Lady Dogs come up short in Columbia

Georgia Lady Bulldog sophomore guard Que Morrison hit a running layup to tie the game at 53-53 in the fourth quarter, but the South Carolina Gamecocks pushed past the Lady Bulldogs in the final minutes for the 65-57 final Thursday evening at Colonial Life Arena.

Georgia was plagued by a free-throw discrepancy that featured a 9-of-11 mark for the Lady Bulldogs compared to a 21-of-26 clip for the Gamecocks. Georgia also shot 39 percent from the floor, including just five made field goals in the fourth quarter.

“Like I told our team, an ugly win is a win, but a good loss still counts as a loss,” head coach Joni Taylor said. “We missed so many open shots and sent them to the free-throw line 26 times. This was a night we thought we could capitalize and we did not. It’s very disappointing.”

A 9-0 run midway through the first quarter put the Gamecocks up 11-7 in the early going. South Carolina led by as many as eight, but thanks to a Que Morrison 3-pointer, the Lady Bulldogs were close — 19-14 — at the end of the first frame.

Jenna Staiti scored five-straight points to open the second period, but baskets by Alexis Jennings and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan kept the Gamecocks in control at 26-21 with 4:26 remaining before the half.

Georgia held the Gamecocks without a field goal over the final four minutes as South Carolina led, 29-25, at the break. Gabby Connally and Staiti led the Lady Bulldogs with five points a piece in the first 20 minutes.

The Gamecocks outscored the Lady Bulldogs 7-2 to open the second half, but an and-one by Taja Cole and two buckets from Staiti helped Georgia cut the nine-point lead to just four at 42-38. South Carolina hit its next four shots and led 53-46 going into the fourth quarter.

Back-to-back field goals by Cole and a running layup by Morrison tied the game at 53-all with just under seven minutes to go in the game.

Georgia went cold and could not hit shots the rest of the way as South Carolina held on for the win.

Next up, Georgia returns home to face Ole Miss on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.