is second in total assists (15.7 per game) and is fourth in turnovers committed (14.7 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 206 made 3-point baskets, which is the top mark for any current player in the Southeastern Conference. The 5-foot-7 guard has hit 60 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 25 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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