When Georgia prepared to leave Athens for Spokane, Wash., last Wednesday, coach Andy Landers instructed his players to pack for at least 10 days. He wasn’t being prescient. He was just confident.
The No. 4-seed Lady Bulldogs (27-6) defeated fifth-seeded Iowa State 65-60 late Monday night in Spokane, Wash., to advance to another Sweet Sixteen, also in Spokane. Georgia was one-and-done in the tournament last year, but this is the eighth time in the past 11 years and 20th time overall that it has reached the third round.
Landers figured his team would still be around. And that mainly was because of Georgia’s senior trio of Anne Marie Armstrong, Jasmine James and Jasmine Hassell.
“If those three seniors play well, we’ve got an excellent chance to win,” Landers said Tuesday from his hotel room.
The seniors played well Monday. Armstrong had 13 points and five rebounds and seemingly made every important play down the stretch. Scoreless most of the game, Hassell finally broke loose for seven points as Georgia built a big lead midway through the second half. And James played a near perfect game from her point-guard position, finishing with nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers in the win.
“It’s just a mentality we have on the court as seniors,” said Armstrong, who also had two assists, a block and a steal, most of which came in the critical final minutes of the game. “There’s a sense of urgency that this wasn’t going to be our last game. Just having that attitude helped us I think.”
Georgia (27-6) will have to get more of the same from its seniors going forward. The Lady Bulldogs will remain in the Spokane Regional and will meet the winner of Tuesday night’s second-round game between top-seeded Stanford and No. 8 Michigan.
While Georgia is a Sweet Sixteen veteran, its past couple of appearances haven’t gone well. The Lady Bulldogs lost to No. 2-seed Stanford 73-36 in 2010 and to No. 8-seed Texas A&M in 2011.
Georgia appeared to have Monday’s game well in hand, leading Iowa State by as many as 14 points in the second half, but the team fell behind by four after a 19-1 run by the Cyclones.
That’s when Armstrong went to work. Her steal and 3-pointer gave the Lady Bulldogs a one-point lead with 1:33 to play. And when they lost the lead again, she got it back on her reverse lay-up with 59 seconds to go. Armstrong’s defensive rebound set up two free throws by Shacobia Barbee with a half-minute left to get the Bulldogs up by three.
“The tradition of Georgia basketball is Sweet 16s, Elite Eights, Final Fours, competing in national championship games, not just to go to the NCAA tournament,” James said. “So to win this game tonight and to be making that step to be going to the Sweet 16 and trying get to the Elite Eight is definitely a step.”
Barbee, a freshman, scored a career-high 20 points, and Georgia recorded 17 assists to only five turnovers. But the difference in the game was 3-point shooting. Georgia entered the tournament shooting 27 percent from behind the arc, but made a season-high 12 on 30 attempts (40 percent).
Iowa State (24-9) got 23 points from Anna Prins and 14 points and 17 rebounds from Chelsea Poppens.
Having to remain in Spokane carries some logistical challenges. The players will miss another week of class. They’re having to hold study hall every morning in a hotel conference room, and the players meet with their tutors via Skype. If things go the way they hope, they’ll run out of clean clothes.
“Getting to the Sweet 16 your senior year is just, you know, the most you could really ask for,” Armstrong said.
About the Author
