Olivia Sayer
As the buzzer sounded for halftime, a small crowd began to form a line at center court. Donning red and black clothing, members of Georgia’s 1999 Final Four team smiled for the cameras, reminiscing on their great accomplishments.
Georgia’s 1999 Final Four Team earned victories over Liberty, SMU, Clemson and Iowa State before falling to Duke in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. Led by former head coach and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Andy Landers, the group was one of five Georgia teams to make a Final Four appearance.
While the ceremony provided a trip down memory lane for many Bulldog fans, it also highlighted the current status of Georgia women’s basketball – who lost to Vanderbilt 61-55 Sunday afternoon in Stegeman Coliseum. It was the Bulldogs’ second-straight loss and ninth in their past 10 games.
In 1999, Georgia’s Final Four team was led by star-studded twins Kelly and Coco Miller. On Sunday, a different tandem of Bulldogs piloted the offense.
Junior De’Mauri Flournoy recorded a career-high 19 points against the Commodores, while fifth-year Javyn Nicholson earned another double-double. It was Flournoy’s seventh-straight game scoring in double digits, while Nicholson has done so in 23 of Georgia’s 24 matchups this season.
Georgia and Vanderbilt were in lockstep early, with a strong defensive performance giving Vanderbilt a 14-13 lead at the end of the opening period. Both teams were held to less than 40% on field goals, while the Bulldogs shot a mere 14.3% from beyond the arc in the first quarter.
The first points of the second quarter did not come until almost two minutes had run off the clock. An intercepted pass by junior Asia Avinger gave Nicholson the opportunity to toss the basketball through the rim, for a 15-14 Georgia lead.
A 6-0 run by the Commodores allowed for them to garner some control, until a layup by fifth-year Jordan Cole brought the Bulldogs within four. Nicholson trimmed Vanderbilt’s lead even further with a layup of her own, but an exchange of turnovers ended with Georgia trailing 26-21 at the buzzer.
Georgia paced Vanderbilt in the third, but the Bulldogs never made a play to seize the lead. Georgia utilized a pair of back-to-back 3’s to come within one, but the Commodores responded with an 8-1 run. At the start of the final quarter, Georgia trailed by six, 40-34.
The Bulldogs once again matched Vanderbilt in the fourth, as both teams scored 21 points in the final quarter. Unfortunately for Georgia, it was not enough to overcome the hole it had built, resulting in a 61-55 defeat.
When comparing Georgia’s current team with that of the 1998 season, there is a similarity with shots from beyond the arc. Neither team’s 3-point percentage pops off the statistics sheet. The Bulldogs of the 90’s finished the season shooting at 34.4% from downtown, while this year’s team currently sits at 27.3% on the season.
However, the results look to be headed in a different direction for this year’s team.
The 2023 season has been somewhat unexpected for the Bulldogs, as many projected them to finish in the upper-half of the SEC. Currently sitting at 11-13, the upcoming schedule does not get any easier for the Bulldogs.
Georgia next travels to South Carolina Feb. 18 to take on the top-ranked and undefeated Gamecocks. The popular ESPN show, College Gameday, will be in attendance, airing Sunday on ABC for the first time in program history.
South Carolina is widely regarded as a power house in women’s basketball, but the Gamecocks have taken their play to another level this season. On offense, South Carolina ranks third in scoring, only behind Iowa and LSU, and on the defensive side, the Gamecocks are ranked tenth in the NCAA, allowing an average of 54.3 points per game.