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Women’s Basketball Toppled By South Carolina

Feb 7, 2010 by Georgia Sports Communications

ATHENS, Ga. -— South Carolina held the No. 14 Georgia Lady Bulldogs to their lowest point total of the season as the Gamecocks earned a 52-42 win over UGA on Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.

Freshman Jasmine James turned in her third consecutive double-digit game to lead the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points, but she was the only Georgia player to get there. James added nine rebounds, while Porsha Phillips had eight points to go along with her nine boards. Georgia shot just 29 percent from the floor in the contest, as the squad falls to 19-5 (6-5 SEC) and South Carolina jumps to 13-10 (5-5).

Valerie Nainima had 21 points to pace the visitors and was the only USC player in double digits.

“I was disappointed with our defense. I felt like we let them drive and shoot too often,” said head coach Andy Landers. “I know it’s not easy, but we just didn’t play well. With the way we are shooting the ball, we have to be very good on the defensive end and we were not today. When we were down by five and Nainima hit a three-pointer, it was disappointing. But we should not have let it get us down. We covered her like she was a driver and she is a shooter so that really hurt us.”

“We will go back to work on Tuesday and work on these things.”

The Gamecocks took a 10-point lead, their largest to that point, on a three-pointer from Samone Kennedy with 8:12 remaining in the opening frame. Phillips matched it with a jumper but a lay-up from Charenee Stephens would make it another 10-point margin at 24-14 with 7:00 left.

South Carolina then went up 12 on a lay-up from La’Keisha Sutton that made it 28-16 with 3:30 on the clock. A lay-up from Ashley Houts followed, but Nainima closed the half with a jumper that put the Gamecocks again up by 12, 30-18, entering halftime.

That total was the Lady Dogs’ fewest through the first 20 minutes this season.

Houts and James put up back-to-back baskets for Georgia to kick off the second half and cut the USC lead back to single digits at eight, 30-22, with 19:07 on the clock, but the Lady Dogs struggled to close the gap any further and South Carolina found themselves up by the game’s largest margin of 13, 39-26, with 14:01 remaining.

When the Gamecocks were still leading by 13, at 42-29, on a Nainima three nearing the midway point of the second, Georgia strung together an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to just five, 42-37, with 6:25 to go. But South Carolina scored the next six to re-establish the double-digit advantage and the Lady Dogs would get no closer as the Gamecocks held on for the 10-point victory.

Georgia women’s basketball still owns a 28-5 all-time mark against the Gamecocks in the series.

Angel Robinson suffered an injury after hitting her head on the floor while scrambling for a loose ball in the first half and did not return.

Up next on the docket is a road meeting with Kentucky on Thurs., Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. on FSN, before the Lady Dogs return to Athens to take on Alabama next Sun., Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. on CSS.

Notes
• The Lady Bulldogs have a 28-5 advantage in their all-time serious with the Gamecocks, including a 13-2 mark in games played in Athens.
• Andy Landers has compiled a 27-3 mark versus South Carolina during his first 30 seasons at UGA.
• The Lady Bulldogs’ recorded a season low both in points in the first half against South Carolina with 18 and in total points with 42.
• Tonight marked the third game in a row that Jasmine James had a double-digit game. The two previous double-digit games were against LSU Feb. 4 and Auburn on Jan. 31.
• Angel Robinson only clocked eight minutes before suffering a game-ending injury. Robinson hit her head on the floor pursuing a loose ball. Those eight minutes amount to her fewest minutes played all season.
• Jasmine Hassell recorded both a season and career high in blocks this evening with two. She previously had one block four times this season–most recently on Jan. 24 against Ole. Miss.
• The Lady Bulldogs are a single victory away from notching their 25th 20-win campaign during Andy Landers’ 31 seasons on the sidelines in Athens.

Double Digits
• One player had a double digit game for the Lady Bulldogs – Jasmie James (11).
• This was Jasmine James’ 13th double-digit game of the season and 13th in her career.

Keep Your Eye On …
• Ashley Houts is …. 25 points from No. 18 Camille Lowe; 20 FTs from No. 3 Kelly Miller; 3 FTA’s from No. 6 Kelly Miller; 11 3GFs from co-No. 9’s Coco Miller and Pam Irwin-Osbolt; 5 3FGAs from No. 9 Janese Hardrick; 22 assists from No. 4 Alexis Kendrick; 1 steals from No. 4 Kedra Holland-Corn, 1 starts from No. 8 Coco Miller.
• Angel Robinson is …. 30 points from No. 24 Alexis Kendrick; 4 boards from No. 5 Tammye Jenkins; 67 blocks from No. 3 Tracy Henderson.

Georgia Head Coach Andy Landers
“I was disappointed with our defense. I felt like we let them drive and shoot too often. I know it’s not easy, but we just didn’t play well. With the way we are shooting the ball, we have to be very good on the defensive end and we were not today. When we were down by five and (Valerie) Nainima hit a three-pointer, it was disappointing. But we should not have let it get us down. We covered her like she was a driver and she is a shooter so that really hurt us.”

“We will go back to work on Tuesday and work on these things.”

South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley
“We wanted to come out and compete. We wanted to keep it close on the road, because we know how hard it is to get road wins in this league. I thought we did that. I didn’t anticipate us getting out to a big lead and being able to hold on to get the win, but that’s what we did. I thought we came out extremely focused and hit some shots.”

“Valerie Nainima played extremely well. She was there when we needed to hit the big shot. Charenee Stephens gave us some good minutes, got some rebounds. Jewel May is always mixing it up. I thought it was a great team effort. La’Keisha Sutton did a good job penetrating, pulling up and finding the open shooter on the outside. Kelsey Bone had a tough night tonight. Georgia did a good job of pushing her into the block and forcing her to take some tough shots.”

“Georgia holds people to low scoring. It’s just unfortunate that they couldn’t get their average tonight. What we try to do is keep pressure on everybody, make sure that they are taking shots off of contested hands. I thought we did a good job of just standing between them and the basket.”

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