2017-18 Ncaa Tournament Media Supplement 2017-18 Georgia Lady Bulldogs
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HALEY CLARK MACKENZIE ENGRAM SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Second-Team All-SEC Arthur Ashe Jr. Award Winner CALIYA ROBINSON Second-Team All-SEC, SEC All-Defensive Team QUE MORRISON SEC All-Freshman Team TAJA COLE Top 5 among SEC assists leaders JONI TAYLOR 2018 Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach of the Year Semifinalist 2017-18 NCAA TOURNAMENT MEDIA SUPPLEMENT 2017-18 GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS TAJA COLE GABBY CONNALLY STEPHANIE PAUL CALIYA ROBINSON MAYA CALDWELL 0 5-7 • R-So. • Guard 2 5-6 • Fr. • Guard 3 6-1 • So. • G/F 4 6-3 • Jr. • Forward 11 5-11 • Fr. • G Richmond, Va. San Antonio, Texas Naples, Fla. Marietta, Ga. Charlotte, N.C. HALEY CLARK JENNA STAITI QUE MORRISON SIMONE COSTA ARI HENDERSON 12 5-9 • Sr. • Guard 14 6-6 • So. • Center 23 5-6 • Fr. • Guard 24 5-10 • Sr. • Guard 25 5-7 • So. • Guard Orlando, Fla. Cumming, Ga. Riverdale, Ga. Lisbon, Portugal Chamblee, Ga. MACKENZIE ENGRAM MALURY BATES BIANCA BLANARU JONI TAYLOR KAREN LANGE 33 6-2 • Sr. • Forward 44 6-3 • Fr. • Forward 51 6-5 • R-Jr. • Center Head Coach Associate Head Coach Powder Springs, Ga. Roanoke, Va. Timisoara, Romania CELINA RODRIGO ROBERT MOSLEY CHELSEA NEWTON MEREDITH MITCHELL JON BOLLIER Graduate Assistant Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Director of Operations Director of Player Personnel 5 FINAL FOURS » 20 SWEET 16S » 11 ELITE EIGHTS » 7 SEC REGULAR SEASON TITLES » 12 WBCA ALL-AMERICANS » 25 WNBA PLAYERS 2018 NCAA FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS GEORGIA ATHENS, GA. // ALBANY, NY REGIONAL NO. 5 DUKE VS. NO. 12 BELMONT - 11 A.M. SATURDAY BASKETBALL NO. 4 GEORGIA VS. NO. 13 MERCER - 1:30 P.M. SATURDAY 2017-18 SCHEDULE/RESULTS 2018 NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT // ATHENS, GA. // FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS // NO. 4 SEED GEORGIA Record: 25-6, 12-4 SEC #17/18 GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS Home 14-3 | Away: 10-2 | Neutral: 1-1 Head Coach: Joni Taylor NOVEMBER 12 WOFFORD (SECN+) W, 95-56 Career Record: 62-31 (3rd yr.) 16 at Virginia (ACCN) W, 64-61 Record at School: Same 19 at Mercer (ESPN3) W, 72-54 Leading Scorer: 21 WESTERN CAROLINA (SECN+) W, 76-50 Mackenzie Engram (12.9 ppg) 25 at BYU (BYUtv) W, 79-63 Leading Rebounder: 27 TENNESSEE TECH (SECN+) W, 56-48 30 FURMAN (SECN+) W, 79-44 Caliya Robinson (7.7 rpg) DECEMBER 3 #2 TEXAS (SECN) Big 12/SEC Challenge L, 81-53 OPENING TIP: GEORGIA READY FOR POSTSEASON PLAY 14 at North Carolina A&T W, 73-63 17 GEORGIA TECH (SECN) W, 60-53 » Georgia, which finished with its best regular season record since the 2006-07 campaign, will play 19 HOWARD (SECN+) W, 87-47 21 WRIGHT STATE (SECN+) W, 87-71 Mercer in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. 28 NORTH FLORIDA (SECN+) W, 75-37 31 #3 MISS STATE (SECN) L, 86-62 » The Lady Bulldogs are hosting the first and second rounds for the 18th time in Athens and for the first JANUARY time since 2003. Georgia’s No. 4 seed marks its highest seeding since 2013, when the team advanced 4 at Vanderbilt* (SECN+) W, 81-52 all the way to the NCAA Elite Eight. 7 at Kentucky* (SECN+) W, 56-42 11 ARKANSAS* (SECN+) W, 78-65 14 at #16 Texas A&M* (SECN) W, 92-84 (OT) » Georgia has now been to 33 of 37 NCAA tournaments, a total that is second nationally to Tennessee 21 AUBURN* (SECN) W, 60-48 for most NCAA tournament appearances. This is the second time in three years the team has made 25 #11 MISSOURI* (SECN+) W, 62-50 the tournament under head coach Joni Taylor. 28 at Florida* (SECN+) W, 66-57 FEBRUARY 1 at LSU* (SECN+) L, 71-60 » The Lady Bulldogs finished the regular season in a tie for second place with South Carolina in the 4 OLE MISS* (SECN+) W, 69-45 SEC standings. It marks Georgia’s best finish in the league since the 2006-07 campaign. The Lady 8 VANDERBILT* (SECN+) W, 67-55 Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament before falling to the Gamecocks. 11 at #11 Tennessee* (SECN) L, 62-46 15 #8 SOUTH CAROLINA* (SECN+) L, 77-65 19 at Ole Miss* (SECN) W, 66-52 » Georgia earned a second-place finish after being picked eighth in the conference’s preseason poll. 22 at Alabama* (SECN+) W, 49-43 (OT) The turnaround from 16-15 a year ago to 24-5 during the 2017-18 season is the second largest in 25 FLORIDA* (SECN) W, 63-43 program history. Georgia went 16-12 in Hall of Fame Coach Andy Landers’ first year in 1979-80 after MARCH the team went just 6-19 the season before. 2 #13 Missouri # (SECN) W, 55-41 3 #8 South Carolina # (ESPNU) L, 71-49 17 Mercer (ESPN2) 1:30 p.m. ET » All six of Georgia’s losses have come against teams ranked in the top-25, with four of those coming 19 Belmont/Duke TBA to top-10 teams. Home games listed in BOLD » Defense Travels has been the mantra for the Lady Bulldogs this season. Georgia led the SEC in * - Denotes SEC Game field-goal percentage defense during the regular season, holding teams to just 34.5 percent from the # - SEC Tournament Game floor, while keeping 23 of 29 opponents, including five-straight to end the year, at or below 40-percent shooting from the field. Under head coach Joni Taylor, Georgia is 25-0 in three seasons when holding WHERE TO WATCH a team under 50 points in a game. Network: ESPN2 Play-By-Play: Melissa Lee THE STARTING FIVE (BASED ON PREVIOUS STATS - NOT OFFICIAL) Analyst: Amanda Butler Sideline: None HOW TO LISTEN Network: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (IMG) Play-By-Play: Jeff Dantzler Athens Affiliate: 960 AM and 103.7 FM TAJA COLE HALEY CLARK QUE MORRISON MACKENZIE ENGRAM CALIYA ROBINSON R-SO // G SR // G FR // G SR // F JR // F FOLLOW THE LADY BULLDOGS #0 #12 #23 #33 #4 MIN: 26.1 MIN: 21.8 MIN: 26.9 MIN: 29.9 MIN: 27.5 Georgia Women’s Basketball PPG: 8.1 PPG: 3.7 PPG: 8.7 PPG: 12.9 PPG: 12.6 FG%: 39.4% FG%: 37.7% FG%: 36.3% FG%: 47.9% FG%: 47.8% @UGA_WBB 3FG%: 26.4% 3FG%: 0% 3FG%: 24.4% 3FG%: 36.7% 3FG%: 28.0% FT%: 63.5% FT%: 63.2% FT%: 71.8% FT%: 64.2% FT%: 57.4% @UGA_WBB GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS 5 Final Fours • 11 Elite Eights • 20 Sweet Sixteens • 7 SEC Championships • 25 WNBA Players Players Who Entered The Season With Starting Experience at Georgia No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. EXP. GP-GS PPG RPG Hometown/Previous School 3 Stephanie Paul G/F 6-1 So. 1L 31-13 4.0 2.4 Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples 4 Caliya Robinson F 6-3 Jr. 2L 57-18 10.9 6.3 Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS 12 Haley Clark G 5-9 Sr. 3L 85-35 2.6 2.0 Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS 24 Simone Costa G 5-10 Sr. 1L 31-10 4.5 1.7 Lisbon, Portugal/Independence CC 33 Mackenzie Engram F 6-2 Sr. 3L 78-45 9.2 5.3 Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove HS Other Returning Players No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. EXP. GP-GS PPG RPG Hometown/Previous School 0 Taja Cole^ G 5-7 RS-So TR 34-6 2.9 1.5 Richmond, Va./Louisville 25 Ari Henderson G 5-7 So. 1L 5-0 1.0 0.2 Chamblee, Ga./Chamblee HS 51 Bianca Blanaru^ C 6-5 RS-Jr. TR 58-19 1.4 3.3 Timisoara, Romania/Washington State Newcomers Coming Into The Season No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. EXP. Hometown/Previous School 2 Gabby Connally G 5-6 Fr. HS San Antonio HS/Brandeis HS 11 Maya Caldwell G 5-11 Fr. HS Charlotte, N.C./Davidson Day School 14 Jenna Staiti* C 6-6 So. TR Cumming, Ga./Maryland 23 Que Morrison G 5-7 Fr. HS Riverdale, Ga./McEachern HS 44 Malury Bates F 6-2 Fr. HS Roanoke, Va./William Fleming HS * will sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules ^ transferred and sat out last season NUMERICAL ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl./Exp. Hometown/Previous School 0 Taja Cole G 5-7 R-So.-TR Richmond, Va. / University of Louisville 2 Gabby Connally G 5-6 Fr.-HS San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis HS 3 Stephanie Paul G/F 6-1 So.-1L Naples, Fla. / Community School of Naples 4 Caliya Robinson F 6-3 Jr.-2L Marietta, Ga. / McEachern HS 11 Maya Caldwell G 5-11 Fr.-HS Charlotte, N.C. / Davidson Day School 12 Haley Clark G 5-9 Sr.-3L Orlando, Fla. / Edgewater HS 14 Jenna Staiti* C 6-6 So.-1L Cumming, Ga. / University of Maryland 23 Que Morrison G 5-7 Fr.-HS Riverdale, Ga./McEachern High School 24 Simone Costa G 5-10 Sr.-1L Lisbon, Portugal / Independence (Kan.) CC 25 Ari Henderson G 5-7 So.-1L Chamblee, Ga./Chamblee HS 33 Mackenzie Engram F 6-2 Sr.-3L Powder Springs, Ga. / Hillgrove HS 44 Malury Bates F 6-3 Fr.-HS Roanoke, Va. / William Fleming HS 51 Bianca Blanaru F 6-5 R-Jr.-TR Timisoara, Romania / Washington State University * will sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules. COACHING STAFF PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Head Coach: Joni Taylor (Alabama ‘02, third season at UGA as head coach and 16th overall) Bianca BLANARU (Blan-UH-roo) MAYA (MY-uh) Caldwell Associate Head Coach: Karen Lange (Iowa ‘96, third season at UGA and 21st overall) TAJA (Tah-juh) Cole Assistant Coaches: Robert Mosley (Miles ’99, sixth season at UGA and eighth overall) Chelsea Newton (Rutgers ‘05, third season at UGA and ninth overall) Simone COSTA (COST-uh) ARI (Are-ee) Henderson QUE (like the letter ‘Q’) Morrison CALIYA (Cuh-lie-uh) Robinson Jenna STAITI (STATE-ee) GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS 5 Final Fours • 11 Elite Eights • 20 Sweet Sixteens • 7 SEC Championships • 25 WNBA Players Season Stats Highlights PPG RPG Assists FG% 3FG% FT% » Fifth in the SEC in assists with 134 total 8.1 3.0 134 39.4% 26.4% 63.5% » Has three or more assists in 26 of 31 games Career Highs Points: 15 at BYU, 2017 Rebounds: 8, at LSU, 2018 Assists: 9 at Virginia, 2017 » Has scored in double figures in 12 games this season after only two double-figure scoring games at Louisville in 2015-16 #0 TAJA COLE (TAH-JUH) » Five-star recruit in 2015 class before signing with Louisville Season Stats Highlights PPG RPG Assists FG% 3FG% FT% » 37 points against Texas A&M (1/14) are a Georgia record for a freshman against an SEC oppo- 7.2 1.6 72 37.8% 32.2% 80.9% nent Career Highs Points: 37, at Texas A&M, 2018 Rebounds: 6 vs.