Lady Dawgs Swat Jackets

BASKETBALL

Jasmine Hassell scored a career-high 24 points and recorded six rebounds and one assist to lead the No. 15 Georgia Lady Dawgs (7-1) to a 75-68 victory against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-3) Sunday afternoon.

“Jasmine was terrific tonight," said coach Andy Landers. "She played well on the defensive end of the court and shot about as well as anyone could shoot. She went out there and went after rebounds that she hasn’t gone after before. She’s really becoming a better rebounder.”

Hassell connected on 9-of-10 shots from the floor and 6-of-7 attempts at the line en route to her career outing.

The Yellow Jackets saw double-digit scoring efforts from three players and out-rebounded the Georgia 47-42, but it was not enough to overcome the solid effort shown by the Lady Dawgs as a whole.

“I was impressed by the way we played tonight," continued Landers. "We forced some turnovers to end the first half and then again to start the second half. Georgia Tech is a team that likes to force turnovers and really needs to get to the free throw line a lot to win games. Tonight, we didn’t allow either of those things to happen. We did get beat on the boards tonight, but when we are forcing turnovers and hitting free throws, you have a Georgia team that is put in the position to win.”

Meredith Mitchell led the Lady Dawgs on the boards with seven rebounds. She also contributed 10 points, three assists and one block. Jasmine James notched 12 points, five rebounds and five steals.

Georgia started the game quickly when James hit a jumper four seconds in to spark an 8-4 run that lasted 3:08 minutes. Georgia Tech then came back with a 7-2 run that gave them their first lead of the game, 11-10. Throughout the entire half, neither team led by more than six.

With 46 seconds left in the first period, James hit a layup to knot the score at 33-33. For the first time this season, the Lady Dawgs entered the locker room tied at halftime.

Georgia shot 41.7 percent from the floor in the first half. Interestingly, neither team connected from behind the three point line until late in the second half.

At halftime, Landers told the Lady Dawgs, "Every shot, every move and every rebound has to be with a purpose. Go out there and make sure they do."

The Lady Dawgs shot 64.3 percent from the free throw line for the night, including six in their 8-2 run to start the second half. Once the they took the lead with 17:43 left in the game, they never relinquished it.

With 6:47 on the clock, Khaalidah Miller stepped up and made the first three-pointer of the game.

“It was a learning experience for Khaalidah tonight," said Landers. "She usually has her pick of shots, but she wasn’t getting many looks today. I told her at the start of the second half to wait and be patient because your shot is coming. When she hit the three late in the second half, I knew before she even looked at the basket that it was her shot.”

With 4:08 left in the game, Hassell fouled Chelsea Regins on a made layup. Regins was then called on a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct. Regins hit the extra free throw, while Anne Marie Armstrong connected on two free throws to keep Georgia up by 10, 65-56.

With 2:28 left in the game, Georgia Tech attempted a comeback, with an 8-0 run, but were thwarted when Mitchell and Hassell connected on free throws to keep Georgia up 74-68.

With 2.6 seconds left on the clock, Regins fouled out and sent Mitchell to the line. She hit her first free throw, but missed the second, to put the Dawgs up for one last time, 75-68.

The Lady Dawgs will travel to Macon, on Tuesday to take on the Mercer Bears at 7:00 p.m. Mercer is coached by former Lady Dawg Susie Gardner, who helped lead UGA to the 1983, 1984 and 1986 SEC Championships, the 1983 Final Four and a 1985 NCAA runner-up finish.

Post-Game Notes

• Georgia improved to 30-4 all-time against Georgia Tech, including a 14-0 record in Athens.
• Georgia won after being tied at the half for the first time this season. A year ago, the Lady Dawgs lost both games when they were tied at halftime...at Florida and at Southern Cal.
• Jasmine Hassell scored a career-high 24 points, topping her previous best of 22 against both Denver on Nov. 26, 2010 and Ole Miss on Jan. 24, 2010.
• Jasmine Hassell’s 24 points represented the most by a Lady Dawg in a single game this season. Anne Marie Armstrong’s 22 points versus TCU in the season opener was the previous high.
• Jasmine Hassell notched her first 20-point game of the season and third of her career.
• Tamika Willis scored a season-high nine points, all in the first half. Her previous best was seven points against College of Charleston.
• Georgia took (four) and made (one) season lows for three-point attempts.
• Georgia took (28) and made (18) season highs for free throw attempts.

Lady Bulldogs In Double Digits

• Jasmine Hassell scored 24 points, her fifth double-digit outing of the season and 25th of her career.
• Jasmine James scored 12 points, her sixth double-digit outing of the season and 45th of her career.
• Meredith Mitchell scored 10 points, her second double-digit outing of the season and 28th of her career.