Five things Georgia women's basketball must improve if there's any hope for a run in March

By its standards, Georgia women's basketball isn't having a stellar season.

The Lady Dawgs are on a six-game losing streak, 10-10 overall, and each loss during the streak has come by double digits.

They last finished a game victoriously Jan. 4 when Joni Taylor's Texas A&M team (15-5, 3-4 SEC) came to Athens and Georgia pulled out a 54-50 win in crunch time thanks to a pair of free throws from junior guard De'Mauri Flournoy.

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The streak of bad luck began shortly after, when the Lady Dawgs traveled to Arkansas (16-6, 4-3) on Jan. 7 and fell 83-43, their largest margin of defeat since Dec. 4, 2019, when they lost 72-38 seventh-ranked Baylor.

Since then, they've been unable to get back on the saddle, falling to the bottom of the 14-team conference with a 1-6 record. It doesn't help that they've lost their second leading scorer, senior forward Zoesha Smith, to a knee injury.

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The season is an anomaly for head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, who has but one losing season in her 19 years as a head coach. She's been to 12 NCAA tournaments and was the 2005 WNIT Champion with Southwest Missouri State. Her one losing season comes from Missouri State in 2006-07, where it finished 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 3-15 record (7-21 overall).

Heading into the final month of action, here are five areas that the Lady Dawgs need to find improvement in if there's any hope for a March run:

How can the Lady Dawgs take care of the ball?

Georgia has been having a difficult time taking care of the ball. It's cost them a lot in seven January games, six of which they've pulled the shorter stick at the final buzzer.

Can it be considered 'ironic' that their leading scorer, fifth-year senior forward Javyn Nicholson, is also their leading turnover creator?

Nicholson averages 15.2 points a game and has 11 double-doubles on the season. She also has 50 turnovers and hasn't recorded a game without at least one turnover since Troy on Dec. 6 — that same game was the only time this season the team has had single digit turnovers.

Georgia's currently averaging 16 turnovers per game.

Here's who needs to step up

While she might turn the ball over, Nicholson is a go-to force in the paint for the team. Again, she's averaging 15.2 points and 9 rebounds per game, the most of anyone on the roster.

But she needs some help. That's where junior guard Asia Avinger comes in.

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Avinger earned herself the status of captain in her first season with Georgia, clearly carrying the mentality it takes to run the Dawg Pound. She's averaging 7.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. With the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Zoesha Smith, Avinger needs to put the pedal to the floor and capitalize on every opportunity to get to the basket.

The three Lady Bulldogs of Nicholson, Avinger and co-point guard Flournoy have had the majority of their offensive production so far. They just need a little extra gas in the tank to hit the next level.

Georgia women's basketball staying out of foul trouble

Fouls are hurting Georgia. A lot.

In 20 games, they've racked up 316 between 12 players, an average of 15.8 per game. Fifth year forwards Jordan Cole and Destiny Thomas hold the top two spots with a combined 100, and Asia Avinger is in a close third-place with 46 of her own.

Avinger has been in foul trouble for 50% of this season's schedule, as has Cole − 'foul trouble' is categorized by three or more in a game. Thomas actually fouled out in game two of the year at Belmont, only recording a single point, two rebounds and one steal.

"Destiny scored 13 points in 10 minutes (against Ole Miss), so clearly if she doesn't get in foul trouble, that would be really helpful," Abrahamson-Henderson said. "Fouling, the fouls are really hurting us. Us getting in foul trouble."

Spring a major upset or 2

There's a chance they could defeat Tennessee (12-7, 5-2) on Thursday. It's a longshot, but the Vols road record is a 50/50 tossup. If they were to pull something out, it would really boost their resume, given Tennessee is top 3 in the SEC.

They have a good shot against Kentucky (9-12, 2-5) on Feb. 4 and maybe some redemption against Florida (11-8, 2-5) on Feb. 25, but besides that, they'll need a miracle.

The Lady Bulldogs' meeting with reigning national champion LSU (18-4, 5-3) on Feb. 29 — their last home game — is going to be a whirlwind with the combo of Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese. Georgia doesn't have anyone that can really put a stop to those two.

South Carolina (19-0, 7-0) will be similar, if not worse, given it's an away game, as Dawn Staley's Gamecocks lead the SEC, to no surprise, and a rematch at Ole Miss (15-5, 5-2) will definitely need a touch of black magic from a local sorcerer.

If anything, one of the two meetings with Vanderbilt (17-4, 4-3) will result in a hopeful win. Probably the one at home on Feb. 11. Mississippi State (17-5, 4-3) also poses a possible upset on Feb. 8.

Consistency

Georgia is a fourth quarter team. Or at least, it tries to be.

In terms of points per period, Georgia outscores opponents by 48 points in the final 10 minutes of games (349-301).

That doesn't help it much in the long run, though. Especially when they're being outscored by 39 points in the first 20 minutes, putting them at early disadvantages and in deficits.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia women's basketball areas of improvement for postseason