ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia women’s basketball team held off the Kentucky Lady Wildcats, 64-60, in Stegeman Coliseum Thursday evening before 1,931 spectators.
The win was the first SEC win for head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson at the helm for the Lady Bulldogs.
Diamond Battles led Georgia in scoring with 19 points. Battles also recorded four steals and a blocked shot. Brittney Smith followed Battles in scoring with 17 points, going 5-6 from the free throw line, had three rebounds and a block. Audrey Warren tallied 11 points with two triples, five rebounds, a team-leading five assists and one block.
“They were in zone and our go-to players just stepped up,” Coach ABE said following the game. “I think it started with Audrey (Warren). She had some big shots, and they were in zone. They don't necessarily always play zone, so we kept Audrey up on top a little bit with Diamond (Battles). Diamond's running the baseline, but Audrey hit some big shots up there. It was because they were in zone.”
Both teams were off to a slow start and traded points. Kentucky (8-7, 0-3 SEC) built an eight-point lead with scoring from the range. Three consecutive layups from Georgia (12-5, 1-2 SEC) put the Lady Bulldogs within six, 16-10, at the close of the first quarter.
Georgia opened the second quarter with seven uncontested points to close the gap, 17-16. Six points from Battles in the second quarter fueled the offense, but Kentucky held its advantage, 29-23, going into halftime.
The Lady Bulldogs used 10 points in the paint to tie the game, 37-37, in the third frame. Georgia took a one-point lead with three minutes remaining in the quarter before a Wildcat three-pointer put Kentucky ahead, 40-38. The Wildcats took a 47-41 lead into the final frame.
An 8-0 run, five points coming from Battles, put the Lady Bulldogs ahead, 51-49, at the start of the final frame. Five Kentucky points knotted the score at 58-58 with less than a minute remaining. Lewis’ 15th triple of the season with 19 seconds remaining coupled with a Warren free throw gave Georgia the advantage for a 64-60 win.
Georgia will travel to Gainesville, Florida to face the Florida Gators on Sunday afternoon. The game will tip off at 12 p.m. and will be aired on ESPNU.
