Lady Dawgs Beat Denver
By Danny Bishop
BASKETBALL
Jasmine Hassell equaled her career-high with 22 points and Porsha Phillips recorded her fourth double-double in five games to lead No. 17 Georgia (4-1) to a 73-51 win over Denver (1-3) on Friday.
The Lady Dawgs will now face host Loyola Marymount in the championship game of the Courtyard Marriott Westside LMU Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT.
Jasmine James chipped in 17 points and six assists for Georgia, which shot a season-best 55.8 percent for the game. Hassell and Phillips, who scored a season-best 18 points and hauled in 11 rebounds, connected on a combined 17-of-24 field goal attempts.
“We did a good job of squaring up and establishing position inside,” head coach Andy Landers said. “The guards did a really good job of getting them the basketball. As impressive and outstanding as all that was, I enjoyed most the authority that they played with. The forwards established great position before they received the ball and once they got it they moved and finished with authority.”
After leading 41-29 at halftime, the Lady Dawgs opened the second period with a 6-0 run and never looked back. The lead eventually topped out at 22 points, the final margin of victory.
Anne Marie Armstrong and James knocked down threes and Hassell connected on her first two buckets as Georgia opened up a 10-4 lead. After the Pioneers battled back to tie the score at 13-13, Hassell scored the first six points in an 11-0 run over the next 2:27 that gave the Lady Dawgs a 24-13 lead with 10:34 remaining in the period.
The Lady Dawgs led by a dozen at halftime after shooting a white-hot 64.3 percent from the field. Hassell equaled her previous season high (16 points against Chattanooga) in the first half alone, largely due to connecting on 7-of-8 of her shots from the floor in the period.
After facing LMU, the Lady Dawgs will return home to host Southern Miss at Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.