Friday March 29th, 2024 5:30AM

Lady Dogs punch ticket to Big Dance, set to host NCAA 1st and 2nd rounds

By AccessWDUN

ATHENS — Fresh off its best regular season in a little over a decade and a run to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament, the Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team has earned a No. 4 seed in the 2018 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship and will host Mercer, Belmont and Duke in Athens, beginning on Saturday, March 17. 

Georgia will take on Mercer, the No. 13 seed, at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, following the 11 a.m. ET matchup between No. 5 seed Duke and No. 12 seed Belmont. 

The Lady Bulldogs are hosting the first and second rounds for the 18th time in Athens and for the first time since 2003. Georgia’s No. 4 seed marks its highest seeding since 2013, when the team advanced all the way to the NCAA Elite Eight.  

Georgia has now been selected to participate in 33 of 37 NCAA tournaments, a total that is second nationally to Tennessee for most NCAA tournament appearances. This is the second time in three years Georgia has made the tournament under head coach Joni Taylor. 

A Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach of the Year Semifinalist, Taylor has led her team to one of the biggest turnarounds in school history. The squad currently sits at 25-6 overall this season, with all six losses coming to top-25 teams. Georgia finished second in the SEC standings after being picked eighth in the preseason poll by league coaches. 

The Lady Bulldogs are led by All-SEC team members Caliya Robinson and Mackenzie Engram, who pace the team in scoring and rebounding. Georgia has also been aided by contributions from the 2017 signing class, which ranked top-10 nationally. Three of the Lady Bulldogs’ top-5 scorers are newcomers, led by Que Morrison’s 8.7 ppg, while Taja Cole’s 4.3 assists per contest ranked fifth in the SEC. 

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets can be purchased by calling the UGA Athletics Ticket Office at 706-542-1231 or online at www.georgiadogs.com/tickets. All-session tickets, which include all three games, are only $30 for adults and $14 for students age 18 and under. Single-session tickets are $16 and for adults and $10 for students age 18 and under. Georgia students will be admitted for free with a valid UGA student ID. 

© Copyright 2024 AccessWDUN.com
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.