Georgia tames LSU in overtime

ATHENS -- Georgia and LSU showed Thursday why they're the SEC's best defenses, with each offense scoring a season-low 42 points in regulation.

But the No. 14 Lady Bulldogs found their stride on offense in overtime, holding off the No. 19 Tigers to win 49-46 and break a three-game losing streak.

It was a defensive struggle the entire game. Each offense shot worse than 31 percent in the second half, and neither team led by more than four in the final 25 minutes.

The game was tied 42-42 for the last 4:03 of regulation, as the offenses went into a slumber. With both teams unable to score again, the game went to overtime.

There, the teams traded baskets for the first 3:30, before Georgia's Jasmine James (15 points, four rebounds) found an opening along the baseline and drove for a layup that put the Lady Dogs (19-4, 6-4 SEC) up 48-46. It was one of the biggest offensive plays of the game in a game that didn't have too many of them, and she said the team knew it had to continue pushing the ball toward the lane even as the Tigers (15-6, 4-5) made it difficult to do so.

"We had talked about it in the timeout, that it was really important that we attack the basket," James said. "The post player who was down there had turned her back and was running off to find Porsha [Phillips]. Then, I realized it was wide open, so I just drove."

When she did, she gave Georgia two points, which were at a premium in this game. She added a free throw about a minute later to cap the scoring.

Most impressive on defense for the Lady Bulldogs might have been post Angel Robinson, who got eight of her game-high 14 rebounds in the second half and overtime.

She helped hold LSU forwards Taylor Turnbow, LaShondra Barrett and Courtney Jones to eight points on 3-of-22 shooting. Those three were part of a collective effort that saw LSU's Allison Hightower score 22 points on 9-of-20 shooting and the rest of the team shoot 9-of-46 (27.3 percent) for the game.

"I thought Robinson was outstanding," Georgia coach Andy Landers said. "She altered shots. She kept their bigs out of there. She rebounded. She moved to the right places at the right time."

That was a hallmark of Georgia's defense in this game, after a stretch in which the Lady Dogs had lost the swagger they had after starting 18-1 and defeating Tennessee on Jan. 21.

Since then, they had lost three consecutive and were in danger of falling to .500 in league play if they had lost.

Landers had preached intensity on defense, though, for his team that is now 16-0 when holding teams to fewer than 60 points and 3-4 when it doesn't.

He got what he wanted.

"I thought our zone was terrific," Landers said. "The guards were terrific at keeping it out of the high post. They kept penetration to a minimum. So it was just a great, great defensive effort."

Robinson nearly had a double-double, adding eight points to her rebounding total. Phillips had eight points and eight rebounds.