Georgia Lady Bulldogs Win Streak Grows By Two
The number 14 ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs extended their season opening win streak to 12 with recent home wins over Furman and Belmont.
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In the Dawgs ‘ 58 – 51 win over Furman Saturday, the Lady Dogs were led by Shacobia Barbee’s career-high 25 points and 12 rebounds – her ninth career double-double and her second of the season. Barbee had five steals to go with her team leading points and rebounds.
Merritt Hempe was the only other Lady Bulldog that scored in double figures, registering 14 points and 11 rebounds to earn her second career double-double.
“You really have to tip your hat to Furman and the way they played,” Georgia head coach Andy Landers told Georgiadogs.com following the game. “I thought defensively they played well, and unfortunately as we tried to attack them defensively, we missed shots early — a lot of shots early. If you flip that and go to the other end look at how we defended, it was the total opposite. We were tough as nails, we got on the floor after balls, we rebounded the ball and we took a couple charges. We made a lot of plays in the last three minutes and we doubled on the post, so defensively we were very, very good.”
Furman came back from a 24 – 21 halftime deficit to tie the game at 35-35 on a Kelsey Ellis 3-pointer at the 13:18 mark and then took the lead on a Sarah Durdaller jumper on the Paladins’ next possession.
A Krista Donald lay-up put Georgia ahead 53-51 with 4:34 to play and Barbee made 3-pointer to extend the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to five with 1:53 remaining. Georgia forced consecutive turnovers on the next Furman possessions. Marjorie Butler closed out the win making both ends of a one-and-one.
“Cobi’s two threes were terrific, Coach Landers told Georgiadogs.com. “You know, her being settled all day was important because everybody was struggling and she just kind of stayed the course. She and Tiara never really got caught up in it.”
The Lady Bulldogs are 11- 0 against the Paladins all time.
On Monday, the Lady Dogs defeated Belmont 62-43, tying for the fifth-best start in program history.
Again, Shacobia Barbee led the team in scoring with 13 points and eight rebounds. Tiaria Griffin tallied 11 points for her eighth double-digit outing of the year.
Belmont led 17-12 with 8:39 to play in the first half, but Georgia held the Bruins scoreless for more than four minutes. The Lady Bulldogs closed the gap in the final minutes to trail 21-19 at the half.
Georgia opened the second half on a 10-2 run for a lead it would not relinquish. Georgia finally went on a 13 – 0 scoring run led by back-to-back scores from Marjorie Butler to gain control of the game. Belmont continued to fight, drawing within three points halfway through the period.
Mar 6, 2014; Duluth, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Andy Landers reacts to a call in the first half against Vanderbilt at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
“I think it’s a testament to the resolve of this basketball team,” head coach Andy Landers told Georgiadogs.com. “There have been a few games this year where we’ve gotten behind, and some of those games we haven’t played particularly well offensively. But defensively, we stayed the course. We had to slow it down a little bit, be patient and then we did a really nice job of executing.”
Georgia scored 21 points from beyond the 3-point line, shooting 40 percent to Belmont’s 14 percent and recorded 12 second-chance points.
The Lady Bulldogs place their undefeated season on the line against Seton Hall in New Jersey on December 28. Georgia will open Southeastern Conference competition on January 2 at Mississippi State and will return home on January 4 to host Alabama.
The Lady Dogs are 12 – 0. The best start ever for a Lady Dogs team is 16 – 0 (1994 – 95). The program is eight wins away from 900 victories, Coach Landers is 13 victories away from 960 career victories, and Shacobia Barbee is 213 points from 1,000 career points.