Lady Dawgs Fall To Gonzaga In Final Second

BASKETBALL

Haiden Palmer hit a long three-pointer with two-tenths of a second remaining to give Gonzaga its only lead of the game in a 71-68 victory over No. 13 Georgia in the opening day of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic on Monday.

Palmer's three completed a 22-4 run over the final 6:45 as the Zags (9-2) erased a 15-point deficit to rally past the Lady Dawgs (8-2).

"We played very well for much of the game, but in the final minutes we came unraveled," coach Andy Landers said. "We turned it over and let them get offensive rebounds and missed some shots. You put that all together and it turned this game into a very disappointing performance."

Jasmine Hassell paced Georgia for the third consecutive game with 21 points, while Anne Marie Armstrong and Jasmine James chipped in 15 and 13, respectively. Katelan Redman posted game highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds for Gonzaga, and Palmer added 22 points.

James' three-pointer with 7:12 remaining put the Lady Dawgs up 64-49, the fourth time in the game Georgia led by 15 points. Palmer answered on the other end to ignite a 10-0 over the next 2:19 that closed the gap to 64-59.

The Zags eventually tied the game at 68-68 on a Palmer layup with 20 seconds left. Palmer then fouled James with 9.8 seconds remaining. James missed the front end of a one-and-one, setting the stage for Palmer's game-winner.

Georgia started quickly and led by double figures for most of the game.

Armstrong hit consecutive buckets to start the game and Hassell added a layup at the 18:33 mark to quickly put Georgia up 6-0. The Lady Dawgs maintained a two-possession lead for the remainder of the period, with the lead topping out at 15 points twice.

After Georgia led 31-16 with 4:27 left in the period, Gonzaga closed the half with on a 11-4 run to trim the margin to eight at the intermission.

"In the first half, we forced the game to played at the pace we wanted it to be played," Landers said. "The first 20 minutes were a very, very good half of basketball for us."

The Lady Dawgs will now face Montana State on Tuesday afternoon at 6:30 p.m. ET before returning home to host Appalachian State on Thursday at 7 p.m. That contest is the first of three-game homestand through Georgia's SEC opener against Arkansas on Sunday, January 1st at 2 p.m. The Lady Dawgs also will host Furman on Wednesday, December 28th at 7 p.m.