The Sports Inquirer

Release from Georgia Athletics:

Shacobia Barbee, Mackenzie Engram and Tiaria Griffin scored 12 points apiece to lead No. 19 Georgia to a 68-49 victory over Mercer (4-3) on Thursday night.

The Lady Bulldogs opened up a double-digit lead midway through the first half, pushed that margin to 20 points prior to halftime and cruised through the second stanza. Georgia’s lead topped out at 53-27 with 13:58 left in the game.

Eleven different Georgia players contributed points for Georgia, which became the first women’s team in the nation to reach the 9-0 mark this season.

“Defensively, we were good,” Andy Landers said. “We were able to create offense off of defense, but we were also able to execute in the half court, which was good to see because we struggled that a couple of nights ago. I thought we were good in all phases offensively and defensively. We rebounded the ball well. We ran the floor well. We did a good job with the scouting piece. Everything was solid tonight.”

Georgia shot 46.8 from the field, largely due to leading scorers Barbee, Engram and Griffin combining to connect on 16-of-21 field goal attempts.

Barbee opened the scoring with a jumper 57 seconds into the contest and Georgia never trailed. The Lady Bulldogs pushed their lead to 23-11 with an 8-0 scoring spurt covering just 2:52. Erika Ford opened and closed the run with a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a Engram layup.

Mercer closed the gap to 23-16 before Georgia quickly expanded the margin to 20. Six different Lady Bulldogs scored in a 15-2 run that made it 38-18 with 2:56 left in the opening half.

The Lady Bulldogs will return to Athens to take on No. 16 Michigan State this Sunday at 4 p.m.

Game Notes
•       Georgia improves to 20-2 overall, including a 9-5 mark in Macon
•       Georgia used the same starting five for the ninth time in as many games this season, with Shacobia Barbee (69th career start), Merritt Hempe (44th career start), Krista Donald (42nd career start), Tiaria Griffin (32nd career start) and Marjorie Butler (14th career start) getting the nod.
•       Shacobia Barbee finished with 12 points, her seventh double-digit output of the season and 35th of her career.
•       Tiaria Griffin finished with 12 points, her sixth double-figure performance of the season and 29th of her career.
•       Mackenzie Engram finished with 12 points, her fourth double-digit game of the season and her career.
•       Shacobia Barbee gathered a season-high six steals in just 20 minutes of playing time.

The Lady Bulldogs will return to Athens to take on No. 16 Michigan State this Sunday at 4 p.m.