Georgia’s Jenna Staiti arrives late to San Antonio

Georgia center Jenna Staiti (14) goes up and over to score against Kentucky in their last game at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. (Photo by Tony Walsh/UGA Athletics)

Credit: Tony Walsh

Credit: Tony Walsh

Georgia center Jenna Staiti (14) goes up and over to score against Kentucky in their last game at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. (Photo by Tony Walsh/UGA Athletics)

SAN ANTONIO — Georgia center Jenna Staiti arrived in San Antonio several days later than the rest of her teammates.

Staiti left for the NCAA Women’s Tournament bubble on Sunday. The rest of the team left Wednesday afternoon. A team spokesperson said only that Staiti is available to play against Drexel Monday in an opening-round game. No further information was given.

No. 3 seed Georgia (20-6), along with the other 63 teams, had to face a number of hurdles related to COVID-19 ahead of its game against No. 14 seed Drexel (14-8) at noon on ESPN2. The Lady Bulldogs had to receive seven consecutive negative tests before leaving for the tournament. Once arriving in the bubble, all Tier 1 personnel (players, coaches and staffers) had to quarantine in their own hotel rooms while awaiting two negative tests.

No further information was given by a team spokesperson on Staiti’s testing protocol, however, her availability for the first round was made clear.

Staiti, an All-SEC Second Team honoree, is Georgia’s leading contributor. She averages a team-high 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.