Lady Bulldogs end drought against Lady Vols

By Jeff Haws

For the AJC

ATHENS -- No. 8 Georgia ended a decade of frustration Thursday, using a suffocating defense to overwhelm No. 3 Tennessee and getting some big shots late to win 53-50. It was the Lady Bulldogs' first home win over Tennessee since 2000 and their first win in the series since 2004.

After going more than six minutes without scoring a point, Georgia trailed 41-37 with 8:43 left when the Lady Bulldogs brought the ball up the court. Point guard Ashley Houts took the ball just to the right of the top of the key and made a 3-pointer that ended the dry spell and finally woke the slumbering offense.

From there, the teams traded baskets until Porsha Phillips took a pass from Houts and made a layup from the right side that gave Georgia (18-1, 5-1 SEC) its final lead of the game, 51-50 with 40 seconds left.

Phillips made two free throws on Georgia's next possession after rebounding a free-throw miss by Jasmine James, then the Lady Dogs forced Tennessee into a long 3-point attempt that fell short at the buzzer.

For the Georgia seniors, it was the first time they have beaten a Tennessee team that came into the game with 18 wins in the past 20 meetings with Georgia, and it meant plenty to them to get it done.

"Tennessee's a big name, and it's always good when you beat a team like that and that program," Houts said. "I think the thing that means the most is the steps we've taken so far and the progress that we've made."

Without Houts' late shot, it might not have happened.

The Lady Dogs had all sorts of trouble figuring out how to score against the zone defense Tennessee employed, as the Lady Vols (16-2, 4-1) used their considerable length to clog up the lanes and make it difficult for Georgia to get near the basket.

That led to the six-minute drought in the middle of the second half, a difficult stretch that looked like it might never end until Houts rattled home her 3-pointer with 4:59 on the clock to make the score 41-40.

Could she sense how much that shot meant?

"Yeah, I could," Houts said. "Coach [Landers] told us the guards needed to step up and hit some shots that would open this game up. I think we all took heed and definitely tried to step up and get it done."

Tennessee could have opened a substantial lead as Georgia's offense struggled, but the Lady Dogs defense wouldn't let it.

The Lady Vols didn't make a field goal during that same stretch. In fact, they went nearly eight minutes without making a shot from the field, between 12:06 and 4:21.

While Georgia's offense couldn't do much, the defense was there as the safety net, just as it has been all season.

"They just played," Landers said of his defense. "When things weren't going well, we continued to play with great emotion and intensity."

They were able to use some of that against their opponent, too, as they were very aggressive on offense most of the night, trying to draw fouls and frustrate Tennessee's big posts.

That helped result in 6-foot-6 Kelley Cain fouling out with 4:13 left, following a personal and a technical foul. With her out of the game, Tennessee made only two more field goals.