What a night tonight…the Braves opener, UConn and Kentucky, and…of course…Georgia vs. California for a trip to the Final Four. Hope you’ve got your popcorn handy and fresh batteries for the remote. Here’s a quick update before things get crazy:

FASTBREAK CLUB VIEWING PARTY AT BUFFALO’S: If you’re looking to burn a little late-night oil watching the Lady Bulldogs tonight, Buffalo’s in Athens (196 Alps Road) is the place to do it. Once more, your Fastbreaking friends will be taking over one of the TV rooms and cheering the Lady Dawgs into the Final Four while slamming some of the best casual dining fare in town. The game starts at around 9:40…so get there early if you want to eat before the game. (And, as usual, all food and drinks are on your dime…we provide you with the room, TV, and outstanding company.)

Click here to watch ESPN’s post-game commentary and highlights (on YouTube) of the Georgia/Stanford game. (Posted by Jermaine King.)

A look at how Georgia and California got to tonight’s game. (Again, courtesy of ESPN.)

Finally…one more ESPN link…a nice piece about Andy by Mechele Voepel.

Enjoy tonight’s game! And check back here late tonight for more updates.

So, yeah…that actually happened last night. You may have to poke around on your favorite sports website to find where they bury women’s basketball news…or wait for a later edition of the newspaper…but it happened…our Lady Bulldogs knocked off number-one-seeded Stanford and now stand 40 minutes and a win over second-seeded California away from a trip to the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans. It’s a good thing Andy told the ladies to pack for two weeks. Turns out they’re going to need every pair of clean socks.

Here’s the official Georgia/Stanford game recap, courtesy of Georgiadogs.com:

SPOKANE, Wash. – Jasmine Hassell scored six of her 13 points in the final 3 minutes and fourth-seeded Georgia beat top-seeded Stanford 61-59 on Saturday night to reach the NCAA women’s regional finals for the first time since 2004.

Georgia overcame three major scoring droughts, including falling behind 9-0, to oust the No. 1 seed from the Spokane Regional and end Stanford’s hopes of reaching the Final Four for the sixth straight year.

Jasmine James led Georgia (28-6) with 16 points, including a pair of free throws with 23.5 seconds left that gave the Lady Bulldogs a 60-56 lead. It’s the 11th trip to the regional finals for coach Andy Landers in his long tenure at Georgia.

Chiney Ogwumike led Stanford (33-3) with 26 points, but was held to eight points in the second half. She also had 12 rebounds.

Tiaria Griffin scored 13 points, and Shacobia Barbee added nine as the Lady Bulldogs turned in another superb defensive effort to stymie Stanford and ruin any hopes of a Pac-12 showdown with No. 2 seed California in the regional final.

Georgia will play for a trip to the Final Four on Monday night against either the Golden Bears or No. 6 seed LSU. Georgia has not made the Final Four since 1999. Georgia reached the round of 16 in 2005-07 and 2010-11, only to get ousted at that stage each time, including a 73-36 loss to Stanford in 2010.

Amber Orrange added 17 points for Stanford, but was only 7 of 24 from the field. The Cardinal shot 29 percent in the second half and struggled to find open looks for Ogwumike, who was dominant with 18 points in the first half. Ogwumike simply didn’t have enough of a supporting cast. Second-leading scorer Joslyn Tinkle struggled with foul trouble in the first half and went more than 35 minutes of game time without scoring. She finished with five points.

Georgia overcame a 5-minute scoreless drought to start the game, another 5 minutes with just two free throws late in the first half and another 7-minute lapse in the second half with just one basket that allowed Stanford to build a 42-34 lead with 11:50 remaining.

Still, the Lady Bulldogs were hanging around because Stanford made just 3 of 20 shots to start the second half. Georgia scored eight straight points, capped by a basket from Hassell to pull even at 42 with 8 minutes left.

The lead then went back and forth over the closing minutes with neither team leading by more than four points. Orrange dropped in a 16-footer for a 50-46 Stanford lead with 4:22 remaining, before Georgia’s closing surge.

Barbee converted a three-point play and after Ogwumike followed Orrange’s miss with a basket,Anne Marie Armstrong knocked down a 3-pointer for a 52-all tie. Orrange hit a 3, but Hassell hit consecutive shots and Georgia was back in front 56-55 with 1:45 left.

Mikaela Ruef missed in close twice and was fouled on the third attempt with 1:21 left. Ruef, a 53 percent free throw shooter on the season, split the pair for the fifth tie of the game, but Hassell answered right away for Georgia for a 58-56 lead with 1:02 left. Tinkle then lost control of a pass underneath. Georgia ran the clock before Griffin missed a 3. Barbee got the offensive rebound and James was fouled with 23.5 seconds left. She hit the pair for a four-point lead.

Stanford struggled to get a good look, but Tinkle finally hit a 3 with 5.1 seconds left. Georgia threw long to James on the inbound pass and the Lady Bulldogs were able to run off all but the final 0.8 seconds before Barbee was fouled. She split her free throws for the final margin and Georgia ran off the floor celebrating the upset.

So…as this glorious and exhilarating ride continues, here are the details on Monday’s game:

NCAA TOURNAMENT (SPOKANE REGIONAL FINAL) APRIL 1, 2013

Spokane Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Spokane, Washington

#2 CALIFORNIA VS. #4 GEORGIA (9:40 PM EASTERN)

THE GAME CAN BE SEEN LIVE ON ESPN OR ONLINE AT ESPN3.COM

With this huge win, Georgia is back on the national media map in a big way. Tonight and tomorrow, we’ll be posting links to a few national articles about last night’s game. So stop on by!

Yep…we’re still dancin’! More details and updates tomorrow!

Fear not, your official Fastbreak Club Web Dude has not forsaken you. Since the site was last updated, there has been…of course…a thrilling second-round victory over Iowa State…a game that was a national coming-out party for Cobie Barbee and one that our seniors simply refused to lose, sending our Lady Bulldogs off once again into the NCAA “Sweet Sixteen.” Unfortunately, there’s also been problems getting the website’s software transferred over to my new laptop and, on a personal note, a several-day case of whatever multi-symptom tummy bug that seems to be going around. However, I’m hereby pronouncing myself fit as a ferret…and with the new computer up and running, let’s move forward and look ahead to Saturday night’s showdown with our old nemesis…number-one seeded Stanford. Here are your particulars:

NCAA TOURNAMENT (SPOKANE REGIONAL) MARCH 30, 2013

Spokane Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Spokane, Washington (All times Eastern)

#1 STANFORD VS. #4 GEORGIA (9:00 PM)

#2 CALIFORNIA VS. #6 LSU (11:30 PM)

BOTH GAMES CAN BE SEEN LIVE ON ESPN2 OR ONLINE AT ESPN3.COM

You can make a pretty good argument that Stanford is Georgia’s most notable all-time non-SEC rival. These two teams have met in the regular season. They’ve met in every round of the NCAA Tournament except the championship game. This one should be a slobberknocker.

We’ll have move Georgia/Stanford updates in the next couple of days. So…get ready!

An overflow crowd of Fastbreakers took over one of the back rooms and the bar at Buffalo’s in Athens tonight to watch our Lady Bulldogs roll up on Montana in opening-round NCAA Tournament action. The Lady Dawgs now go on to play Iowa State Monday night for a trip to the “Sweet Sixteen.”

Here’s the official Georgia/Montana game recap, courtesy of Georgiadogs.com:

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Georgia women’s basketball team used a 70-50 win over Big Sky champion Montana Friday night to move on to the second round of the NCAA Championships at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.

The fourth-seeded Lady Bulldogs (26-6) got 16 points from senior Jasmine Hassell, while classmate Jasmine James added 11 points and four assists. Freshman Shacobia Barbee had 13 points to go along with seven rebounds. Montana (24-8) was led by Torry Hill’s 11 points, which include 3-for-8 shooting from three-point range.

"The idea was to come out and really put a lot of pressure on them," said head coach Andy Landers, who tonight won his 53^rd NCAA Tournament game in 30 trips. "We made passing and catching extremely difficult and eventually were able to break them down after they made things close. I thought Jasmine Hassell was terrific, but I thought a lot of people were terrific. We got a lot of productivity off the bench. This was a great team win."

The Lady Bulldogs started the game on a 15-4 run over the first six minutes, a stretch that included nine points from the rookie Barbee. After Georgia had built an 11-point lead at 28-17 with 2:27 remaining before halftime, Montana used a pair of threes from Hill to cut the Lady Griz deficit to seven, 32-25, at the intermission.

Montana quickly continued cutting into the Lady Bulldog advantage after the break, and pulled to within just two, at 33-31, with less than three minutes gone by in the second frame. It was again a two-point game, this time at 38-36 in Georgia’s favor with 15:54 on the clock, before the Lady Bulldogs embarked on a 26-11 run over the next 10 minutes to pull away. The streak was capped by a long-ranger for James that made it 59-42 with 5:55 remaining.

The Lady Dogs took their largest lead of the game to that point at 18, 61-43, on a Hassell lay-up, before going up by 20 for the first time at 65-45 when Barbee grabbed a steal and converted on the lay-up with 2:53 to play. A three from senior Danielle Bennett gave Georgia a 22-point lead at 70-48 with under a minute to go, and the Lady Bulldogs ultimately came away with the 70-50 decision to punch their ticket to Monday’s second round match-up.

Georgia’s bench finished the day with 19 points, including an eight-point output from sophomore Erika Ford in 16 minutes of action.

Here are the details for Monday night’s second-round showdown.

NCAA TOURNAMENT (SECOND ROUND), MARCH 25, 2013

McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington

#4 GEORGIA VS. #5 IOWA STATE (9:30 PM, EASTERN)

THE GAME CAN BE SEEN LIVE ON ESPN2 OR ONLINE AT ESPN3.COM

Once again, the road to the Final Four starts off heading West for our Lady Bulldogs. Georgia was awarded the number-four seed in the Spokane Region (headlined by number-one seeded Stanford) and they’ll head to Washington to take on thirteenth-seeded Montana this Saturday night. That game will be the nightcap of the first-round doubleheader…the session tips off with fifth-seeded Iowa State taking on the twelve-seed Gonzaga on the Zags’ home court. The winners of those two games will meet on Monday night (March 25…at 9:30 PM Eastern) with a berth in the “Sweet Sixteen” on the line. It’s a daunting, lengthy, and expensive trip out to Washington for Fastbreakers and the rest of the Lady Bulldog Nation. And the prospect of taking on either Iowa State or a very tough (and probably under-seeded) Gonzaga team at home is…again…daunting. Still…this is March. No path to the Final Four is easy. The Lady Bulldogs have returned from out West with freshly-cut nets around their necks more than once. Nothing to it but to go out and do it.

NCAA TOURNAMENT (FIRST ROUND), MARCH 23, 2013

McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington (All times Eastern)

#5 IOWA STATE VS. #12 GONZAGA (4:00 PM)

#4 GEORGIA VS. #13 MONTANA (around 6:45 PM)

BOTH GAMES CAN BE SEEN LIVE ON ESPN2 OR ONLINE AT ESPN3.COM

All-session tickets for the Spokane Subregional are $37 for adults and $25 for students. You can order them online by clicking the link below or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT. If you need additional ticket information, just call the UGA Athletic Association ticket office at 1-877-542-1231. (NOTE: The Gonzaga website states that “no promise of (seat) location is made or implied” to ticket buyers. Still, if you get an actual person on the phone, it probably wouldn’t hurt to mention that you’d like to sit in the Georgia section if one exists.)

Click here to order Spokane Subregional tickets online.

This just in (well…it was in last week, actually…like I said, we’re playing catch-up ball here while we wait for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show)…from the UGA Sports Communications office:

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia seniors Jasmine Hassell and Jasmine James were named first- and second-team All-SEC, respectively, in balloting of coaches released by the league office on Tuesday. In addition, Shacobia Barbee was named to both the SEC’s All-Freshman and All-Defensive teams.
Hassell, a 6-2 forward from Lebanon, Tenn., leads Georgia and ranks among SEC leaders in scoring (15th at 12.6 ppg), rebounding (15th at 6.3 rpg) and field goal percentage (2nd at .532). She also paces Georgia in double-digit scoring games (20), double-figure rebound efforts (five), 20-point games (four) and double-doubles (five).

"Jas has had a great year," head coach Andy Landers said. "I would have been disappointed if she had not earned first-team all-conference honors. She’s had that kind of impact in the league this year. She’s been tremendous offensively, defensively and in every way. She’s played like a seasoned, skilled veteran."

James, a 5-9 guard from Memphis, Tenn., averages 11.0 ppg, which ranks 28th among league leaders. In addition, she ranks No. 5 in steals (2.5 spg), No. 9 in assist-to-TO ratio (1.4) and No. 11 in assists (3.8 apg). James is currently No. 20 among the Lady Bulldogs’ career scoring leaders (1,368 points) and ranks No. 8 in steals (258) and No. 9 in both assists (409) and games started (117).

"I don’t think J.J. gets enough credit for all the things that she does that go unnoticed," Landers said. "She does a lot of things that a lot of people don’t want to do. She takes charges and sacrifices herself defensively. She’s a great assist person and a terrific playmaker. She’s an excellent leader. She’s earned the respect of the coaches throughout our league over the past four years."

Barbee, a 5-10 guard/forward from Murfreesboro, Tenn., became the 70th (of now 72) freshmen to start for the Lady Bulldogs under Andy Landers. Barbee has started 28 of 29 games and leads the team in steals and ranks second in both assists and rebounds. Overall, she is averaging 6.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg, with five double-digit scoring games, two double-figure rebound outputs and a double-double at Arkansas.

"I’m not surprised that Shacobia is on the all-freshman team," Landers said. "She’s been a huge part, an important part of what our basketball team has been able to do this season. That coaches around the league have recognized her efforts defensively even though she’s a freshman is really spectacular and a great compliment to her and her unselfish ways."

First of all…congratulations to Gary Blair and his Texas A&M Aggies for winning the 2013 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament. You come into this league and win the conference tournament your very first year? That’s laying down a card. And to do it by beating Vandy, Tennessee, and Kentucky on consecutive nights? Nothing but respect from this corner. Welcome to the SEC, Aggies.

On the other hand, a tough way to go out for our Lady Bulldogs. I know you all saw it…so there’s no need to cry too much over the spilled milk or even go into lengthy detail. Georgia just couldn’t knock down a shot in the second half. And it seemed like every time the Lady Dawgs clanked one, Kentucky hit the boards and streaked the other way for a three. Just not a good night.

But, as all you Fastbreakers well know, nothing’s over yet. Now we wait a week for the NCAA Women’s Tournament Selection Show to find out Georgia’s seed and where/whom they’ll be playing. So…just in case you somehow haven’t seen it yet…here’s the official Georgia/Kentucky game recap, courtesy of Georgiadogs.com:

DULUTH, Ga. — No. 7 Kentucky outscored No. 12 Georgia 41-14 in the second half en route to a 60-38 win over the Lady Bulldogs in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Saturday evening.

Georgia led 27-20 following a Jasmine Hassell layup to open the second half scoring, but watched as a 15-0 Kentucky surge more than erased that advantage.

Hassell led Georgia (25-6) with 17 points and nine rebounds. DeNeesha Stallworth’s game-high 18 points paced Kentucky (27-4).

"We expected full-court defense. We got that," head coach Andy Landers said. ‘We expected good man-to-man defense. We got that. Kentucky did a very good job with those things. Defensively, I thought the first half we were where we wanted to be. They probably got what they expected. But the second half, obviously, was disappointing. It started on the offensive end with turnovers, which led to some transitions and quick loss of possession. We were on defense. Bam, we give up a three. We’re on defense again and we give up another three. All of sudden, you look up and it seemed like in three or four trips the leads gone and I think we’re down by six. From there, we strayed from where we wanted to be defensively. We strayed from where we were in the first half defensively and we paid for it. From that point on, it wasn’t a lot of fun."

In the first half, Kentucky used a 9-0 run covering a span of 3:39 to gain the game’s first meaningful lead, a 12-5 edge with 11:26 left in the half. Krista Donald ended the surge with a putback at the 10:57 mark.

Though the Lady Bulldogs didn’t hit another field goal for the next 6:57, four free throws from Hassell helped Georgia cut the margin to 14-11. Back-to-back buckets by Hassell, followed by a three from Khaalidah Miller, put the Lady Bulldogs up 18-16.

Georgia scored the final four points of the half on a Jasmine James layup and two free throws from Marjorie Butler to gain its largest lead of the period, 24-19, at the intermission. A day after scoring 11 first-half points against LSU, Hassell put up 13 in the opening 20 minutes against the Wildcats by connecting on 4-of-6 shots from the floor and converting 5-of-6 trips to the line.

Hassell opened the second-half scoring before Jennifer O’Neill scored five points in a 7-0 run covering 1:52 that tied the score at 26-26 and forced a Georgia timeout.
Kentucky’s run eventually supplied a 34-26 lead before James banked in a free throw line jumper with 13:58 remaining. The Lady Bulldogs were within 45-36 with 7:33 left but the Wildcats closed out the contest on a 15-2 surge.

Georgia will now await an at-large bid the NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be announced a week from Monday, on March 18, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Lady Bulldogs have received invitations to 30 of the 32 editions of "March Madness" administered by the NCAA, the second most of any school in the nation. Georgia’s NCAA résumé features 19 "Sweet 16" appearances, 10 "Elite Eight" advancements, five Final Fours and a pair of NCAA runner-up finishes.

Your official Fastbreak Club website will be using the upcoming week to play some catch-up ball with some backlogged content that needs to be posted. In the next few days we’ll have information about upcoming Fastbreak Club events, All-SEC team news, and plenty of photos from Senior Day and the SEC Tournament. So check back here every once in a while as we wait to punch our ticket for The Big Dance.

First of all…how sensational did the Lady Dawgs look last night? From up in the cheap seats, it looked every bit like Georgia’s finest performance of the season. Absolutely dominant. Secondly…all sincere apologies for no Georgia/LSU game photos this morning. We’ve had some family events come up today that will compress our traveling schedule a good bit…so I simply haven’t had time to process the 150-or-so pictures from last night’s tournament action. If I can cobble together an hour sometime before we leave for Duluth today, I’ll try to get a few of them posted. If not, look for a separate photo gallery of Friday-night action sometime during the day tomorrow.

But that was great stuff last night. As you’ll see once my pictures are up, there was a sizable and enthusiastic turnout from the Lady Bulldog Nation at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. I have to give a special shout-out to the fans with the giant cut-out Lady Dawg heads that they were waving around. Georgia certainly gave them plenty to cheer about. Here’s the official recap of last night’s big win over LSU, courtesy of Georgiadogs.com:

DULUTH, Ga. — All five starters reached double figures in the scoring column as No. 12 Georgia defeated No. 22 LSU, 71-53, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Friday night. The Lady Bulldogs will now face No. 7 Kentucky in Saturday’s semifinals at approximately 6:00 p.m.

Jasmine Hassell scored 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor to pace Georgia (25-5). Tiaria Griffin added 15 points (on five three-pointers), Anne Marie Armstrong scored 12, Shacobia Barbee added 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and Jasmine James contributed 10 points.

"I’ve had a really good feeling about them all week," head coach Andy Landers said of his team. "They’ve listened and prepared for this. I was very pleased with the way we started and continued throughout the entire game. It was impressive."

Adrienne Webb scored 16 points to lead LSU (20-11).

The Lady Bulldogs started quickly, with back-to-back threes from Griffin and James giving Georgia a 6-0 lead less than two minutes in. That margin grew to double digits for the first time on a Hassell jumper at the 12:59 mark that made it 15-5. Georgia pushed its advantage to the largest margin of the opening period when consecutive layups by Merritt Hempe and Hassell put the Lady Bulldogs up 29-15.

Georgia held a 14-point edge at 32-18 before LSU scored six straight in a span of 1:14 to pull within eight. The Lady Bulldogs answered with a 8-3 run before Plaisance closed the scoring on a buzzer-beating three.

Hassell and James both reached double digits before halftime, leading the way with 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the opening 20 minutes. That marked Hassell’s team-leading 21st double-figure performance of the season and James’ 19th.

The Lady Bulldogs opened the second stanza much like the first, scoring the first five points of the period to gain their largest lead to that point, 45-30. The margin topped out at 28 points at 69-41 on a Barbee three-point play with 5:06 left.

So…here’s your schedule for today’s SEC Tournament semifinal games:

Saturday, March 9 (All Times Eastern)

Game 10 – #1 Tennessee vs. #4 Texas A&M (4:00 PM)

Game 11 – #2 Kentucky vs. #3 GEORGIA (6:00 PM)

Both games can be seen live on ESPNU. (Check local listings for channel.)

The top four seeds squaring off…that’s as good as it gets. You usually don’t see that many nationally ranked teams playing in the same building on the same night until you get to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. If there’s any way…at all…you can make it down to Duluth this evening, you owe it to yourself not just as a Fastbreaker, but as an NCAA women’s basketball supporter, to be there. Ticket prices are reasonable, the parking’s free, the atmosphere is totally off-the-hook, and the intensity is going to be…well…intense. See you there!

Opening-round SEC Tournament action is in the books and now all eyes are on our own Lady Bulldogs as they take the court in Duluth tomorrow night. No huge surprises so far…Alabama rolled up on Mississippi State on Wednesday night…Florida got past Arkansas in a good game this afternoon…then Carolina routed the Tide to end ‘Bama’s season…the evening session tipped off with Vandy beating Missouri…and LSU just got done holding off a furious comeback attempt by Auburn, earning the right to face the Lady Dawgs in tomorrow night’s second game.

So here’s what shaking tomorrow at the Arena at Gwinnett Center:

Friday, March 8 (All Times Eastern)

Game 6 – #1 Tennessee vs. #9 Florida (12:00 PM)

Game 7 – #4 Texas A&M vs. #5 South Carolina (2:30 PM)

Game 8 – #2 Kentucky vs. #7 Vanderbilt (6:00 PM)

Game 9 – #3 GEORGIA vs. #6 LSU (8:30 PM)

Your official Fastbreak Club Web Dude will be on the scene tomorrow night, camera (as always) at the ready. It’s a long, late-night drive back to Winterville…so the site won’t be updated tomorrow night. But we’ll have all of Friday’s particulars…including a game recap, web links, and exclusive Georgia/LSU photos…posted right here Saturday morning. See you in Duluth, Fastbreakers!

Click here for a complete guide to the 2013 SEC Tournament (including printable brackets).