Five takeaways from Georgia women’s 78-66 win over Georgia Tech
Georgia’s women’s basketball team beat Georgia Tech 78-66on Sunday in Stegeman Coliseum, running its record to 15-0 against the Jackets on the home court.
Five takeaways from the game.
Marjorie Butler’s senior showcase.
After not registering a single point in the first two games of the season, Butler put up 18 points, 12 coming before halftime.
“For her to come out and contribute the way she did, not only were they open looks, they were shots we needed,” coach Joni Taylor said. “They were really, really big shots.”
The performance pushed the Lady Dogs to a 48-30 halftime lead. Butler’s first-half highlight was a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
“Woo! That felt so good,” Butler said. “We went on a great run … so that gave us momentum going into the second half. So it sort of just put it in their face as we went into halftime.”
The 18-point night marked a career high for Butler, whose her previous best was 13 points against Kentucky last year. The senior only averaged 4.6 points per game last season.
Double-digit offense.
Georgia had three players reach double-digits. Senior Merritt Hempe led the team with 21 points and added 10 rebounds.
“My team broke the press beautifully and I was just there to pick up easy layups,” Hempe said. “I’m in the back of the press break and they did an awesome job of getting the ball down the court and there I am to get the credit for their hard work. So, it’s all them.”
Tiara Griffin scored 21. Hempe was a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line.
Beyond the starting five.
Both teams had minimal production from their bench, but for different reasons.
Georgia only deployed two reserves throughout the game.
Across the court, the Yellow Jackets used five players off their bench, which had contributed significant minutes in their first two games. But they came up short on Sunday, only tallying five points on 2-for-17 shooting.
“We have to get more production off of our bench,” Georgia Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “We’ve been relying on our bench players our first three games and tonight, we only got five points off of our bench. That’s just not enough for us to win a game on the road in the SEC.”
Georgia Tech was largely reliant on starters Aaliyah Whiteside’s 21-point game and 20-points from Katarina Vuckovic. Tech shot 39.4 percent from the field to Georgia’s 50.9 percent.
Undefeated seniors.
With Sunday’s win, Georgia’s senior class will graduate having never lost to Tech.
“I’ve got bragging rights for the rest of my life so that’s something I’m definitely really proud of and all the credit goes to the team,” Butler said.
The 2015-2016 class includes Butler, Griffin, Hempe, Shacobia Barbee and Terryuana Godwin, who transferred before last season.
From the coach
“I was pleased with the first and second quarters but the third and fourth quarter defensively, no. We gave them eight or nine offensive rebounds in one quarter alone after holding them to four the entire first half. For us, it’s just having the maturiuty and fight and the will to put our foot on our opponent when they’re down and take them out of the game and we tend to become too casual. That’s something we’ve got to continue to get better at. So I wasn’t pleased at all with the third and fourth quarters, especially defensively.” — Taylor on the Lady Dogs putting together a full game.
