“Lady Bulldogs” 2nd half send “Lady Rebels” home

Hardrick and Chambers step up to lead UGA
Bi-Lo Center – Greenville, GA

Former McEacher start Janese Hardrick came off of the Georgia bench to score 13 points, dish out 4 assists and make 2 steals.

The “Lady Bulldogs” from Georgia jumped out to a 6-2 lead over Ole Miss getting two hoops from junior Alexis Kendrick and their highly touted freshman Tasha Humphrey. The “Lady Rebels” settled down and got back into the game cutting the lead to 8-7 on a jumper by Elizabeth Cansdale. Ole Miss sophomore Armintie Price did a nice job getting to the hole early, she hit 4 straight free-throws as Ole Miss took an 13-11 lead.

Good defense helped them maintain their slight lead when Price stole the ball and scored making the score 17-15. With 17:54 left in the half Humphrey picked up her 2nd foul and was forced to sit on the bench for the rest of the half. With Humphrey on the bench the remainder of the team really had to pick it up.

Reserve Janese Hardrick was one of those who picked it up, the 5-6 sophomore from Powder Springs, GA came in and made an immediate impact knocking down a three-pointer to give the “Lady Dogs” an 18-17 lead. A few moments later junior Sherill Baker another product from the state of Georgia (Stone Mountain) and one of the top steal leaders in the SEC, stole the ball and scored to increase the lead to 22-17 with 9:45 left in the half.

Ole Miss sophomore Armintie Price (#24) and UGA sophomore Rebecca Rowsey both display SEC battle wounds.

Hardrick continued to be a spark for Georgia hitting three straight free-throws after being fouled attempting a three-pointer. Megan Darrah from Moreland, GA also picked it up for the “Lady Bulldogs” completing a three-point play. Trailing by 6 points Old Miss stormed back getting a three-pointer from Cansdale cutting the lead to 32-31 with less than 2:00 minutes to play in the half.

Darrah drilled her 2nd three-pointer to make the score 35-31 and Hardrick completed a three-point play after scoring on a nice drive to the basket to open up a 5 point lead 38-33. Price finished off a good half for the “Lady Rebels” scoring to cut Georgia’s lead to 40-39 at the half.

Humphrey returned to start the 2nd half and picked up her 3rd personal foul with 17:15 left to play but remained on the floor. You could she why the “Lady Bulldogs” missed their heralded freshman in the 1st half as she scored 4 quick points to put Georgia up 49-43. Cansdale helped the “Lady Rebels” stay within striking range drilling a three-pointer to cut the lead to 49-48.

Carletta Brown from Ole Miss reacts to a call by the referee.

With 12:24 to play Humphrey picked up her 4th foul and took a seat on the bench. Once again her teammates picked up the slack; Cori Chambers in particular. The 5-9 sophomore jumped into the “Matrix” drilling 3 straight three-pointers as Georgia opened up their largest lead of the game 65-52 with 8:39 to play forcing the “Lady Rebels” to call a timeout.

A three-point play by Cansdale cut Georgia’s lead to 73-58 with 5:06 to go to but by then “Lady Bulldogs” were hitting on all cylinders. Baker made another steal and basket and Chambers completed a three-point play as the “Lady Bulldogs” went on to a 87-65 win to advanced to the semi-final game against the No.1 ranked and top seed LSU “Lady Tigers”.

Scoring Recap

Georgia

Sherill Baker scored 17 points haul down 9 rebounds and recorded 2 steals to lead 6 “Lady Bulldogs” in double-figures. Megan Darrah scored 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Janese Hardrick added 13 points, 4 assists and 2 steals. Tasha Humphrey scored 12 points grabbed 5 rebounds and recored 2 steals in a limited role. Cori Chambers also finished with 12 points (3 three-pointers). Rebecca Rowsey chipped in with 7 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

Ole Miss