The Lady Dogs sport a 22-9 record and are ranked No. 24 in this week’s edition of the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
Georgia is led by senior All-Amercian Tasha Humphrey, who is averaging 16.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Humphrey, who earlier this week became just the third player in league history to be named first-team All-SEC by both league coaches and media on four occasions, also is on pace to become just the second Lady Bulldog to lead Georgia in scoring and rebounding for four straight seasons.
In addition, second-team All-SEC Ashley Houts also averages double figures in the scoring column at 11.8 points per game and leads Georgia in both assists (4.6 apg) and steals (2.7 spg).
The Hawkeyes are 21-10 on the year and finished tied atop the Big Ten standings with Ohio State at 13-5.
Iowa sports a balanced attack with a trio of double-digit scorers. Kristi Smith paces the Hawkeyes on the offensive end with 13.2 points per game, while Wendy Ausdemore and Johanna Solverson chip in 11.5 and 10.4 points, respectively.
Date: Sunday, March 23, 2008, 2:30 p.m.
Location: Constant Convocation Center; Norfolk, Va.
TV: ESPN; Radio: Lady Bulldog Radio Network
Keeping an eye on...
Entering the Iowa game:
Tasha Humphrey is...
• Should tie No. 7 Coco Miller among UGA’s career leaders for career starts against Iowa
• 401 points shy of No. 1 Janet Harris among UGA’s career leaders
• 104 rebounds shy of No. 3 Wanda Holloway among UGA’s career leaders
•9 FTs from No. 8 Chamique Holdsclaw of Tennessee among the SEC’s career leaders
Megan Darrah is...
• Should tie co-No. 6s Sherill Baker, Kelly Miller and Janet Harris among UGA’s career leaders for games played against Iowa
• 1 points from No. 28 Saudia Roundtree among UGA’s career scoring leaders
• 16 3-pt. FGs from No. 5 Rachel Powell among UGA’s career leaders
• 11 3-pt. FG attempts from No. 4 Kelly Miller among UGA’s career leaders
Angel Robinson is...
• 6 blocks from No. 10 La'Keshia Frett among UGA’s career leaders
Lady Bulldogs against the “Norfolk pod”
Among the other three squads in Georgia’s portion of the Norfolk bracket, the Lady Bulldogs are 2-2 against Iowa and 5-0 versus North Carolina but have never faced Bucknell.
Georgia last met Iowa in the early portion of the 1995-96 season. Those Lady Bulldogs eventually finished as 1996 NCAA runners-up. No. 10 Georgia used a 26-6 first-half run and never looked back en route to topping the No. 11 Hawkeyes, 79-52, in the semifinals of the Carolinas Beach Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Kedra Holland scored 15 points and current Lady Bulldog assistant coach added 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead UGA.
Iowa won the only previous meeting between the two schools in NCAA play. The third-seeded Hawkeyes upset second-seeded Georgia, 62-60, in the “Sweet 16” of the 1987 Midwest Regional in Ruston, La. Of note, that contest ended the collegiate career of Georgia’s Katrina McClain, the National Player of the Year that season.
Georgia’s quintet of victories over the Tar Heels includes a couple of NCAA wins.
The Lady Bulldogs secured their first-ever “March Madness” victory with a 72-70 win over North Carolina in Athens on March 19, 1983. Georgia went on to secure its first Final Four bid...right here in Norfolk at The Scope, where freshman Teresa Edwards-led UGA lost to freshman Cheryl Miller-led Southern Cal.
In addition, the Lady Dogs topped North Carolina, 83-57, in the “Sweet 16” round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament at the West Regional in Portland, Ore.
Lady Bulldogs sport rich NCAA history
The NCAA Tournament resumes of both Georgia Basketball and Andy Landers match up against with the very best in women’s basketball.
We’re not sure which is more impressive: the rankings among national leaders in various categories that the Lady Bulldogs and Landers sport or their literal percentages of participation within the various rounds of 27 years of NCAA Tournament competition. You be the judge.
Georgia inched up to the No. 2 spot in NCAA bids this season when Louisiana Tech failed to make the field, and the Lady Bulldogs also rank No. 4 in wins, No. 3 in “Sweet 16s,” No. 5 in “Elite Eights” and No. 5 in Final Fours.
Individually, Landers is No. 2 bids, No. 4 in wins, No. 2 in “Sweet 16s,” No. 5 in “Elite Eights” and No. 4 in Final Fours.
All told, the Lady Bulldogs – all under Landers – have reached 25 of 27 NCAA Tournaments (92.6 percent) and have made the most of those bids. Georgia has reached in 17 of 26 “Sweet 16s” (65.4 percent), 10 of 26 “Elite Eights” (38.5 percent) and five of 26 Final Fours (19.2 percent).
“Probably not unlike many of the other teams that have experienced success in tournament play, we’re a team that has had the ability to focus,” Landers said. “We’ve had the ability to through the years to block out distractions and what else might be going on in the tournament that will have absolutely no effect on Georgia. To stay with the old cliché ‘One game at a time’ has probably served our program very well.”
Comments