No. 3 Georgia holds off No. 14 Mercer

Caylia Robinson scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and freshman Gabby Connally hit a big 3-pointer in the final minutes to help No. 4-seed Georgia hold off No. 13-seed Mercer, 68-63, Saturday in the opening round of the women’s NCAA Tournament at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.

The Bulldogs snapped the Bears’ 27-game win streak and advanced to host No. 5-seed Duke on Monday in the second round of the Albany Region.

The two Georgia schools met in mid-November, with the Bulldogs winning 72-54. Saturday’s rematch was much closer.

Georgia was leading by one with three minutes to play, before Connally hit the Bulldogs’ only 3-pointer of the game. Robinson followed with a jumper inside the paint, and Connally and Mackenzie Engram made free throws in the final minute to seal the win for the Bulldogs.

Engram finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Connally scored all six of her points in the final three minutes.

Kahila Lawrence, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, scored 23 points for the Bears (30-3), who were making their first NCAA Tournament appearance.

After a tight first half, Georgia opened the third quarter with a 9-1 run, featuring a three-point play from Robinson and a pair of free throws from Que Morrison that pushed the lead to 43-32 with seven minutes to play in the third quarter.

Georgia was still up 11 with a minute to go in the third, before Mercer made a run to get back in the game. The Bears scored the final seven points of the quarter, including three free throws by Lawrence with one second remaining to cut the Georgia lead to 52-48 heading into the fourth quarter.

Georgia led 34-31 at halftime, behind 14 points from Robinson and 10 points from Engram.

–Field Level Media