2018-19 Georgia Women's Basketball Media Guide

Page 36

BELIEVE

IN

LADY BULLDOGS EMBRACE BELIEVE IN MORE MENTALITY The Lady Bulldogs took a giant leap in head coach Joni Taylor's third season at the helm of the program. Looking back, sometimes it's hard to remember the journey that took Georgia from a preseason No. 8 pick to a second-place finish in the SEC standings. After all, just the year before Georgia played with eight scholarship players on its way to a 16-15 record. Entering the 2017-18 season, the Lady Bulldogs reloaded with the No. 9 recruiting class in the nation, but there still were questions to be answered. Fast forward to March 2018 and it's hard to imagine how a team just a year removed from that 15-loss season could be sitting in Stegeman Coliseum with a 26-7 record. Georgia's 2017-18 campaign featured a freshman class that played in 121 combined games. The Lady Bulldogs' frontcourt duo of Mackenzie Engram and Caliya Robinson led the team in both scoring and rebounding as Georgia recorded its most wins in a single season since 2012-13 and brought the NCAA tournament back to Athens for the first time in 15 years.

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Each of Georgia's seven losses came against teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in the final USA Today Coaches Poll, with four of those defeats coming to top-10 teams. That is the challenge for Georgia as Coach Taylor gets ready for her fourth season. How do the Lady Bulldogs take the next step among the nation's elite? Believe in More is the team's slogan this year. It comes from Georgia's belief that, even though a 26-7 record and NCAA tournament is certainly something to brag about, there is more to be accomplished. The Lady Bulldogs have the pieces as the team returns eight letterwinners, six of its top seven scorers and three starters off last year's squad. Among the returners is All-SEC and two-time SEC All-Defensive team member Caliya Robinson as well as 2018 Freshman All-SEC selection Que Morrison. Starting point guard Taja Cole, who finished sixth in the SEC in assists and started each and every game, also returns to lead the Lady Bulldogs.


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2018-19 Georgia Women's Basketball Media Guide by Georgia Bulldogs Athletics - Issuu