Georgia Women’s Basketball Set to Take on Vanderbilt in SEC Tournament
The Georgia Women’s basketball team will tip off against Vanderbilt in Jacksonville, FL on Thursday evening to begin SEC tournament play.
After defeating Ole Miss on Wednesday evening, 11th-seeded Vanderbilt (17-13, 5-11 SEC) will take on No. 6 seed UGA (21-8, 9-7 SEC) in the second round of the tournament. The Lady Bulldogs have won seven of their last nine games heading into the tourney.
The Lady Bulldogs are a tenured team, and that experience should show through the tournament. Probable starters for Thursday’s match up include: No. 24 Marjorie Butler, No. 3 Tiaria Griffin, No. 11 Pachis Roberts, No. 23 Halle Washington, and No. 13 Merritt Hempe. Due to an illness and injury, respectively, the team is currently without previous starters Mackenzie Engram and Shacobia Barbee.
There are two key aspects of play the Lady Bulldogs will have to focus on if they want to do well in the tournament: defense and scoring.
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DEFENSE
Coach Taylor’s team is ranked near the top of the SEC in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense, and 3-point field goal percentage defense. By holding teams to an average of 53.8 points per game this season, the Bulldogs have learned that defense wins games.
Their ability to hold 26 of 29 opponents to 40 percent or lower in scoring this season is proof in itself that the team’s strong suit is protecting the ball. Focusing on their defensive play will be essential if Georgia wants to outscore opponents while pushing forward without two talented team members.
Key Commodores to stop on offense: Jasmine Jenkins and Christa Reed
SCORING
Mackenzie Engram and Shacobia Barbee were two of the team’s leading scorers. Now, Griffin and Roberts will need to excel offensively if their team wants to make any progress in the tournament.
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Griffin is averaging 14.9 points per game (PPG) while Roberts is averaging 7.2 PPG. The strong suit for Griffin is in free throws, which she is making 72.8 percent of the time. While Roberts’ strength is in field goals, which she is making 40.9 percent of the time.
Key Commodores to watch for defensively: Kendall Shaw and Rayte’a Long
If the Lady Bulldogs can perform well in these two areas on Thursday evening, they should secure a win and advance to the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament.
Viewers can watch the game on the SEC Network at 8:30 p.m. Thursday evening.