#13 Georgia Lady Bulldogs (14-3, 3-2 SEC) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (11-5, 2-2 SEC)

Thursday, Jan. 20 | 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT | Starkville, Miss. | Humphrey Coliseum

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Opening Tip Storylines

» Georgia concludes a tough stretch of games with its fourth road contest in the last five league matchups. The Lady Bulldogs tip off against Mississippi State at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT Thursday inside Humphrey Coliseum.

» The Lady Bulldogs own a 28-21 lead in the all-time series against Mississippi State, but are looking to snap a six-game losing streak against the Bulldogs from Starkville. Georgia’s last win against MSU came on Jan. 21, 2016 in Athens. The Lady Bulldogs’ last victory at Humphrey Coliseum came in 2012.

» Thursday’s contest features two of the top shot blocking teams in the nation. Mississippi State ranks fourth nationally with 6.6 swats per game, while Georgia ranks seventh with 6.3 per contest.

» Georgia is led by one of the top frontcourt/backcourt duos in the country with Jenna Staiti and Que Morrison. The pair has played particularly well in SEC play, accounting for 41 of the team’s 71 ppg average.

» Staiti is averaging nearly a double-double with 21.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game against SEC foes this season.

» Is Morrison one of the best all-around players in the nation? There is no (QUE) stion about it. Morrison is the only SEC player to rank in the top-5 of the conference in assists (third with 5.1 per game), steals (sixth with 2.4 per game) and free-throw percentage (second at 89.2 percent), while also ranking among the league’s top-15 in scoring (14th with 14.6 ppg).

» Morrison has scored in double figures in 25 of her last 30 games and has totaled four 20-plus point efforts this season.

» Junior forward Jordan Isaacs is coming off the best game of her career. Isaacs helped the Lady Bulldogs hand Missouri its first home loss of the season behind her 9-point, 5-rebound effort.

Georgia Notebook

Finally … A Hot Start

» Georgia got off to a great start against Missouri this past Monday. The Lady Bulldogs shot 64 percent from the field in the first quarter to build an early 23-10 lead at the end of the frame. In three of the previous four games, Georgia had trailed by 16 points or more, but came back to own a 2-1 mark in those contests.

Second Half the Best Half

» The Lady Bulldogs have outscored their opponents in the second half in all but one SEC game (Kentucky). Georgia owns a combined +34 advantage in the final two quarters against its five conference foes this year.

Dawgs are SEC’s Most Unselfish

» Georgia paces the SEC and ranks No. 18 nationally with 17.4 assists per game. The Lady Bulldogs have ranked in the top-3 of the SEC in assists in six of the first seven years under head coach Joni Taylor.

Georgia has totaled 296 assists on 493 made field goals this season -- an average of 60 percent.

Forcing Turnovers, Limiting Ours

» The defensive Bulldogs have owned the turnover margin in 13 of 17 games this season and boast a 12-1 record when committing fewer miscues than their opponents. Georgia owns a 339-190 ‘points off turnovers’ advantage.

Hollingshead A Back-To-Back All-Star

» Freshman Jillian Hollingshead became the first Georgia player since 2016 to earn back-to-back SEC Freshman of the Week honors and one of only two league players to accomplish that feat this season (Denae Carter, Mississippi State). Hollingshead has scored eight or more points six times.

Staiti One of Nation’s Best

» Jenna Staiti is being recognized as one of the top players in all of basketball. She has been tabbed to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List, the Naismith National Player of the Year Watch List and recently landed on the Wooden Award Top-25 Watch List. She has already totaled five double-doubles this season and has reached double figures in scoring in all but two contests.

The QUE (En) Does it All

» Que Morrison -- the 2021 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection -- is literally doing it all. If you look at an SEC stat sheet, you will find Morrison’s name in nearly every statistical category.

Over the course of the season, Morrison has hit big shot after big shot to carry her team. She has scored in double figures 13 times, has totaled 20 or more points on four occasions, recorded three or more steals seven times and three or more assists in every single game.

Coombs Swipes the Irish

» Senior guard Mikayla Coombs nearly set the school record with eight steals in the win against Notre Dame -- a total that was just two shy of the school record. Coombs recorded six steals in the first quarter alone to lead her team in the early going.

On A Roll

» Georgia has won 22 of its last 28 games dating back to last season. During the stretch going back to Feb. 4, 2021, Georgia has defeated five ranked teams, including No. 2 ranked Texas A&M and second-ranked NC State.

Barker’s Bomb Shocks NC State

» Sarah Ashlee Barker nailed a 25-foot heave at the buzzer to send the game against NC State into overtime. Barker finished with a career-best four 3-point field goals in the win, including back-to-back three’s late in the game to stop a NC State rally.

No. 3 Heats up from 3

» Barker has drastically improved her shooting from behind the arc throughout the course of the season. In the first four games, she hit just 2-of-14 (.143) from behind the arc, but has knocked in 47 percent (15-of-34) over the last eight contests.

Overtime Success

» Georgia improved to an impressive 9-2 overall in overtime games under head coach Joni Taylor. In fact, Georgia has won four-straight and nine of its last 10 OT contests.

Down Goes No. 2

» Georgia’s win at then No. 2-ranked NC State marked the program’s first true road win against a top-25 team in program history. The victory ended the Wolfpack’s 10-game win streak.

Many Contributors

» Georgia’s bench has outscored its opponents by a 413-185 margin, an average of 14 points per game, this season. Every available player has touched the floor in six of the team’s 17 games.

Bulldog Block Party

» The Lady Bulldogs set a new school record with 18 blocks in the win against Alabama State on Nov. 21. That total broke a 34-year old record from 1987, when Georgia had 16 against Mercer. The Lady Bulldogs’ 18 swats are tied for the second-most in a game in SEC history.

Offensive Improvement

» Head Coach Joni Taylor and her staff implemented a new offensive philosophy prior to the 2020-21 season with the goal of playing a more up-tempo style with defensive pressure.

That move has paid dividends. Since last season, Georgia has scored over 90 points four times. The Lady Bulldogs scored over 90 points just four times combined in the five seasons prior.

UGA Seniors Earn Degrees

» For the second-straight year, each of Georgia’s seniors have already earned their college degrees. Malury Bates (sociology), Mikayla Coombs (sport management), Que Morrison (communication studies) and Jenna Staiti (human development and family science) have all graduated from the University of Georgia.

A Healthy Dose of Que

» After suffering a string of injuries in her career, Morrison finally experienced a full healthy season for the Lady Bulldogs.

Here is a look back at some of the adversity Morrison has overcome.

The defensive stopper placed on the SEC All-Freshman Team after drawing 32 starts on Georgia’s NCAA tournament team. Then, in her sophomore campaign, Morrison missed the first eight games due to a torn meniscus in her left knee. In 2019-20, she had an injury to her foot before the year began. She then suffered a torn labrum in her right shoulder to end her junior campaign midway through SEC play.

Coombs Takes on Leadership Roles

» Mikayla Coombs — a native of Buford, Ga. — was selected by her peers to serve as the vice chair of the SEC Women’s Basketball Leadership Council. As one of four elected officers, she will participate in various meetings throughout the year to provide feedback to Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators and Faculty Athletics Representatives.

This news came after she was chosen as the only student-athlete representative on the NCAA competition committee. Coombs graduated with a degree in sport management from the University of Georgia and is currently pursuing a master’s in the same program. She was named a UGA Presidential Scholar in 2020, has placed on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll three times and made the Dean’s List in 2021.

Coaching Consistency

» Georgia has one of the longest tenured staffs in the SEC. With the return of Karen Lange, Chelsea Newton and Robert Mosley, Georgia is the only team in the conference to not have a single coaching change at any level -- head coach or assistant coach -- over the past six years.

Chapman Sticks with Basketball

» Junior guard Chloe Chapman played two seasons with the Georgia soccer team, but after spending two years as a dual-sport athlete, she will now focus on just basketball. The Mitchellville, Md., native was a consensus top-40 prospect and was rated as the No. 8 overall point guard in the nation coming out of high school.

Georgia Freshmen Already Making History

» Lady Bulldog freshmen Reigan Richardson and Jillian Hollingshead were both named McDonald’s All-Americans, marking the first time in Georgia history the program has signed two McDonald’s All-Americans in one class. Hollingshead and Richardson are the 11th and 12th McDonald’s All-Americans to sign with the Lady Bulldogs and are the first to commit right out high school since Ronika Ransford in 2010. Current Lady Bulldog Mikayla Coombs was a McDonald’s All-American in 2017.

A Storied History

» Georgia is one of just two SEC programs (Tennessee) and one of just 16 teams nationwide to reach the 1,000 win total. The Lady Bulldogs accomplished the feat last season on the road at East Carolina, marking the latest impressive accomplishment for the storied program.

The Lady Bulldogs are one of only three teams, joining Wisconsin-Green Bay and Tennessee, to have a winning record every year since 1980 and have been to 34 of 39 NCAA tournaments.

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