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Hassell Leads Lady Bulldogs Past Gators

Feb 18, 2013 by Georgia Sports Communications

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Jasmine Hassell notched her third straight double-double, including a career-high 16 rebounds, to lead No. 13 Georgia to a 62-57 victory over Florida at the O’Connell Center on Sunday.

Hassell’s 16 points and 16 boards paced the Lady Bulldogs (21-4, 9-3), while Jasmine James chipped in a dozen points. Nine different players scored for Georgia, including key late three-pointers by Khaalidah Miller and Anne Marie Armstrong.

“There were a lot of people who contributed quality minutes for us today,” head coach Andy Landers said. “I’m very pleased for and proud of our basketball team.”

Jennifer George led Florida (15-11, 4-8 SEC) with a game-high 17 points.

Early on, it appeared the Gators would avenge their 17-point loss in Athens last month. Florida led 24-12 midway through the first half before the Lady Bulldogs rallied to tie the game with a 12-0 run. Georgia took the lead on a pair of Hassell free throws with 2.8 seconds on the clock.

“We turned the ball over and Florida was making plays,” Landers said. “It was vital that we were able to get back in the game so quickly. If you play behind like that, 40 minutes can seem like four hours. To be able to not only get back in the game before half but take the lead right before half was a big boost for us.”

The contest featured 10 ties and seven lead changes and neither team led by more than two possessions throughout the second half until James hit both ends of a one-and-one with six seconds remaining that put Georgia up 62-55.

The Lady Bulldogs led for most of the second half but could never put any significant distance on the scoreboard. Armstrong’s three with 3:03 left put Georgia up 55-51; however, jumpers by George and Sydney Moss knotted the score for the 10th and final time with 2:21 left.

James canned a jumper with five seconds left on the shot clock at the 1:56 mark and Miller knocked down her third three of the second half with 39 seconds remaining to put Georgia up 60-55.

Following a missed three by Carlie Needles, the Gators fouled over the final 32 seconds but could pull no closer.

The Gators gained the game’s first substantial lead with an 11-1 covering 3:19 that put Florida up 24-12 with 8:18 left in the first half. After a pair of timeouts due to the Gators’ full-court press, Erika Ford scored on a floor-length pass from Armstrong to start a 12-0 spurt that tied the game at 24-24 with 2:55 on the clock.

Hassell eventually closed the first half scoring with a pair of free throws with 2.8 seconds left in the period to give Georgia a 30-28 advantage at the break.

Georgia will return home on Thursday to host Arkansas at 7 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum in a SportSouth regionally televised matchup. The first 1,000 fans at that contest will receive Lady Bulldog replica jersey t-shirts.

Single-game reserved seat tickets for Lady Bulldog home games are $5 for adults and $3 for children. Single-game tickets are available at the UGA Ticket Office at the Butts-Mehre from 8:30-4:30 weekdays, via georgiadogs.com, by calling the UGA Ticket Office at 877-542-1621 or at the Stegeman Coliseum box office (closest to Sanford Drive) beginning 60 minutes before tip-off.

UGA students, faculty and staff are admitted to all Lady Bulldog games free of charge with a valid UGA Card. Faculty and staff should pick up tickets at the Coliseum box office. Students are admitted to the arena via the entrance to the left of the box office by showing their UGA Card.

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