"A rainy night in Georgia…Lord I believe it’s rainin’ all over the world."

47-44, Kentucky. Same song, different verse. Cold shooting and a rash of turnovers. When Megan nailed that three heading into the halftime locker room, you just had a feeling that the Lady Bulldogs were going to pull away in the second half. Instead, they were held to only 17 points in the final twenty minutes. Meanwhile, the ‘Cats were knocking down clutch three-pointers and intercepting a lot of passes. Tasha had 20 points despite being double and triple-teamed…but a team field-goal percentage of 28% is pretty much going to get you whooped in an SEC game against anybody. Not to take anything away from Kentucky, though…they made the big shots and the big stops. They gutted this one out.

Vandy’s in town this Sunday afternoon…so it doesn’t get any easier.

Click here for the official game recap with a link to the box score.

The Lady Bulldogs are ranked 17th in this week’s AP poll and 14th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. Both polls agree on your top-four teams this week:  1. Connecticut.  2. Tennessee.  3. North Carolina.  4. Rutgers.

Click here to see both the AP and ESPN/USA Today coaches’ polls for this week.

The curious case of women’s basketball at Kentucky. Of course, Kentucky is the flagship men’s powerhouse of the SEC…but the women’s program always seems like it’s just on the verge of joining the league’s upper echelon and, for whatever reason, it simply doesn’t happen. Next thing you know, they’re hiring a new coach and starting over. Curious. At any rate, the 10-10 Wildcats (4-2 in SEC play) will be in town Thursday night to take on the Lady Bulldogs.

Kentucky is led by their two-time All-SEC (second team) senior guard, Samantha Mahoney (14 PPG) while Angel and Tasha will have their hands full with the Wildcats’ 6-6 center, Sarah Elliott (11.1 PPG). Points have been hard to come by for the ‘Cats this season…they are the second-lowest scoring team in the conference and by far the poorest-shooting team. For the Lady Bulldogs, this game will be all about executing on offense and denying the entry pass down low. They’ll press early in hopes of forcing some turnovers. Look for Tasha to get plenty of early touches and as she puts last Sunday’s performance behind her with a vengeance.

Kentucky and Georgia will tip it off at 7:00 Thursday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Fox Sports will be back in town to televise the game all over the South. So dress purty…you might get on TV. If you can’t make it out to the Coliseum and you don’t get Fox Sports, of course Jeff and Mack will have all the action on your local Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network station.

Click here for the official Kentucky women’s basketball page.

Here’s a link to the Kentucky roster and individual player/coaching staff bios.

And their season-to-date statistics can be found by clicking here.

65-57, Sooners. If the halfs were only 15 minutes, rather than 20, this one would probably be in the "win" column for the Lady Bulldogs. Even with Tasha suffering through a 3-of-16 shooting day and Angel being hampered by foul trouble, Georgia was in this game right up until the closing minutes. Down by 10 at halftime, due in large part to a late run by Oklahoma, the Lady Bulldogs chipped away in the second half and closed the deficit to two points on several occasions. That big, tying shot or lead-giving three-pointer was elusive, however…and the Sooners hung on for the win.

One bright spot for Georgia was a breakout game for Christy Marshall, who played 31 minutes and scored 16 points. That kind of lift from the bench will be invaluable heading down the stretch in SEC play.

Next up: Kentucky…this Thursday night at Stegeman.

Click here for the official game recap with a link to the box score.

This nationally televised interconference showdown has a built-in hook. And you can be sure the ESPN2 announcers will be hyping it relentlessly from the opening of the broadcast: Tasha Humphrey vs. Courtney Paris. And, as is almost always the case in these superstar vs. superstar matchups, the game will probably come down to which star’s "supporting cast" steps up most effectively. The defensive attention Tasha draws will create open looks from the wing for Megan. If Megan knocks down a couple of early baseline jumpers, it could open things up down low for Tasha and Angel. OU will double-down on Tasha every time she gets a touch…so the guards will need to be thinking one pass ahead when the ball is kicked back out to them. The high/low two-man game that Georgia has been going to with Angel and Tasha on the floor together will be utilized with the intent of making Paris "D"-up with her back to the basket and keeping her from crashing the boards. Georgia has had OU’s number the last few years, going 3-0 against the Sooners. You better know that OU coach Sherri Coale will remind her locker room of that record shortly before tip-off. This should be a good, old-fashioned throwdown in the heartland.

Oklahoma is led by, of course, the phenomenal Courtney Paris. She’s averaging 16.3 points and 15.4 rebounds a game. She’s working on a streak of 77 consecutive double-double games (82 career double-doubles in 85 games). If there’s one glaring hole in her game, it’s her free-throw shooting. Paris only shoots around 56% from the line. If it’s close late and you need a possession, she’s the Sooner you want to foul. Courtney starts alongside her sister Ashley Paris, who averages a little over eleven points a game. With the Sooners’ average rebounding margin over their opponents being a staggering +16, it will take a hot shooting day for the Lady Bulldogs to prevail. All the pieces needed to succeed versus Oklahoma were in place down in Gainesville a couple nights ago. A repeat of that effort will give Georgia a big win on national television over a higher-ranked opponent.

Georgia and Oklahoma tip off at 5:00 PM tomorrow and the game will be shown live on ESPN2. If you like, you can turn down the sound on your TV and listen to Jeff and Mack call the action on your local Georgia Bulldog Network radio affiliate. Get ready…it’ll be like a little bit of March in January.

Click here for the official Oklahoma women’s basketball page.

Here’s a link to the Oklahoma roster and individual player bios.

And their season-to-date statistics can be found by clicking here.

Courtesy of Fastbreaker Brenda Rawson. Thanks, Brenda!

If you have pictures of anything even vaguely Club-related that you’d like to share with your fellow Fastbreakers, send them to m.holcomb@charter.net in .JPEG format. Pics from Club events, road trips, games…keep ‘em coming!

Are any of you Fastbreakers hitching up the surrey with the fringe on top and following the Lady Bulldogs out to Boomer Sooner Country this weekend? Where the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye? Feel free to use the comments section below to network and exchange travel info with other folks making the trek west. Wagons ho!

82-55, Georgia. Our Lady Bulldogs took it upon themselves to see to it that Andy’s 700th career win at Georgia was never, ever in doubt. Ashley and Tasha combined for 48 points (with 21 of Ashley’s points coming in the first half), Angel added ten points of her own and Jasmine pitched in with her most spirited and meaningful minutes of the season. Ultimately, their efforts ensured that the Georgia fans who made the trip to Gainesville spent the second half hooting and barking…while Gator fans either bailed for the exits early or wound up keeping a mournful eye on the game clock.

Remember that one-two Florida scoring threat from the game preview? Bowden and Dotson? Seven points each, combining to go 4-of-16 from the floor. It was indicative of a dismal shooting night for the Gators. They made only 30% of their shots…including an errant 3-of-15 team effort from three-point range. You shoot like that on a night when Georgia, as Andy put it in the post-game show, has "the hammer down" and…well…you end up getting smoked.

Andy is now 700-218 at Georgia and he’s only the third coach to win that many games at one school. When you take into account that most programs consider a 20-win season to be a great one, Andy’s win total breaks down into the equivalent of 35 20-win seasons. The best part? He’s not nearly done yet. The legend continues…

Next up…whooooa, mama…only a little road trip to Oklahoma this Sunday to square off with Courtney Paris and the Sooners on national television (ESPN2).

Click here for the official game recap with a link to the box score.

Our favorite three-point sharpshooting journalist, Angela Puleo, shares her thoughts on the recent struggles of the Lady Bulldogs on the road in the latest edition of Athens Outtakes. From here on out, we’ll be linking to Angela’s online journal, written for the Maryville Daily Times, at the official University of Georgia Athletic Department website.

Click here to read this week’s Athens Outtakes by Angela Puleo.

This just in from the UGA Sports Communications Office:

ATHENS, GA. — Georgiadogs.com, the official website of University of Georgia Athletics, today launched Tasha34.com, a site devoted to promoting women’s basketball player Tasha Humphrey for National Player of the Year and All-America honors.

The web site is the first UGA has produced exclusively to promote any student-athlete for national awards and includes biographical information, photos and an interactive email option to ask Humphrey questions.

Humphrey, a 6-3, forward from Gainesville, Ga., already is a three-time All-America, including a spot on the Kodak All-America team during her
sophomore campaign. She also is a three-time consensus first-team All-SEC performer.

Humphrey has led Georgia in points and rebounds during each of her first three seasons in Athens and already holds the school record for career free throws made. Humphrey also ranks No. 5 and No. 4 on the Lady Bulldogs’ career leaders ledgers for points and rebounds, respectively. During last Sunday’s win over Alabama, Humphrey became just the fifth Lady Bulldog to top 2,000 career points, and she is closing in on becoming the fourth player in Georgia history with 1,000 career rebounds.

(Photo courtesy of Georgia Sports Communications)

Click here to view the Tasha34.com website.