Lady Dawgs Win
By Danny Bishop
BASKETBALL
Porsha Phillips double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds led No. 17 Georgia (5-1) to a 76-44 win over Loyola Marymount (3-3) in the championship game of the Courtyard Marriott Westside LMU Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday.
Phillips, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, also dished out a career-high six assists in 25 minutes of playing time. She now has five double-doubles in six games.
“I think she gets better getting better, which we’re all very pleased with,” head coach Andy Landers said. “She’s worked hard to get herself into the position she’s playing.”
Freshman Khaalidah Miller added a career-high 15 points and Anne Marie Armstrong and Jasmine Hassell chipped in 10 apiece. Hassell, who equaled her career-high with 22 points in the tournament’s opening round, also was named to the all-tournament team.
Georgia seized control early. After Cowlings hit a shot-clock-beating three on the Loyola Marymoun’s first possession, the Lady Dawgs scored the game’s next 15 points.
“I think they were having fun,” Landers said. “They find each other and it’s like a machine gun going bam, bam, bam. It happened so quickly and all of a sudden you have four, five, six people who have scored in different ways.”
Phillips book-ended the run with a three at the 19:11 mark and a jumper with 14:23 left in the half. All told, six different Georgia players combined to hit seven field goals during the surge.
Georgia expanded the margin to 21 points at the half, outscoring the Lions 11-1 over the final 2:55 of the period to enter the locker room with a 40-19 advantage.
The Lady Dawgs will return to action on Wednesday evening when they host Southern Miss at Stegeman Coliseum at 7 p.m.
Reserved seat tickets for the game are $5 for adults and $3 for children and will be available at the Butts-Mehre ticket office from 8:30-4:30 on Monday-Wednesday. In addition, tickets will go on sale at Stegeman Coliseum box office (closest to Sanford Drive) beginning 90 minutes before tip-off.