The Lady Dogs sport a 22-9 record and are ranked No. 24 in this week’s edition of the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

Georgia is led by senior All-Amercian Tasha Humphrey, who is averaging 16.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Humphrey, who earlier this week became just the third player in league history to be named first-team All-SEC by both league coaches and media on four occasions, also is on pace to become just the second Lady Bulldog to lead Georgia in scoring and rebounding for four straight seasons.

In addition, second-team All-SEC Ashley Houts also averages double figures in the scoring column at 11.8 points per game and leads Georgia in both assists (4.6 apg) and steals (2.7 spg).

The Hawkeyes are 21-10 on the year and finished tied atop the Big Ten standings with Ohio State at 13-5.

Iowa sports a balanced attack with a trio of double-digit scorers. Kristi Smith paces the Hawkeyes on the offensive end with 13.2 points per game, while Wendy Ausdemore and Johanna Solverson chip in 11.5 and 10.4 points, respectively.

Date: Sunday, March 23, 2008, 2:30 p.m.
Location: Constant Convocation Center; Norfolk, Va.
TV: ESPN; Radio: Lady Bulldog Radio Network

Keeping an eye on...

Entering the Iowa game:

Tasha Humphrey is...
• Should tie No. 7 Coco Miller among UGA’s career leaders for career starts against Iowa
• 401 points shy of No. 1 Janet Harris among UGA’s career leaders
• 104 rebounds shy of No. 3 Wanda Holloway among UGA’s career leaders
•9 FTs from No. 8 Chamique Holdsclaw of Tennessee among the SEC’s career leaders

Megan Darrah is...
• Should tie co-No. 6s Sherill Baker, Kelly Miller and Janet Harris among UGA’s career leaders for games played against Iowa
• 1 points from No. 28 Saudia Roundtree among UGA’s career scoring leaders
• 16 3-pt. FGs from No. 5 Rachel Powell among UGA’s career leaders
• 11 3-pt. FG attempts from No. 4 Kelly Miller among UGA’s career leaders

Angel Robinson is...
• 6 blocks from No. 10 La'Keshia Frett among UGA’s career leaders

Lady Bulldogs against the “Norfolk pod”

Among the other three squads in Georgia’s portion of the Norfolk bracket, the Lady Bulldogs are 2-2 against Iowa and 5-0 versus North Carolina but have never faced Bucknell.

Georgia last met Iowa in the early portion of the 1995-96 season. Those Lady Bulldogs eventually finished as 1996 NCAA runners-up. No. 10 Georgia used a 26-6 first-half run and never looked back en route to topping the No. 11 Hawkeyes, 79-52, in the semifinals of the Carolinas Beach Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Kedra Holland scored 15 points and current Lady Bulldog assistant coach added 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead UGA.

Iowa won the only previous meeting between the two schools in NCAA play. The third-seeded Hawkeyes upset second-seeded Georgia, 62-60, in the “Sweet 16” of the 1987 Midwest Regional in Ruston, La. Of note, that contest ended the collegiate career of Georgia’s Katrina McClain, the National Player of the Year that season.

Georgia’s quintet of victories over the Tar Heels includes a couple of NCAA wins.

The Lady Bulldogs secured their first-ever “March Madness” victory with a 72-70 win over North Carolina in Athens on March 19, 1983. Georgia went on to secure its first Final Four bid...right here in Norfolk at The Scope, where freshman Teresa Edwards-led UGA lost to freshman Cheryl Miller-led Southern Cal.

In addition, the Lady Dogs topped North Carolina, 83-57, in the “Sweet 16” round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament at the West Regional in Portland, Ore.

Lady Bulldogs sport rich NCAA history

The NCAA Tournament resumes of both Georgia Basketball and Andy Landers match up against with the very best in women’s basketball.

We’re not sure which is more impressive: the rankings among national leaders in various categories that the Lady Bulldogs and Landers sport or their literal percentages of participation within the various rounds of 27 years of NCAA Tournament competition. You be the judge.

Georgia inched up to the No. 2 spot in NCAA bids this season when Louisiana Tech failed to make the field, and the Lady Bulldogs also rank No. 4 in wins, No. 3 in “Sweet 16s,” No. 5 in “Elite Eights” and No. 5 in Final Fours.

Individually, Landers is No. 2 bids, No. 4 in wins, No. 2 in “Sweet 16s,” No. 5 in “Elite Eights” and No. 4 in Final Fours.

All told, the Lady Bulldogs – all under Landers – have reached 25 of 27 NCAA Tournaments (92.6 percent) and have made the most of those bids. Georgia has reached in 17 of 26 “Sweet 16s” (65.4 percent), 10 of 26 “Elite Eights” (38.5 percent) and five of 26 Final Fours (19.2 percent).

“Probably not unlike many of the other teams that have experienced success in tournament play, we’re a team that has had the ability to focus,” Landers said. “We’ve had the ability to through the years to block out distractions and what else might be going on in the tournament that will have absolutely no effect on Georgia. To stay with the old cliché ‘One game at a time’ has probably served our program very well.”

Make it 14 straight NCAAs for Lady Bulldogs

Georgia has now received bids to each of the last 14 NCAA Tournaments (since the 1994-95 Final Four season) and also have gone on to reach Regional competition in five straight editions of the “Big Dance.”

During that span, the Lady Bulldogs have:
• Advanced to 10 “Sweet 16s” (1995, ’96, ’97, ’99, ’00, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06 and ’07);
• Advanced to six “Elite Eights” (1995, ’96, ’97, ’99, ’00 and ’04);
• Advanced to three Final Fours (1995, ’96 and ’99);
• Finished as 1996 NCAA runner-up;
• Compiled a 31-13 (.705) record in NCAA Tournament games.

Humphrey among UGA’s best in the “Big Dance”

Junior Tasha Humphrey already has cemented her name alongside the greatest players in the illustrious history of Lady Bulldog Basketball.
For all her stats – she’s No. 2 in career scoring and No. 4 in rebounds in UGA annals – and accolades – “T-Hump” is one of only three four-time consensus first-team All-SEC picks in league history – Humphrey has shined brightest on the biggest stage as outlined below.

Humphrey makes SEC history as four-time first-teamer

Tasha Humphrey joined Georgia’s Kelly Miller and Mississippi State’s LaToya Thomas as the only four-time consensus first-team All-SEC performers when the Associated Press announced its league honors on March 17.

Humphrey has been a first-team All-SEC pick of both league coaches and the AP during each of her four seasons in Athens. Coaches have chosen a squad since 1982 and Humphrey is one of nine four-time first-team honorees, joining Janet Harris and Kelly Miller of Georgia; Eugenia Conner of Ole Miss; Vicki Orr of Auburn; Bridgette Gordon, Chamique Holdsclaw and Kara Lawson of Tennessee; and LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State.

Since the Associated Press began its post-season selections in 1997, Humphrey, Miller and Thomas are the only members on the aforementioned ledger to earn a spot on the news service’s first-team units four straight seasons.

Houts logging major PT

At this point, Ashley Houts may a problem finding the bench.

In the Lady Bulldogs’ past 12 contests, Houts has taken a seat just four times – when she fouled out with 26.2 seconds left at LSU, for the final three minutes of a blowout win over Florida, for the last 4.9 seconds of the first half at South Carolina and for a little over a minute versus Alabama in the opening round of the SEC Tournament.

The Georgia single-season record for average minutes – keeping in mind that is a statistic first tracked during the 1982-83 season – is 36.7 by Sherill Baker as a senior in 2005-06 as outlined below.

Houts has played every minute of 14 games this season, including all 45 of an overtime victory against Florida State and in eight of 14 regular-season SEC games.

Houts leads the SEC in minutes played at 36.61 per game – 1.61 minutes per game more than any other player. In conference games, that average jumped to 39.14 minutes per game – the league’s most by an even wider margin of 1.85 minutes per game.

Houts’ average of minutes played in conference games ranks third nationally as outlined below. For those of you wondering...and you all should be...Tiffany Hill of St. Francis played all 50 minutes of a double-overtime game to push her average over the theoretical maximum for minutes played.

Landers eighth to 700 four-year “Ws”, third to do so at one place

Georgia’s 82-55 victory at Florida on Jan. 24 represented Andy Landers’ 700th win as the Lady Bulldogs’ head coach.

Landers became the eighth coach to post 700 wins at four-year institutions and reached that milestone at the fourth-fastest pace as outlined below.
Landers is just the third coach to record 700 wins at a single school. He and Pat Summitt are the only two coaches on the ledger to never have a losing season.

Our take on Landers’ “career” Ws

Most reports about Andy Landers’ 700th victory at Georgia over Florida referred to the accomplishment being his “overall” and/or “career” win total.
That’s not quite accurate. Georgia politely disagrees with the NCAA on what constitutes Landers’ career complete coaching record.

Prior to UGA, Landers compiled an 82-21 record in four seasons at Roane State, a junior college in Harriman, Tenn. The NCAA does not recognize those wins because they were not earned at a four-year institution. During Landers’ tenure at Roane, more than a third of his victories – 33 or 40.2 percent to be exact – came against four-year schools. In fact, Roane was 33-1 vs. four-year schools under Landers.

Georgia includes Landers’ Roane State record and, therefore, lists his collegiate record as 788-245. Landers is 12 victories away from likely becoming the fourth coach to secure 800 wins, joining Pat Summitt, Jody Conradt and C. Vivian Stringer.

Lady Dogs secure 29th straight winning season

Somewhat lost in the shuffle Florida victory was the fact that by securing their 16th win, the Lady Dogs also locked up a 29th consecutive winning campaign under Andy Landers.

Landers’ individual streak of 29 straight winning seasons is the second longest in Division I wbb history. Georgia is one of only four schools to post a winning record in all 26 seasons since women’s hoops came under the auspices of the NCAA with the 1981-82 campaign. FYI, Louisiana Tech, Tennessee and Wisconsin-Green Bay are the other three.

UGA secures 20 wins once again

Georgia’s 68-56 victory over Auburn on Feb. 24 provided the Lady Bulldogs with their 24th 20-win campaign during Andy Landers’ 29 seasons as head coach.

“T-Hump” passes Kelly, Katrina

Tasha Humphrey moved past two of the greatest names in Lady Bulldog history on Feb. 24. With a 22-point effort against Auburn, Humphrey supplanted Kelly Miller and Katrina McCain to take over the No. 2 position among Georgia’s career scoring leaders as outlined below.

Humphrey, who began the season at No. 9 among UGA’s scoring leaders, became the Lady Bulldogs’ fifth 2,000-point scorer during a 25-point outburst against Alabama on Jan. 20.

“T-Hump” fourth to 1,000 boards

Tasha Humphrey became the fourth Lady Bulldog with 1,000 career rebounds during a 32-point, 11-rebound outing against Florida on Feb. 14 as outlined below, but her career average is lower than all three players ahead of her.
Humphrey began the season at the No. 10 on the rebounding ledger.

Lady Dogs give away points in droves

After racing to a 13-0 start – the second-best opening in the Lady Bulldogs history – Georgia was just 9-9 during the remainder of the season.
Turnovers have played a major role during that stretch which began with the initial setback of the season at Xavier on Jan. 6.

In Georgia’s last 18 games, the Lady Dogs have committed 307 TOs which have resulted in 295 points on the other end. That equates to Georgia miscues directly leading to 27.3 percent of the opponents’ offensive scoring output during the stretch as outlined below.

Georgia has had only four games during that span in which the Lady Bulldogs had more assists than turnovers. Georgia opened SEC play with a 14 assist vs. 10 TO outing against Ole Miss, dished out 19 assists to 15 turnovers at Arkansas, had 17 assists to 13 TOs versus Florida in Athens and recorded 13 assists to nine turnovers against Alabama in the SEC Tournament.

During the 13-game winning streak to open the season, Georgia handed out 212 assists to just 214 turnovers. Since then, the Lady Dogs’ 307 TOs greatly outnumbers their 224 assists (a 0.73 assist-to-TO ratio).

Puleo joins Freshman All-SEC teammates

Angela Puleo was named to the Freshman All-SEC team selected by league coaches, becoming the 25th Lady Dog to secure that honor since the SEC began selecting that squad in 1987. Puleo is one of sixth current Lady Bulldogs on that ledger along with Megan Darrah, Ashley Houts, Tasha Humphrey, Christy Marshall and Angel Robinson.

Georgia’s magic number pops up in seven outings

The Lady Bulldogs are 7-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points, upping Georgia’s astronomical winning percentage under Andy Landers when they put up that many points to 414-7. That equates to a success rate of .9834123222275 over the past 28-plus seasons.

Somewhat interestingly – at least we hope you think it’s interesting since it took quite a while to dig the information up – is the fact that the Lady Bulldogs are just 28-8 (.778) when they score exactly 79 points, with half of those loses being by three points or less.

Georgia did manage to defeat Davidson on Dec. 9 despite scoring 79 points.

Marshall’s contributions up significantly of late

Christy Marshall has seven double-digit scoring performances this season. Four of those have come in the last seven games.

During Georgia’s first 24 games, Marshall averaged 5.2 points and connected on 33.3 percent of her field goal attempts. In the Lady Bulldogs’ last seven outings, she has averaged 10.7 points and hit 45.5 percent of her shots from the floor.

Marshall is Lady Bulldogs’ “big game hunter”

Marshall seems to have an eye for the significant game. All told, she has served as the Lady Bulldogs’ leading scorer in six of 62 games played at Georgia. Those were:

• At No. 6 LSU last season;
• Versus No. 4 Tennessee last season in Athens;
• Versus Belmont in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament;
• At No. 11 Oklahoma this season;
• Versus No. 3 Tennessee in Athens this season; and
• Versus Alabama in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

Seniors celebrated prior to tip-off; Humphrey honors Rowsey
Megan Darrah, Tasha Humphrey and Rebecca Rowsey were honored in pre-game ceremonies prior to the regular-season finale against Tennessee.
Each player has definitely made their mark on Lady Bulldog Basketball.

Darrah became Georgia’s 29th 1,000-point scorer at South Carolina on Feb. 28 and also ranks among the Lady Dogs’ top-10 leaders in games played.
Humphrey ranks No. 2 and No. 4 among Georgia’s career scoring and rebounding leaders, respectively, and should become just the second player to lead the Lady Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding for four consecutive seasons.

Rowsey started 63 of her first 100 games played at UGA but her career ended prematurely earlier this season due to a knee injury. Rowsey sports better than a 3.7 GPA and already has been accepted to start classes at the University of Tennessee’s Medical School in Memphis this fall.

Humphrey then took the honoring even further by wearing Rowsey’s No. 50 jersey during the contest. She kept the tribute a secret before revealing the jersey change just prior to player introductions.

Equally impressive, in May, Darrah will receive her degree in Management, Humphrey will receive her degree in Sports Studies and Rowsey will receive her degree in Biology. The trio will up the graduation rate of Lady Bulldog four-year letterwinners under Andy Landers to 96.2 percent (51 of 53).

Lady Bulldogs on outside looking in AP poll

Georgia fell out of the Associated Press poll following the Lady Bulldogs loss to Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. That’s an oddity for Georgia.

Though the Lady Dogs have been left out of three polls this season, they still have been in 429 of 480 (89.4) weekly editions of the AP poll since women’s basketball came under the auspices of the NCAA with the start of the 1981-82 season. In fact, Georgia has been ranked in the top 10 in 251 (52.3) of the polls during that span.

Georgia dropped out of the AP polls on Feb. 11 after a 63-57 loss at LSU. That snapped a streak of 98 consecutive weeks of being ranked dating back to Jan. 13, 2003. The Lady Bulldogs returned to the poll the following week and remained there for three weeks before slipping out of the rankings once again.

Humphrey named SEC Player of the Week

Tasha Humphrey was tabbed SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 25, a day after she posted game-high tallies of 22 points, 14 rebounds and four assists against Auburn.

Humphrey equaled her season-best totals for rebounds and assists in Georgia’s only game of the previous week. She sealed the win with consecutive field goals at the 2:08 and 1:25 marks in the contest after Auburn had trimmed a 21-point lead with 9:07 left down to six points.

Humphrey has now been named SEC Player of the Week eight times during her career, the most by any Georgia player and one shy of the league record shared by Sylvia Fowles of LSU, Candace Parker of Tennessee and Armintie Price of Ole Miss.

Puleo earns SEC honor

Angela Puleo was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Feb. 18 after averaging 17.0 points in wins over Florida and Mississippi State. Puleo’s scoring average in those contests was three points higher than her single-game career-high mark entering that week’s action.

Puleo poured in a career-best 18 points versus Florida. She equaled her previous career-high – 14 points against Mercer – in the first half alone.
At Mississippi State, Puleo scored a game-high 16 points, the first time in her collegiate career that she has led the Lady Bulldogs offensively. She scored 13 second-half points and knocked down the game-winning field goal with 1:36 remaining.

Plenty of tube time the rest of the way

After having just one of their first 16 games televised – vs. Georgia Tech on CSS – nine of the Lady Dogs’ final regular-season dates aired on TV, as will every post-season game.

In addition to ESPN2’s telecast of the final regular-season game against Tennessee, the network also showed previous matchups at LSU and Oklahomd. FSN televised the Alabama, Kentucky and South Carolina games. CSS showed matchups with Vanderbilt on Jan. 17, Florida on Feb. 14 and Auburn on Feb. 24.

Rowsey’s career comes to premature end

Rebecca Rowsey, a fifth-year senior, will miss the remainder of the 2007-08 season due to complications from a pre-existing knee injury, Andy Landers announced on Feb. 12.

Rowsey, who missed the entire 2005-06 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee during pre-season, underwent a successful corrective procedure on Feb. 14 to relieve a chondral defect (deteriorating cartilage) in the same knee.

Rowsey was a regular in Georgia’s starting lineup during much of her career in Athens. She started 63 of her first 100 games played as a Lady Bulldog but saw her playing time decrease this season due to injury.

Perhaps Rowsey’s most memorable performance was in Georgia’s 70-68 victory over Texas in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. She played a career-high 38 minutes, scoring eight points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking a career-high four shots, including All-American Tiffany Jackson’s attempt to tie the game with 12 seconds left.

Rowsey has been a standout off the court as well. She sports better than a 3.7 GPA and is a member of UGA’s prestigious Honors Program. Rowsey will begin classes this fall at the University of Tennessee’s Medical School in Memphis. She is a three-time member of the SEC’s Community Service Team for women’s basketball. In addition to numerous local volunteer projects, Rowsey has spent part of the past two summers taking part in religious and medical mission trips to Costa Rica and Panama.

“Think Pink” hits home for Lady Bulldogs

Georgia took part in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s“Think Pink” initiative by wearing pink uniforms and having a “pink out” for the Florida game.

Prior to tip-off, Ann Smith, Andy Landers’ administrative assistant and a breast cancer survivor, was named an honorary coach for the contest. Smith was presented a pink No. 2 Lady Bulldog jersey, the same number she wore as a high school basketball player.

“Think Pink” is a global, unified effort spearheaded by the WBCA and coaches nationwide to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The WBCA announced that some 1,100 participating schools took part in the 2008 “Think Pink” initiative.

Lady Bulldogs prevent negative history

Georgia’s victory over Arkansas on Feb. 7 prevented what would have been the first four-game losing streak in Andy Landers 29 seasons in Athens. In fact, the Lady Dogs have endured just five three-game losing streaks on Landers’ watch.

Prior to the Arkansas win, the Lady Dogs had lost successively to Oklahoma, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. In addition to that string, the Lady Bulldogs dropped three straight during mid-January of the 2003-04 campaign, in the first three outings of the 1991-92 season, with the last two regular-season contests and in the opening round of the 1989 SEC Tournament and during the latter stages of the 1979-80 season.

tasha34.com takes Humphrey’s case to the world wide web

Georgiadogs.com, the official website of University of Georgia Athletics, launched tasha34.com, a site devoted to promoting Tasha Humphrey for National Player of the Year and All-America honors, on Jan. 23.

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

Humphrey already is a three-time All-America, including a spot on the Kodak All-America team during her sophomore campaign. She also is a four-time consensus first-team All-SEC performer, one of just three players to do so.

Humphrey makes history at the line...twice

Tasha Humphrey has broken the Lady Bulldog career records for both free throw makes and takes this season. Both marks were previously held by 1987 National Player of the Year Katrina McClain.

Humphrey connected on her first FT attempt at the 11:21 mark of the first half at Auburn on Jan. 13 to secure her 450th successful trip to the line. She actually tied McClain’s tally when she hit both ends of a one-and-one with 4:55 left in the Ole Miss on Jan. 10.

Humphrey then topped McClain’s tally of 616 free throw chances at Arkansas on Feb. 7.

Georgia endures a losing record in January

The Lady Bulldogs’ Jan. 31 loss to Kentucky was UK’s first win in Athens since 1994 and dropped Georgia to 4-5 for the month of January. That represents just the third time in the last 29 seasons that the Lady Dogs have finished a month under .500.

Georgia posted a 4-6 record during January 2002. The Lady Bulldogs dropped their first three games of 1991-92 to finish November 0-3.

Celebrating birthdays with honors

Tasha Humphrey and Ashley Houts took securing birthday presents – in the form or all-tourney trophies – into their own hands at the FIU Fun & Sun Classic.

Humphrey celebrated her 22nd birthday on Dec. 29 with what was then a season-high 22 points against Florida State.

Houts returned the following evening – a day before her 20th birthday – to pour in a career-high 24 points against Florida International in the championship game.

Houts was named the Fun & Sun Classic’s MVP, and Humphrey also earned a spot on the all-tourney squad.

Robinson dominates boards versus Noles

Angel Robinson’s 18 rebounds against Florida State on Dec. 29 weren’t only a career high they helped her secure a position in Lady Bulldog annals.

Robinson’s tally equaled the 10th-best single-game effort in Georgia history and also represented the most boards by a Lady Bulldog since Tiffany Walker also hauled in 18 against S.C. State on Feb. 23, 1994.

International debut goes well

Georgia played it first-ever international contests at the Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas over Thanksgiving.

Previously, the Lady Bulldogs traveled off the continental U.S. mainland three times – for the Rainbow Wahine Classics in Honolulu in Nov. 1992 and Nov. 2004 and for the Northern Lights Invitational in Anchorage in Dec. 1996. Georgia compiled a 5-3 record in those trips, going 0-2 in Hawaii in 1992, 3-0 in Alaska in 1996 and 2-1 in Hawaii in 2004.

Puleo joins freshman starters

Angela Puleo got the nod for the opener against Richmond to join a long list of impressive first-year players who have started during Andy Landers’ 29 seasons in Athens.

Puleo became the 61st freshman to start a game for Landers at UGA and the 21st to do so in her collegiate debut.

Six current Lady Bulldogs – Megan Darrah, Ashley Houts, Tasha Humphrey, Christy Marshall, Angel Robinson and Rebecca Rowsey – are among the list of freshman starters. Houts and Humphrey are among the 21 freshmen to start their first collegiate contest.

Landers celebrated on cups

The achievements of Andy Landers were highlighted on souvenir cups sold at concession stands during Lady Bulldog games at Stegeman Coliseum this season. The collectable cups came with purchases of 32-ounce beverages for $4.