Lady Dawgs Cruise Past South Carolina State

BASKETBALL

Anne Marie Armstrong scored a game-high 14 points to lead No. 10 Georgia past S.C. State, 62-46, Friday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

“You have to give South Carolina State credit for fighting the fight because they did," said coach Andy Landers, who posted his 798th victory at Georgia. "They really competed hard for 40 minutes, and even when they were down, you didn’t know that they were down. They just kept coming and doing things that they do. We left a lot of points on the table. We missed some easy shots inside that started early in the game and certainly a ridiculous number of free throws.”

Erika Ford also put up double-digit points with 10 and recorded a game-high four steals, and Merritt Hempe notched a team-high nine rebounds while scoring seven points. Armstrong and Hempe each had a good night at the charity stripe, going 6-for-7 and 3-for-3, respectively. The leading scorer for S.C. State was Tiara Knotts, with 13.

Georgia (3-0) took the lead 20 seconds into the game with a Shacobia Barbee layup. S.C. State (1-1) answered soon after with a jumper, to mark the only tie of the game.
The following 13 minutes never saw Georgia up by more than seven, but with 6:22 remaining in the period, a free throw by Jasmine Hassell sparked a 10-0 Georgia run to close out the half. Georgia entered the locker room with a 29-15 lead.

S.C. State started the second half strong, scoring the first four points of the period and forcing Georgia to match them basket-for-basket for over 14 minutes. The strong play by S.C. State meant that Georgia averaged a 10-point lead for most of the second half.

With 5:27 on the clock, S.C. State committed two simultaneous technical fouls, sending Armstrong to the free throw line for four shots. She connected on all four and put Georgia up 54-41. Ten of the final 14 points of the game came from free throws; Georgia made seven and S.C. State made three.

The Lady Dawgs won the turnover battle, committing 16 to S.C. State's 29, as well as scored 28 points off of turnovers.

Georgia returns to action on Sunday at 2 p.m. when it hosts Belmont. Landers is now two victories shy of becoming the eighth basketball coach – men's or women's – to record 800 wins at a single NCAA Division I school. The other coaches who have done so are: Geno Auriemma, Jim Boehim, Pat Summitt, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Phelan, Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith.