With a top-four SEC Tournament seeding (and the first-round bye that goes with it) now a mathematical impossibility, the Lady Bulldogs head into tomorrow afternoon’s game against Arkansas looking to establish some positive momentum for what they hope will be a four-games-in-four-days run to a championship next week in Duluth. To do that, they’ll have to beat the Lady ‘Backs for the second time in six weeks. The first game, played in Fayetteville, was a Lady Bulldog blowout until Arkansas managed to put together a run during “garbage time” that cut Georgia’s final margin of victory to ten points. The rematch tomorrow is the last home game of the season…so every Fastbreaker within an easy drive is expected to show up and show some love. It’s been a memorable season…and hopefully it’s not even close to over.

With tomorrow being the last home game of the season, that means it will be the last game in Stegeman Coliseum for our senior players and team support personnel. Senior players Ashley Houts, Angel Robinson, and Christy Marshall, along with senior managers Renae Bracken and Chase White will be honored in a pre-game ceremony and, immediately after the game, they will be the guests of honor at the annual Fastbreak Club Senior Social. You can find all the details about the Senior Social by clicking on the link below. We look forward to seeing you there as we say goodbye…for now…to these five outstanding ambassadors for Lady Bulldog basketball.

Georgia and Arkansas are set for a 2:00 PM (Eastern) tip-off tomorrow afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum. You can watch the game live on the SEC Network (check your local listings for channel) and, as always, Jeff and Maria will also be calling the action live on your local Georgia Bulldog Radio Network affiliate station We’ll have a game recap, web links, and exclusive photos from both the Georgia/Arkansas game and the Senior Social posted right here sometime tomorrow evening.

Coming Monday: A look at the SEC Tournament bracket and information about Georgia’s yet-to-be determined first-round opponent, tip-off times, and ticket information. Hang on tight, Fastbreakers…March Madness is almost upon us.

Click here for the official Georgia/Arkansas game notes.

Here’s a link to the official Arkansas women’s basketball page.

Click here to see the entire Lady Razorback roster.

Click here for details about tomorrow’s Fastbreak Club Senior Social.

Georgia – 65, South Carolina – 49. The Surge is underway. Tonight, the Lady Bulldogs looked like a team that’s ready to reacquire its early-season swagger. They went into Columbia tonight and just flat-out rolled up on the Gamecocks by a score of 65-49 and avenged a loss in Athens to Carolina earlier this month.

Ashley Houts tonight? Spectacular. 21 points. 7-of-7 from the field, including going 3-for-3 from three-point land. Porsha had another double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. J.J. added 15 in a relatively balanced scoring effort by the Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Dawgs hit half of their shots from the field (23-of-46) while pressuring the Gamecocks into a tepid 19-of-56 shooting performance. Simply put…when this team is knocking down shots and dictating the pace of the game on defense, they win games. It’s been a frustrating last few weeks in the Lady Bulldog Nation…but Georgia may be getting hot at just the right time. March Madness lurks around the corner.

But first, we’ve got to say goodbye to Angel, Ash, and Christy, our phenomenal seniors. Senior Day is this Sunday when Georgia clashes with Arkansas at the Coliseum. We’ll have a Georgia/Arkansas preview posted right here sometime during the day on Saturday.

Click here for the official Georgia/South Carolina recap and a link to the stats and box score.

This just in from the Southeastern Conference news service:

ATLANTA (Feb. 25, 2010) – The Atlanta Tipoff Club today announced the 30 midseason candidates for the 2010 Women’s Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is represented by four student-athletes.  Georgia’s Ashley Houts (pictured), LSU’s Allison Hightower, Ole Miss’ Bianca Thomas and Tennessee’s Shekinna Stricklen all made the list.

The list was voted on by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists from around the country. The board based its criteria on player performances this season.

The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T is the most prestigious national basketball award and is given annually to the women’s college basketball player of the year. This year, the award will be presented at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.

Beginning March 22, AT&T wireless customers – and sports fans on other wireless networks – will be able to text their votes for the player of their choice.  Fans will be eligible to cast their vote for the winner until 11:59 PM EDT on Saturday, April 3, 2010. AT&T is making the voting open to other wireless carriers, allowing even more fans to participate. Other wireless carriers must opt-in for their subscribers to participate. Standard messaging rates apply.

SEC Players
Ashley Houts, Georgia
Allison Hightower, LSU
Bianca Thomas, Ole Miss
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee

(Ash photo courtesy of Fastbreaker Bill Zachmann.)

As is almost always the case, the coaches voting in the ESPN/USA Today poll once again rubber-stamped the rankings from the AP poll. The top five teams are identical and both polls have the Lady Bulldog clinging to a ranking at #24. The climb back up begins tonight in South Carolina. I say we run the table on these last two games, go deep in the SEC Tournament, get a great seed for The Big Dance, and shock the nation before the end of March. Who’s with me?

Here’s this week’s ESPN/USA Today top 25 and Georgia’s ranking:

1. Connecticut

2. Stanford

3. Nebraska

4. Tennessee

5. Xavier

24. GEORGIA

Click here to see the entire ESPN/USA Today top 25.

They’re barely hanging in there by the skin of their teeth…but the Lady Bulldogs are still nationally ranked despite their current run of not-so-positive results on the scoreboard. (Was that diplomatic enough?) With some upsets in the top five last week, our old friend/nemesis Xavier assumes a spot among the top teams in the land. Here’s this week’s AP top five and Georgia’s ranking:

1. Connecticut

2. Stanford

3. Nebraska

4. Tennessee

5. Xavier

24. GEORGIA

Click here to see the entire AP top 25.

Since time is tight and we’re just now back up and running, please enjoy this game preview from a very special guest, Lady Bulldog Superfan and Fastbreaking News editor…The Man With The Big Bark himself… Jermaine King. (Yes, I have shamelessly copied-and-pasted his Facebook game preview…thanks, buddy!)

While the Georgia Men will be in Nashville taking on the Vanderbilt Commodores, the #24 Georgia Lady Bulldogs will be in beautiful Columbia, South Carolina to take on the South Carolina Lady Gamecocks. This will be the second meeting between the Lady Dogs and Lady Gamecocks with the Gamecocks winning in Athens 52-42 (on Feb. 7th).

South Carolina (13-13, 6-8 SEC) enters tonight’s contest on a 3 game losing streak, with losses to Miss. St., Arkansas and Kentucky. Fijian super guard Valerie Nainima leads the Lady Gamecocks in scoring, averaging 17 ppg. South Carolina is 7-4 at home this season and the Lady Dogs have a 12-2 record in games played in Colonial Life Arena.

“It’s extremely important that we finish the season strong,” Coach Landers said. “We’ve got to get back to competing at the highest level. In all honestly, I think we’ve slipped a little bit that regard. It would be great to go on the road and get a win over a team that defeated us in Athens and carry that over as we come back home for the final game. Then we could go into the Southeastern Conference Tournament with some momentum.” (georgiadogs.com)

What: #24 Georgia Lady Bulldogs vs. South Carolina
When: Tonight @ 7 PM (Eastern)
Where: Columbia, South Carolina (Colonial Life Arena)
How: Radio (AM 960-The Ref), Internet (audio) (georgiadogs.com GXtra Gametracker).

We’ll have a Georgia/SC game recap and web links posted here sometime late tonight. I promise!

Click here for the official Georgia/South Carolina game notes.

Here’s a link to the official South Carolina women’s basketball page.

Click here to see the entire Gamecock roster.

Here at your official Fastbreak Club Weblog Headquarters, there has been a perfect storm of unexpected housekeeping issues and technical glitches (that are now, thankfully, resolved) conspiring to confound my most earnest attempts at keeping this site updated in the timely fashion to which all you Fastbreakers are accustomed. That said, we’re back up and running here now. The weekly polls and a Georgia/South Carolina preview will be up sometime this afternoon (Thursday). Thanks for your patience!

Florida – 64, Georgia -57. Porsha led all Lady Bulldog scorers with 14 points while also grabbing a dozen boards for the double-double. Ashley scored 12 points and Jasmine Hassell added another 11. What’s really bad is that we didn’t even get to see the best part of the game, Georgia jumping out to a 7-0 lead, because of the Michigan State/Ohio State game on ESPN2 going to overtime. By the time the Georgia/Florida game was picked up in-progress, Florida had taken a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Lady Dawgs, to their credit, did make a late 16-6 run to cut the Gator lead to four points with 29 seconds left in the game…but it was too little, too late as Georgia, attempting to pull within a basket, turned the ball over and that was pretty much your game. Around the SEC, Mississippi State and Ole Miss both lost, enabling Florida to pull into a four-way tie with the two Mississippi teams and Georgia at 7-7 and fifth place in the league standings. If LSU loses to Tennessee tomorrow night, that logjam will expand to a five-way tie. I’d be up until 2:00 AM trying to figure out all of the head-to-head competition advantages and other tiebreakers in a five-way tie situation. The Lady Bulldogs just need to take care of their own business…run the table on these last two games versus South Carolina and Arkansas…and then wait and see how it all shakes out. We’ll probably be scoreboard-watching during the Senior Social next Sunday afternoon to learn who will get that coveted top-four SEC finish and a bye in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

As mentioned earlier, a rematch with South Carolina in Columbia next Thursday night looms extremely large for our Lady Bulldogs. We’ll have a Georgia/South Carolina preview posted here sometime during the day on Wednesday. We’ll also have the latest poll rankings posted on Monday and Tuesday. The news does not figure to be great for Georgia. But the objective never changes…win the next game and go from there.

Click here for the official Georgia/Florida recap and a link to the stats and box score.

NOTE: This item originally ran here a few weeks ago. It’s being “bumped” back to the top part of the page for enhanced visibility. Please take the time to click the link below the post and support Ashley for this honor.

Ashley Houts (pictured) is one of ten finalists in the running for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award. This annual honor recognizes student-athletes who best uphold the award’s four columns of Classroom, Community, Character, and Competition. Now if the name “Ashley Houts” doesn’t immediately pop into your head whenever you reflect on any of those four columns, then you haven’t been watching very much Lady Bulldog basketball for the last four seasons. Voting for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award is divided among three sets of electors: Women’s college basketball media figures, the nation’s coaches, and…most importantly, fans who cast their vote either online or by text message. That’s where all of you come in…

Let’s get this honor for Ash. Think of how many times she’s popped right back up after taking a bruising charge. Think of the clutch shots late in the game (like “The Shot” versus LSU). Think of how unfailingly charming and polite she’s been every time you’ve had the occasion to speak to her. Let’s do this…let’s get this honor for Ash.

Click here to be taken to the voting page for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award.

It’s very, very difficult to beat the same team twice in one season in the SEC. But that’s exactly what our Lady Bulldogs will attempt to do tomorrow evening in Gainesville when they return from their bye-week hiatus to ‘rassle with the Gators down in Gainesville. The last time these two teams hooked up, last month at Stegeman Coliseum, the Lady Dawgs made the Gators their sixteen consecutive victim, capping off the finest start in the program’s history (16-0). Since then, Florida has defeated Ole Miss, Mississippi State and South Carolina (all with wins over the Lady Bulldogs this season) and given Tennessee a good scrap before losing by a basket (66-64). The Gators have lost four of their last five, however, and this is a game Georgia needs badly with the SEC Tournament just around the corner. Throw in the fact that Georgia/Florida is one of the all-time great SEC rivalries and you’ve got everything in place for a classic late-season showdown.

Georgia and Florida will tip-off tomorrow evening at 5:00 PM (Eastern) in Gainesville. The game will be nationally televised by ESPN2 and can be heard on your local Georgia Bulldog Radio Network affiliate station. We’ll have a Georgia/Florida recap and game links posted here sometime late tomorrow night.

Click here for the official Georgia/Florida game notes.

Here’s a link to the official Florida women’s basketball page.

Click here to see the entire Lady Gator roster.