ATHENS — The Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team used a second-half surge to outlast the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 60-53 Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.
After being down 29-26 at the half, Georgia (9-1) outscored Georgia Tech (9-2) 20-7 in the third quarter en route to the Lady Bulldogs’ sixth win in the last seven meetings in the series. Georgia owns a 16-0 all-time record against the Yellow Jackets in Athens and a 35-5 lead in the all-time series.
“That was fun," Georgia head coach Joni Taylor said. "I thought it was great momentum. We were able to get some stops, get a shot clock violation and bear down defensively. We executed off the press, and were able to get some easy baskets which fueled our confidence.”
Spearheading the Lady Bulldogs was senior forward Mackenzie Engram, who posted her second double-double of the season and seventh in her career with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She also tacked on a career-high four assists. Also scoring in double digits were junior forward Caliya Robinson (12) and freshman Gabby Connally (10). Robinson added five rebounds and collected two blocks, her seventh game this season with at least two blocks.
The Yellow Jackets scored within the first six seconds of the game with a layup, but Robinson immediately answered with a fadeaway jumper. Georgia took its first lead at 7-5 on a 3-pointer by freshman Que Morrison. Georgia Tech regained the lead and held it until the final minute of the first quarter, when sophomore forward Stephanie Paul scored a layup assisted by Engram. Freshman guard Gabby Connally upped the lead with a stepback jumper to close out the first period at 18-15.
Engram charged the Lady Bulldogs in the second quarter, scoring six of the team’s eight second quarter points. The Powder Springs native finished with 10 points and six rebounds in the first half, marking the third time she has reached double-digit points in the first half this season.
Morrison capped off the first half with two free throws to make it 29-26 Georgia Tech lead at the break. The Lady Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets traded leads 10 times and tied four times in a hotly-contested opening to the matchup.
Georgia held steady to start the third quarter until a Haley Clark layup at 8:14 sparked a 22-8 run by the Lady Bulldogs that stretched into the fourth quarter. In that span, seven different Georgia players scored, led by six points from Robinson on the way to her seventh double-digit scoring total of the season.
The Lady Bulldogs also held Georgia Tech scoreless for the final 5:50 of the third quarter, which ended with a Connally steal and alley-oop assist to Robinson to cap the third period at 46-36.
The Yellow Jackets reduced the Georgia lead to seven just outside of five minutes left to play, but Connally nailed a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to extend the lead back to double digits. An 8-2 Georgia Tech run brought the game within four points with 31 seconds left, but Morrison and Connally put the game away at the foul line.
