Georgia vs. Illinois: Lady Bulldogs plagued by turnovers in loss

The No. 6 Georgia Lady Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season on Friday night, falling on the road to the Illinois Fighting Illini, 70-59. The Lady Bulldogs turned the ball over 26 times in the game, prompting concern from head coach Andy Landers.

Georgia entered the game averaging just 13.2 turnovers per contest, but lost the ball 16 times in the first half alone. Landers feels his team didn't handle Illinois' pressure well, with the Bulldogs' offense repeatedly getting started late, in addition to not taking care of the basketball (via Cy Brown of The Red & Black):

"They forced us the play fast. They extended us and picked us up beyond the three-point line, and we allowed them to affect us. Now we're running the offense further out on the floor than we have all year long. We sailed balls out of bounds when people were open. We were looking at looks we wanted, but we couldn't make the passes because they'd pushed us so far out."

Despite falling down 31-13 early, the Bulldogs rallied back to tie the game at 52 in the second half. However, the theme of turnovers and an inability to stop Karisma Penn, who finished with 27 points and 19 rebounds, came back to bite Georgia once again as Illinois used a 13-5 run to take a 67-59 lead and eventually bury the Bulldogs.