Caliya Robinson scored 21-points and Taja Cole 15 to help propel the Georgia women’s basketball team to a 79-63 win over BYU on Saturday evening in Provo, Utah at the Marriott Center.
Caliya’s 21 is a season-high for the the junior foward, and Cole’s 15 is a career-high for the redshirt-sophomore.
Georgia (5-0) also played well defensively and held the Cougars (3-2) to a season-low in both points and field-goal percentage with just a 35-percent shooting effort.
Joining Robinson and Cole in double figures was Mackenzie Engram with 15 and Que Morrison’s 11. Engram has reached double figures in scoring in every game this season, while Morrison has done so in three of five contests.
“Mackenzie and Caliya provided a huge lift for us with several big 3-pointers that got the rest of our team going,” head coach Joni Taylor said. “We knew we were going to get BYU’s best shot and credit them for coming back in the second half. BYU is a good team and we are proud to head back to Georgia with a win.”
Georgia went nearly four minutes without a basket to open the game, but that streak did not last long. The Lady Bulldogs followed with an 11-0 run thanks to a 3-pointer from Engram and baskets from Cole, Robinson and Morrison.
Up 11-2, it was the Cougars’ turn as BYU went on a 7-0 run while Georgia missed its last five field goals in the quarter but still led, 13-12.
Robinson nailed a 3-pointer to open the second frame and the Lady Bulldogs extended the advantage to 21-12 with a long two from Engram and another 3-point shot from Robinson that forced a BYU timeout with 8:33 remaining in the half.
A barrage of treys from behind the arc combined with a stout defensive effort helped the Lady Bulldogs stake claim to a 36-22 halftime lead. Robinson led all scorers with 12 points, while BYU hit just six field goals and shot 21 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Georgia’s 7-0 run in the third quarter put further distance between the visitors and the Cougars as the Lady Bulldogs built a 49-28 lead with 4:56 remaining in the third.
BYU would not go away as the Cougars got within nine points thanks to Georgia’s foul trouble. Another 3-pointer from Robinson put Georgia back up by 12, 63-51, with just under eight minutes to go and the Cougars never got closer.
CLICK HERE for the full box score from the Georgia women’s basketball team’s game versus BYU.
The Lady Bulldogs now have a short turnaround to host Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m. ET Monday at Stegeman Coliseum.