This just in from the UGA Sports Communications Office:

Lady Bulldog Basketball Expands To Statewide Radio Network

Athens — Radio broadcasts for Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball will
grow from a local Athens affiliate to the statewide Georgia Bulldog Network this season, rights-holder WSB and the UGA Athletic Association announced Friday. "I think any time you can expand your reach to the people around the state and the region it’s a very positive thing," head coach Andy Landers said. "I’m excited that more of our fans throughout Georgia will have the opportunity to hear Jeff Dantzler’s call."

"This is another important extension of the Georgia Bulldog Radio Network," said Charles Youngs, director of operations for WSB Radio Group. "The Georgia women’s basketball team is routinely ranked among the best in the land. Bulldog fans across the state will now be able to tune in and support the Lady Dogs." Athens’ WRFC AM 960 The Ref will serve as the local flagship station for the broadcasts. In addition, WCON AM 1450 (Cornelia) and WDUN AM 550 (Gainesville) also will carry every Lady Bulldog outing.

To date, the following stations have agreed to carry selected games: WRCG AM 1420 (Columbus); WCEH AM 610 (Hawkinsville); WIFO FM 105.5 (Jesup); WRGA AM 1470 (Rome); WWNS AM 1240 (Statesboro); WTGA AM 1590 (Thomaston); WPAX AM 1240 (Thomasville); and WVLD AM 1450 (Valdosta).

The Lady Bulldogs broadcast team will remain the same. Jeff Dantzler will serve as play-by-play announcer. He also is analyst for broadcasts of Georgia men¹s basketball and play-by-play announcer for Georgia Bulldog Baseball. Mack Poss, who has more than 30 years of coaching experience at the youth and school levels throughout Northeast Georgia, will be the broadcasts’ analyst.

Georgia opens the 2007-08 season three weeks from today on Friday, Nov. 9 against Richmond. The Lady Bulldogs will face the Spiders at Stegeman Coliseum at 6:30 p.m., with the Georgia men facing Jacksonville State that evening in the second game of a doubleheader. The Lady Bulldogs are a pre-season top-10 pick in virtually every poll released to date. Georgia will welcome back three starters and five additional letterwinners from last year’s team which posted a 27-7 record, finished as runner-up in the SEC and advanced to the "Sweet 16" round of the NCAA Tournament.

Landers, who was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame this summer, begins his 29th season in Athens 16 victories shy of his 700th win at Georgia and 34 "Ws" away from his 800th overall victory.

College Sports Television has the Lady Bulldogs ranked ninth in their preseason top-25. The network also chose Tasha Humphrey as a second-team preseason All-American.

Click here to see the rest of the CSTV top-25 and projected All-Americans.

Just bumping these two events back up to front-page status:

BUILD THE FASTBREAK CLUB GRAND TOUR

This is your chance to observe a Lady Bulldogs practice and tour the new Coliseum Practice Facility. Since this event is part of a membership drive, we’re asking everyone to bring along two prospective Fastbreak Club members as their "ticket" for admission.

Where: The Coliseum Training Center, 2nd floor, main hallway.

When: Sunday, November 4, 4:30 P.M.

Parking will be available in the Carlton Street parking deck. When you exit the parking deck on Smith Street, the new facility will be directly in front of you. Enter the building through the double doors and take the stairs or the elevator up the 2nd floor. The main hallway is through the doors at the top of the stairs.

FASTBREAK CLUB BUS TRIP TO THE AUBURN GAME

If you didn’t sign up for the Auburn bus trip (on January 13) at the preseason party, you still have time to reserve your seat…but you must act quickly. Only a handful of seats for the trip remain. E-mail Fastbreak Club travel committee chairperson Chris Horan at chrishoran@charter.net or give her a call at (706) 548-7167 to ask about availability. The cost for Fastbreak Club members is $20 per attendee and refreshments will be served on the bus.

It was last season’s most exciting and dramatic moment. Ashley Houts goes the length of the floor and hits the buzzer-beat to defeat LSU. This video is courtesy of Fastbreaker and Lady Bulldogs superfan Jermaine King, whose…uhhhh…unique camera work accurately captures the total pandemonium at Stegeman Coliseum that night. Enjoy!

Please note the new starting time for the Prairie View A&M game on Friday, November 23. Here is the complete, newly updated schedule:

This just in from the UGA Sports Communications office:

Bernadette Mattox Named Roane State’s Outstanding Alumna

Harriman, Tenn. — Bernadette Mattox, a former star women’s basketball player at the University of Georgia, has been named the 2007 Outstanding Alumna by Roane State Community College. Roane State is a regional two-year college in East Tennessee. Mattox began her college basketball career at Roane State as the former Bernadette Locke. She graduated in 1979 and followed her coach, Andy Landers, to the University of Georgia. Mattox became the Lady Bulldogs’ first player to earn All-American and Academic All-American honors. Although she played just two seasons at Georgia, Mattox still ranks among the program’s top 10 in career assists and steals.

“Bernadette set standards not only as a player but in the classroom that our players still strive to equal,” Lady Bulldog coach Andy Landers said. “In many ways, she’s the ‘first lady’ of Georgia Basketball. We’re very proud of what she accomplished at Roane, at Georgia and throughout her career.” Mattox stayed at Georgia, serving as an assistant coach under Landers beginning in 1985. She made NCAA history when she became the first female to serve as a Division I assistant for a men’s team, beginning a four-year stint under coach Rick Pitino at Kentucky in 1990.

Mattox was named an assistant athletics director at Kentucky in 1994. In 1995, Mattox became the first African-American to coach Kentucky women’s basketball. She led the program for eight seasons, including a 1998-99 campaign when the team recorded its first 20-win season and NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly a decade. In 2003, Mattox became an assistant coach with the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. The team has reached the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, including two trips to the WNBA Finals.

She lives in Lexington, Ky. with her husband, Vince, and son, Vincent.

(Photo courtesy of Georgia Sports Communications)

The Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Sports Illustrated.com are reporting that Atlanta has been awarded a WNBA expansion franchise set to begin play next season. No word on a coach or team name yet…but the new team will play in Atlanta at Philips Arena. An official announcement is expected on Wednesday.

Read all the available details at SI.com by clicking here.

If any Atlanta team officials happen to be reading this…you know, Tasha Humphrey would make a pretty good number-one draft pick. She’d sell some tickets and be a solid foundation to build a team around. Tasha’s a franchise waiting to happen.

Just a suggestion…

If you’re fired up for the season opener (three weeks, three days, and counting…) and in the mood to do a little online scouting, here are some Richmond Spiders links:

The official University of Richmond women’s basketball page.

A profile of Richmond’s head coach, our good friend Michael Shafer.

The 2007-08 Richmond Spiders team roster. 

And their statistics from last season.    

We all know there’s not enough women’s college basketball coverage in the local media. Sure, TV gets a little better every year, but…going online is still your best bet for finding in-depth WCB news.

Here are some of the best WCB links on the Web:

The college basketball page at Women’s Basketball Online.

The women’s basketball index at ESPN.com.

And the one at CNN/Sports Illustrated.com.

The women’s basketball page at NCAA Sports.com.

And the one at SEC Sports.com.

The women’s basketball page at CBS Sports.

And the one at FOX Sports.

Women’s Basketball Cup of Coffee – Tons of WCB links.

If there’s a link you’d like to share, let us know and we’ll put it up.

Learn the true story behind her nickname! Lots of cool pictures…