Lady Dawgs Win SEC Opener

BASKETBALL

Jasmine Hassell's team-high 19 points led the No. 17 Georgia Lady Dawgs (12-2, 1-0) to victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2, 0-1), 67-57, Sunday afternoon.

For the third straight game, four Lady Dawgs put up double-digit points. Anne Marie Armstrong scored 15 points, helped by perfect shooting behind the three-point line and at the charity stripe.

“We have the ability to be a very balanced team," said coach Andy Landers. "They play unselfishly and share the ball. They all have the ability to score. Today, they executed the game plan very well.”

Khaalidah Miller and Meredith Mitchell scored 12 points apiece. Miller's 12 points all came from three point shots, as did nine of Mitchell's points.

“I thought that we were very good," continued Landers. "We had difficulty manning their zone at times, but overall I thought we executed very well offensively. We rebounded the ball well until the end. Towards the end of the game, we showed some signs of fatigue. We may have played people too long.”

After trailing Arkansas for a better portion of the first 10 minutes, back-to-back three pointers from Erika Ford and Armstrong tied the game at 18-18 with 10:07 left in the period.

Over the next 10 minutes, the Lady Dawgs outscored the Razorbacks 20-10, entering the locker room with a 38-28 lead. Georgia's 48.4 percent shooting from the field was aided by Hassell's 4-of-4 effort in just 17 minutes of first half play.

Georgia started the second half much like it ended the first, with a 12-4 run that lasted five minutes. Another pair of treys by Armstrong and Mitchell increased the Lady Dawg lead to 63-44 with 6:28 left in the game. Arkansas made a surge late, scoring 11 points in the last three minutes, but it was too little too late.

The Lady Dawgs will return to action Thursday, January 5th, when they travel to Knoxville to take on No. 7 Tennessee at 7 p.m. The game will be televised regionally on CSS. Georgia's next home game is a week from Thursday on January 12th when the Lady Dawgs host Florida at 7 p.m. The first 500 UGA students receive "Beat Florida" t-shirts, pizza and drinks.

Post-Game Notes

• The Lady Dawgs improved to 12-2 overall and 26-4 all-time against Arkansas.
• With the victory in their SEC opener, Georgia is now 1-0 in conference play.
• UGA has won the last five games against the Razorbacks and nine of the last 10 meetings.
• In Georgia’s last eight outings, the Lady Dawgs have converted on 117-of-164 trips to the free throw line, a 71.3 percent conversion rate.
• The Lady Dawgs converted eight Razorback turnovers into 17 points.
• Georgia has now built a 25-5 record in SEC openers since the 1982-83 season, including a 14-2 mark in Athens.
• Andy Landers is now four games shy of his 1050th contest as head coach of the Lady Dawgs.

Lady Bulldogs In Double Digits

• Jasmine Hassell tallied 19 points marking her 11th double-digit game of the season and the 31st of her career. Hassell has reached double figures in each of the past 10 games.
• Anne Marie Armstrong scored 15 points for her sixth double-digit game of the season and the 22nd of her career.
• Khaalidah Miller recorded 12 points, marking her 11th double-digit game of the season and the 25th of her career.
• Meredith Mitchell’s 12 points brought her double-digit performances to five for the season and 31 for her career.