No. 6 Georgia 93, Lipscomb 42
Georgia coach Andy Landers was ready to turn his Lady Bulldogs loose on an opponent after 12 straight days of practices.
As expected, there wasn't any rust to shake off.
Jasmine James and Tiaria Griffin scored 18 points apiece to lead No. 6 Georgia to a 93-42 rout of Lipscomb on Sunday.
''We practiced every day in the gym,'' said Griffin, a freshman. ''We have been working hard.''
Georgia (11-0) hadn't played a game since Dec. 4 because of exams.
''I was not worried about rust at all,'' said James. ''Coach has done a real good job of putting us in game situations and letting us scrimmage. I never thought we would come out rusty.''
Freshman Shacobia Barbee added a career-best 13 points and eight rebounds for Georgia. Through 11 games, Barbee is the team leader in steals (30) and assists (30) and second in rebounding (58).
''We were excited to get back out there,'' said Anne Marie Armstrong, who had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. ''There is still some stuff we can work on, like our on-the-ball defense and guarding the shooters. We forced 33 turnovers, and our defense continues to be our strength.''
Hannah Phillips led outmanned Lipscomb (1-7) with 11 points.
Georgia dominated in all aspects and never trailed. The Lady Dogs controlled the boards 46-30 and forced 33 turnovers. Lipscomb had seven 3-pointers compared to six for Georgia, the Lady Bisons' only statistical edge.
Georgia scored the first 14 points of the game and never looked back.
''We played hard and did some nice things,'' said Landers. ''We created some havoc on defense, but at the same time we broke down some. But you can't deny that at times we are pretty good and really get after it. Everybody is playing hard and with a purpose. We may not always accomplish that purpose.''
Lipscomb went 11 minutes without a field goal at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second.
''I think we were exposed a bit today,'' said Lipscomb coach Greg Brown. ''Whenever you play teams this good that are bigger, faster and stronger, it creates difficult situations. Weaknesses that you have are magnified. Fortunately for us, we don't play in the Southeastern Conference.''
Georgia seemed on the verge of reaching 100 points, but slowed the pace at the end. The biggest lead of the game was 92-36 after Barbee went back door for a layup.
The 11-0 start is the sixth-best in Georgia's history. The current seniors were on the squad that started 16-0 in 2009-10, the school's all-time best start.
''I think this team knows that if we continue to work together that we can be special,'' said Landers. ''I don't think they know how special, nor do I. That is not important. The important piece is what we can correct now and how we can get better in practice.''
Lipscomb's Brown was also impressed by what he saw.
''We played close halves with Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Texas A&M,'' he said, ''so we have shown ourselves that we can compete at a high level. I have seen a lot of teams as a coach, and this Georgia team is a great one.''