Georgia guard Diamond Battles (3) during a match against Coastal Carolina at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga., on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.

The Georgia women’s basketball team tipped off its season on Monday, Nov. 7, with a dominant 78-61 victory over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

Senior forward Javyn Nicholson led the Bulldogs with 14 points and nine rebounds, followed closely by fifth-year transfer guard Diamond Battles with 13 points, and fifth-year transfer forward Brittney Smith, who added 12 points and six rebounds.

Head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson and the new faces on the roster received a warm Stegeman Coliseum welcome to accompany their debut.

“It was amazing,” said Battles. “I love the atmosphere and love getting to play with my teammates. It was good. I was very excited and was happy with winning. The environment was totally worth coming to Georgia for.”

The impact of the upperclassmen on the Georgia roster was demonstrated. Battles, Nicholson, and Smith led the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball. Battles and Senior Guard Chloe Chapman rotated the helm of the Georgia offense, making sure to maintain a fast pace, up until the fourth quarter.

Off the bench, freshman guard Savannah Henderson and junior forward Zoesha Smith were integral for Georgia’s success. Both subbed into the game late into the first quarter, and became a regular part of the bench rotation soon after. Zoesha Smith went 4-6 off the bench, adding nine points and six rebounds.

The Bulldogs came out strong and physical, showcasing a full-court press that would last the entirety of the 40 minutes played. Georgia continually pressured Coastal, falling back into a 3-2 defensive set featuring Battles and Chapman up top, immediately trapping Coastal players on passes. The Chanticleers were forced to scramble, costing them 21 total turnovers, and giving the Bulldogs 20 points scored off of turnovers.

“I thought our press was okay,” said Abrahamson-Henderson. “It’s going to get better as we learn. We know how people are going to try to break in, but we just have to rotate shot rotations out of it. We have to be a lot better.”

Georgia relied on its dominance in the paint to anchor the offense early on, finishing with 22 first half points in the paint. The Bulldogs worked to spread out Coast Carolina’s man defense, capitalizing on their high-low post options with Nicholson, Smith, and senior forward Jordan Isaacs in the paint.

“Offensively I like the fact that we scored 78 points, that’s pretty awesome,” Abrahamson-Henderson added. “I knew our posts were going to be really good this year just because we got some great size, great bodies and then a great post coach, too. I know they’re going to be really good for us.”