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Lady Dogs rout Rebels

An explosive first-half scoring performance by lone senior Caliya Robinson pushed the Georgia women’s basketball team past Ole Miss, 78-56, on Monday night in Stegeman Coliseum.

Robinson scored 14 of Georgia’s 24 first-quarter points, marking a season-high scoring production by a Lady Bulldog in a single quarter. The senior forward went on to score 18 points in the first 20 minutes to tie a season-best in points scored in a half. Robinson shot 10-for-12 from the field, 2-for-2 from behind the arc and 2-for-3 at the free-throw line. She finished the game as the team’s leading scorer with 24 points, marking Robinson’s fifth 20-point game this season.

Sophomore Maya Caldwell scored a season-high 15 points. In addition, Caldwell and Robinson grabbed five boards apiece, while redshirt junior Taja Cole recorded her fourth game with 10-plus assists.

Georgia improves to 15-10 overall and 6-6 in the SEC.

“We are at a point where we are peaking at the right time,” Georgia head coach Joni Taylor said. "I think we have a more mature understanding of who we are as a team and what we need to do, versus where we were at the beginning of the year. There can be no letdowns for us in terms of the position we’re in, trying to claw our way back into fighting position in the SEC race and also to get into the NCAA tournament. I think our team understands that now, and we’ve had really good focus in practice and have been able to put some good games together."

Robinson’s scoring streak began with a 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the game. From there, the Marietta, Georgia, native scored back-to-back baskets to tie the score twice, 6-6 and 8-8, respectively. Ole Miss kept pace, eventually grabbing what would be the Rebels’ only lead of the game (8-6). However, a jumper by Caldwell regained a two-point Georgia advantage. Robinson then pushed Georgia’s lead to 20-10 by scoring three-straight baskets, upping her scoring total to 14 points. The Lady Bulldogs scored two more baskets to take them into the second quarter up 24-13.

The Lady Dogs continued to build on their lead in the second period. Sophomore Que Morrison pushed Georgia’s double-digit lead to 15 with a three-point basket with under two minutes to go in the first half. Morrison then finalized the first half with a shot at the buzzer to send Georgia into halftime leading Ole Miss, 41-24.

Back-to-back baskets by Caldwell sparked the start of the second half for the Lady Bulldogs, giving them a 45-26 lead over the Rebels. Cole then scored a layup to grab a 21-point advantage for Georgia over Ole Miss. Though the Rebels were able to knock the deficit back down to 19, Caldwell knocked down another set of back-to-back shots to make the score 51-28. Georgia maintained a 20-point lead over the Rebels the remainder of the third period.

To start the fourth, Georgia held a 60-37 lead. Though Ole Miss cut Georgia’s lead to 17 in the final 10 minutes, the Rebels failed to narrow the deficit any further. A 3-pointer by junior Ari Henderson highlighted the last three minutes of the fourth, helping to seal Georgia’s victory against Ole Miss.

Up next, the Lady Dogs return to Stegeman Coliseum this Thursday night to host the Arkansas Razorbacks at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.

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