WBB Game Notes: Georgia Hosts Texas A&M in Regular Season Finale

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS Ranking: #25 (AP) #20 (Coaches) Head Coach: Joni Taylor Career Record: 138-73 (7th season) Record at Georgia (7th season): Same

TEXAS A&M AGGIES Ranking: NR (AP) NR (Coaches) Head Coach: Gary Blair Career Record: 852-346 (37th season) RecordatTAMU: 444-183 (19th season)

Opening Tip

Georgia hosts Texas A&M in the regular season finale this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on SEC Network +.

The Lady Bulldogs will honor four seniors — Malury Bates, Mikayla Coombs, Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti — before tipoff. This senior class has been to a pair of NCAA tournaments and last year helped Georgia advance to the SEC tournament finals for the first time since 2004.

Georgia will also pay tribute to Texas A&M’s Hall of Fame Head Coach Gary Blair. Blair — who led the Aggies to the 2011 national title — announced his retirement from coaching before the season began. He has spent 19 years on the sideline in College Station and has been advocate for women’s basketball for many years.

The Lady Bulldogs are ranked No. 20 in the Coaches Poll, No. 25 in the AP and No. 22 in the NET rankings.

The Lady Bulldogs defeated then-No. 2 ranked Texas A&M, 74-68, in last year’s SEC tournament semifinals. Georgia upset the Aggies thanks to 19 points from Maya Caldwell and 14 second-half points from Mikayla Coombs.

Georgia is coming off a 63-62 win at Arkansas on Thursday, improving the team’s record to 9-3 away from home this season.

Freshman guard Reigan Richardson has scored in double figures in four of the last five games with a 15-point effort against the Razorbacks. Richardson has hit close to 60 percent (13 of 22) from the field in the last three contests.

Fellow rookie Tineya Hylton made a pair of defensive stops to secure the win against Arkansas. Hylton drew an offensive foul with 10 seconds remaining and then forced an Arkansas turnover as time expired.

Nicholson Starts

Junior forward Javyn Nicholson has started four-straight games at the ‘4’ spot. Nicholson is making the most of her starts over the last few weeks. Her plus-minus (a ratio of points Georgia scores versus opponent points when she is in the game) was a combined +20 in games against South Carolina, Missouri and Auburn. She had one of her best performances of the season with 11 points off 5-for-6 shooting against Auburn.

Morrison Approaching Georgia Record

Graduate guard Que Morrison has played in 134 career games during her time at Georgia. During today’s game, Morrison will tie a new school record, set by Cori Chambers from 2003-07. Jenna Staiti has played in 147 contests, but 35 of those were during her time at Maryland.

Win the Boards

Georgia boasts a 14-3 record when outrebounding its opponent, with the only losses coming to Kentucky, South Carolina and Auburn. In 19 wins, Georgia has outrebounded the opponent by a +9.0 margin, while the Lady Bulldogs are -2.3 in eight losses.

Paint Touches

The Lady Bulldogs have outscored their counterparts by an 914-719 ledger in the paint this season. Georgia averages nine more points per game in the paint than the opposing team.

Dawgs are SEC’s Most unselfish

Georgia paces the SEC and ranks No. 19 nationally with 16.6 assists per game. The team has totaled 448 assists on 746 made field goals this season — an average of 60 percent.

Staiti, Morrison Add to National Honors

Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti continue to put their names among the best players in the country. Staiti has been tabbed to the Naismith National Player of the Year Midseason Team, while Morrison was named to the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. Both players are considered among the best at their respective positions. Staiti is on the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List, while Morrison is on the Dawn Staley Award List.

Steady Staiti Continues Streak

Jenna Staiti has now scored in double figures in 51 of her last 62 games with 20 double-doubles during that span. She is one of only five players in program history to score over 1,000 career points, bring down over 500 rebounds and block over 250 shots.

One of the top All-Around Players? No (Que) Stion About it

Que Morrison — the 2021 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection — is literally doing it all. If you look at an SEC stat sheet, you will find Morrison’s name in nearly every statistical category.

Over the course of the season, Morrison has hit big shot after big shot to carry her team. She has scored in double figures 22 times, has totaled 20 or more points on four occasions, recorded three or more steals nine times and three or more assists in 25 of 27 games.

Coombs Swipes The Irish

Senior guard Mikayla Coombs nearly set the school record with eight steals in the win against Notre Dame — a total that was just two shy of the school mark. Coombs recorded six steals in the first quarter alone to lead her team in the early going.

Barker’s Bomb Shocks NC State

Sarah Ashlee Barker nailed a 25-foot heave at the buzzer to send the game against NC State into overtime. Barker finished with a career-best four 3-point field goals in the win, including back-to-back three’s late in the game to stop a NC State rally.

Down Goes No. 2

Georgia’s win at then No. 2-ranked NC State marked the program’s first true road against a team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in program history. The victory ended the Wolfpack’s 10-game win streak.

Overtime Success

Georgia improved to an impressive 9-2 overall in overtime games under head coach Joni Taylor. In fact, Georgia has won four-straight and nine of its last 10 OT contests.

Many Contributors

Georgia’s bench has outscored its opponents by a 628-281 margin, an average of 13 points per game, this season.

Bulldog Block Party

The Lady Bulldogs set a new school record with 18 blocks in the win against Alabama State on Nov. 21. That total broke a 34-year old record from 1987, when Georgia had 16 against Mercer. The Lady Bulldogs’ 18 swats are tied for the second-most in a game in SEC history.

UGA Seniors Earn Degrees

For the second-straight year, each of Georgia’s seniors have already earned their college degrees. Malury Bates (sociology), Mikayla Coombs (sport management), Que Morrison (communication studies) and Jenna Staiti (human development and family science) have all graduated from the University of Georgia.

A Healthy Dose of Que

After suffering a string of injuries in her career, 2021 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year Que Morrison finally experienced a full healthy season for the Lady Bulldogs.

Here is a look back at some of the adversity Morrison has overcome.

The defensive stopper placed on the SEC All-Freshman Team after drawing 32 starts on Georgia’s NCAA tournament team. Then, in her sophomore campaign, Morrison missed the first eight games due to a torn meniscus in her left knee. In 2019-20, she had an injury to her foot before the year began. She then suffered a torn labrum in her right shoulder to end her junior campaign midway through SEC play.

Coombs Takes on Leadership Roles

Mikayla Coombs — a native of Buford, Ga. — was selected by her peers to serve as the vice chair of the SEC Women’s Basketball Leadership Council. As one of four elected officers, she will participate in various meetings throughout the year to provide feedback to Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators and Faculty Athletics Representatives.

This news came after she was chosen as the only student-athlete representative on the NCAA competition committee. Coombs graduated with a degree in sport management from the University of Georgia and is currently pursuing a master’s in the same program. She was named a UGA Presidential Scholar in 2020, has placed on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll three times and made the Dean’s List in 2021.

Chapman Sticks with Basketball

Junior guard Chloe Chapman was a member of the Georgia soccer team, but after spending two years as a dual-sport athlete, she will now focus on just basketball. The Mitchellville, Md., native was a consensus top-40 prospect and was rated as the No. 8 overall point guard in the nation coming out of high school.

All in the Family for Barker

Sarah Ashlee Barker’s two brothers both play quarterback at the Division I level. Braxton is a redshirt-junior at the University of Alabama and Harrison is a redshirt-freshman QB at UAB.

Georgia Freshmen Already Making History

Lady Bulldog freshmen Reigan Richardson and Jillian Hollingshead were both named McDonald’s All-Americans, marking the first time in Georgia history the program has signed two McDonald’s All-Americans in one class. Hollingshead and Richardson are the 11th and 12th McDonald’s All-Americans to sign with the Lady Bulldogs and are the first to commit right out high school since Ronika Ransford in 2010. Current Lady Bulldog Mikayla Coombs was a McDonald’s All-American in 2017.

A Storied History

Georgia became one of just two SEC programs (Tennessee) and one of just 16 teams nationwide to reach the 1,000 win total. The Lady Bulldogs accomplished the feat last season on the road at East Carolina. It was the latest impressive accomplishment for the storied program.

The Lady Bulldogs are one of only three teams, joining Wisconsin-Green Bay and Tennessee, to have a winning record every year since 1980 and have been to 34 of 39 NCAA tournaments.