Down by 21 points in the first half, the No. 14-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team used a furious comeback to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide, 72-68, Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.
Graduate guard Que Morrison led Georgia in scoring with 21 points, shooting perfectly from behind the arc (3-for-3) and the free-throw line (4-for-4). Sunday’s game marks Morrison’s fourth consecutive double-digit performance. Graduate center Jenna Staiti followed in points with 17. Defensively, Staiti tallied nine rebounds and five blocks, a high in SEC play.
The Lady Bulldogs improve to 13-3 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. Georgia has now won five-straight games against Alabama.
“They want to do well,” said head coach Joni Taylor. “They want to play for each other. They want to win. They want to achieve success. Whatever it looks like, whoever is out there is going to give you their best. They’re not perfect, but they play really hard. They’re going to lock in and do the things you ask them to do.”
Morrison kicked off the offense for Georgia, scoring a quick five points in just the first minute. Alabama picked up the pace and went on an 10-2 run to lift their lead to 10-7 with 6:49 remaining in the first period. For the last six minutes, the Crimson Tide showed their dominance on offense. Georgia ended the quarter down by nine.
Alabama stayed hot offensively in the second quarter with an early 6-4 run to increase their lead, 30-19. Despite Georgia being down, Staiti notched two blocks while Morrison led in scoring with six points. Alabama extended their lead and ended the half ahead, 48-29.
Led by Mikayla Coombs, who scored two back-to-back fast break layups, Georgia found its way offensively in the third quarter. Overall, Coombs scored nine points, followed by Staiti who notched eight. The Lady Bulldog defense kept the Crimson Tide from scoring a basket until the 6:46 mark. From there, Georgia locked down and only allowed them eight points. The Lady Bulldogs’ offensive rhythm continued with an impressive 12-2 run.
Alabama led 56-50 going into the final quarter.
Georgia went on an early 6-1 run, closing the deficit to a one-point game. Sophomore Zoesha Smith came in off the bench to score six more points to tie it, 60-60. She went 2-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line. Georgia took the lead back at the 3:15 mark off a layup from Coombs, assisted by Morrison. From there, the court went back-and-forth between the rivals.
In the final 1:30 of the game, Morrison and Staitit were both fouled and put away four free throws, sealing a 72-68 win for the Lady Bulldogs.
Next up, the Lady Bulldogs will head to Columbia, Missouri to face the Tigers on January 17th at 7:00 p.m. ET. Coverage will be on SEC Network.