Georgia closes out home slate with win over Auburn

ATHENS – The University of Georgia women’s basketball team defeated the Auburn Tigers, 70-59, Thursday night for the final home game of the regular season at Stegeman Coliseum.

Diamond Battles recorded his fifth 20-point scoring performance of the season with 21 points and four assists. Brittney Smith followed closely behind with 19 points. Javyn Nicholson scored his second double-double of the season with 12 points and a team-high 10 points.

“The players that are here now are seniors, they’ve gotten opportunities for us and they’ve stayed,” Georgia head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said. “I had a few team meetings with him when I got here and just told him about my vision, what I saw in him as a player, how he would fit into our system and all of that to develop into the player I told him. How he would play. It was really It’s amazing. I wish I had more time to train them because I feel that everyone gets better in a short time.

Back-to-back Smith layups opened the first quarter for Georgia (20-9, 9-6 SEC) to build a five-point lead over the Tigers. A pair of blocked shots and an Auburn (14-13, 4-11 SEC) turnover gave Georgia’s offense life. Attacking the paint, the Lady Bulldogs scored 10 of their 13 first quarter points in the lock. Five Tiger points closed in on the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to close out the first frame, 13-9.

The Lady Bulldogs added a three-pointer from Battles to take the lead early in the second quarter and increase their lead to five, 16-11. The Tigers used a 7-2 run to knot the score at 20 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. Two lead changes and eight straight Lady Bulldog points gave Georgia a 28-25 lead at the half.

Six Auburn points in the paint had the Tigers trailing by two, 34-32. Free throws from Chloe Chapman, Battles and Nicholson extended Georgia’s lead to eight. A 12-4 run gave the Lady Bulldogs a 10-point lead, 48-38. A triple from Battles boosted Georgia ahead as Auburn tried, 54-43, heading into the final frame.

Short scoring run for the Lady Bulldogs gave Georgia a 12-point lead before four unanswered Tigers points Auburn trailing by eight. Auburn used a 9-4 scoring run to inch closer to Georgia’s lead, but free throws from Smith and Battles solidified the Lady Bulldogs’ 70-59 game-winning advantage.

Georgia will now travel to Columbia, SC to conclude the regular season play against the Gamecocks on Saturday, February 26 at 12 pm The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.