The Georgia women’s basketball team soundly defeated Gardner-Webb 84-56 in its final game before Christmas. The Bulldogs received a full team effort in their dominant home-court win.

“It felt good to come out here and win and bounce back,” sophomore guard Caitlin Hose said. “I think everyone played well, and we played well together. We had to stay focused especially because we have a break, and I think we did well with that.”

Georgia had career days from two of its bench players: freshman forward Javyn Nicholson and Hose. The two players sparked an excellent output from a bench unit showing its potential.

Pacing the Bulldogs was Nicholson, with her first career double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Hose scored a career-high 12 points just a few games after being relegated to a bench role. Junior guard Gabby Connally added seven points and five steals.

Head coach Joni Taylor said along with Hose’s scoring, the sophomore played excellent defense, and that came through from her practice throughout the week.

Nicholson was dominant on both ends of the floor and only missed two shots from the floor (9-11). She also led the team in minutes played with 27, and her four offensive rebounds were a game high.

“One thing I narrowed in on was rebounding,” Nicholson said. “I knew that if I could rebound the heck out of the ball, then I was going to get opportunities, I was going to get shots for my team, and I was going to get and-1 opportunities. … I knew the offense was going to come.”

Georgia continued its trend of coming back strong after losses. The Bulldogs won by 28 points but did so without stalwart senior Stephanie Paul. Paul is dealing with a knee injury and exited the game with 8:41 remaining in the first quarter. She did not practice after the UCLA game.

The injury provided opportunities for younger players to step up, including Nicholson and freshman guard Chloe Chapman. Chapman was all over the court, racking up four points, four assists, four steals and two rebounds. She played a career-high 24 minutes.

“It was great,” Hose said. “Everybody got to play. Everybody contributed. It felt good.”

Georgia’s 84 points against the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs set its season high in points. Much of that scoring output came from advantages in categories such as rebounding, assists and steals.

The Bulldogs forced 25 Gardner-Webb turnovers with 15 credited as steals. Georgia had 19 assists — one assist shy of its season high — and held a plus-9 rebounding advantage.

An emphasis was placed on the boards after UCLA held a plus-13 advantage, and Nicholson led the bench unit’s charge. The reserves combined for 27 rebounds, and the rest of the team was ecstatic.

“It was fun watching them cheer each other on,” Taylor said. “It definitely will help us to give them a little more rest and not continue to run [the starters] into the ground.”

Printed with permission from The Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Georgia; redandblack.com/sports