For the second consecutive game, the Lady Dogs went on the road to face a middle-of-the-pack SEC team that was desperate for a high-profile upset that would punch their ticket for the postseason. On Thursday, Georgia held on in overtime at Kentucky. On Sunday, Georgia withstood a tenacious challenge from Auburn before emerging with a 62-55 win.

Janese Hardrick picked up at Auburn where she left off during overtime at Lexington. After an early flurry that included three-pointers from Darrah and Houts, Hardrick was Georgia’s main threat from outside. She was also effective penetrating to the basket, added seven rebounds, and she helped to seal the game at the foul line. It was a very solid 20-point performance from the senior, and her spark off the bench was the difference in the game. Auburn was effective in preventing Tasha Humphrey from getting on a roll, particularly in rebounding, but Tasha still finished with 14 points.

Georgia shot just 24% from outside, and Humphrey was well-defended, so Georgia had to find points where they could get them in this low-scoring game. Christy Marshall had 12 points on some tough penetration and mid-range jump shots. Megan Darrah contributed nine points, mostly in the first half, and she was big on the glass with seven rebounds. Struggles from outside and a relatively high 17 turnovers made it difficult for Georgia to pull away and let Auburn hang around until the final minutes.

The Lady Dogs have the week off before their regular season finale on Sunday against Arkansas. All eyes will be on tonight’s Tennessee at LSU game. Should Tennessee win, all Georgia would need is a win on Sunday against Arkansas to earn the #2 seed in the SEC Tournament. If LSU manages the upset at home, Georgia would earn the #3 seed. Regardless, they’ll get a Thursday bye in the conference tournament. We’ll have a preview next week of the tournament, held March 1-4 in Duluth, Ga.