“If the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech got together to compete in mumblety peg, it would draw a crowd and there would be lots of emotion displayed by the fans of both teams.”
– Andy Landers

All was right with the world when Georgia’s football team emerged with a win last Saturday night over Georgia Tech. The football Dawgs earned a good measure of payback for last season’s disappointing loss in Athens, and sitting back to watch the fallout this week has been extremely satisfying. What has Georgia done since 1980? Only beat the Tech football team 21 times.

Georgia has another program that’s experienced even more success than the football team against Tech, but that dominance has also been challenged recently. Andy Landers’ Lady Dogs won every one of the first 24 meetings in the series with Tech. But since 2002 Tech has won 3 of the 7 games against Georgia and emerged as a top 25 program that’s an annual participant in the NCAA Tournament. An ugly 57-42 beating at the hands of Tech last year in Atlanta was a harbinger of a disappointing season for the Lady Dogs.

The Lady Dogs look to be much improved this year, and they’ve already beaten a few teams that have spent some time in the rankings. Georgia has raced to a 7-0 start and are as high as #13 in the polls. The core of Houts, Robinson, and Phillips is as strong as expected, and freshman Jasmine James looks to be a significant upgrade at the shooting guard. Fellow freshman Ann Marie Armstrong is starting to click, and sophomore Meredith Mitchell has been a nice surprise so far in the backcourt.

But Tech has another quality team this year and have started 5-1 while hovering around the bottom of the top 25. They’ve just added back their best player – junior wing Alex Montgomery who had been recovering from a knee injury suffered at the end of last season. Montgomery’s return addresses Tech’s primary weakness: scoring from the perimeter. They’re able to generate a tremendous amount of offense out of turnovers and transition, but they can bog down in halfcourt. Montgomery gives them a legitimate scorer who can fill the basket outside or inside.

Sunday’s game against Tech (2:30 p.m., Stegeman Coliseum, CSS TV) will be a great test for both teams. These are both teams bound for the postseason, and Tech isn’t coming into these games anymore just hoping to be competitive. The Lady Dogs have a good bit of pride at stake after last year’s awful showing, and they have at least managed to defend the home court in the series with Tech.

If you’re still enjoying last Saturday’s payback win, come out to Stegeman on Sunday afternoon – at the risk of getting punched in the face – and help the Lady Dogs experience that same feeling.