Lady Bulldogs going as an 8 to Iowa

ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia Lady Bulldogs have made five consecutive appearances in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

They’ll have to pull a major upset to make it six in a row.

Georgia (22-9) was tabbed Monday night as an eighth seed in the New Orleans Region and will open play Sunday against ninth-seeded Iowa in Norfolk, Va. Should the Lady Bulldogs prevail, they likely will face Atlantic Coast Conference champion and second-ranked North Carolina next Tuesday.

“I’m not concerned about the bracket, really,” Georgia coach Andy Landers said. “I don’t know anything about Iowa, and that’s really all we need to concern ourselves with. I didn’t see any easy brackets, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s all about playing that next game and moving on.”

This is Georgia’s 25th appearance in 27 NCAA women’s tournaments, with all 25 trips occurring under Landers. The Lady Bulldogs are now tied with Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech for the second-most appearances, trailing only Tennessee’s perfect mark.

Yet Georgia’s seeding is its lowest since 2002, when the Lady Bulldogs were a 10th seed and got bounced in the first round by Old Dominion.

The Lady Bulldogs are led by 6-foot-3 senior forward Tasha Humphrey, who averages a team-high 16.8 points and 9.0 rebounds, and by Ashley Houts. The 5-6 sophomore guard from Dade County averages 11.8 points and has dished out a team-high 143 assists.

“We haven’t had any key wins and we haven’t had any huge losses, so I think things just kind of countered themselves out,” Houts said. “The committee gave us an eight seed, which is what we deserved. We’re just thankful to be in it at this point.”