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Miller time Georgia guard's buzzer-beater wins SEC tourney title
Updated: Monday March 05, 2001 8:11 AM
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Playing the country's best shooting team, Kelly Miller hit the shot that mattered most Sunday night. Her running jumper with 0.8 seconds left pulled out a 62-60 victory for No. 6 Georgia against 15th-ranked Vanderbilt for its first Southeastern Conference tournament title since 1986. "I'd say it's safe to say it's the ugliest shot in the house tonight," Georgia head coach Andy Landers said with a smile. "But when it left her hand and went in, it was the prettiest." Vanderbilt's Jillian Danker had just tied it at 60 with 5.9 seconds left when Miller started taking the ball up court with an eye on the clock. She hadn't shot well the rest of the game, but it didn't matter as she worked her way through the Commodores before almost throwing the ball at the basket near the free-throw line. "I wanted to see how far I could take it down the court. I shot it. It went in," Miller said as she held onto the game ball while talking to reporters. It was only appropriate. With the game, Miller now has started more games (129) than anyone else in Georgia history. Her shot ensured a fourth SEC title for the Lady Bulldogs (26-5), who had lost in the championship game in 1987, '92, '93 and '99. And it looked like they might go home empty-handed again when they blew a 12-point lead in the second half. Vanderbilt (21-9) was looking for its first tournament title since 1995, but the Commodores looked tired after upsetting No. 1 Tennessee to reach the championship game. They had been shooting an average of 55.2 percent from the floor, better than any other Division I team -- men's or women's. The Commodores shot 51 percent, but hurt themselves with 16 turnovers that Georgia converted into 18 points. "We came out flat," Vanderbilt guard Ashley McElhiney said. "I don't feel like we were where we needed to be, emotionally up." Georgia shot only 8-of-28 in the half and turned the ball over eight times after shooting 70 percent in the first half. Landers said his Lady Bulldogs became anxious when they started missing wide-open shots. Vanderbilt whittled away and took its first lead on a bucket underneath by Chantelle Anderson at 56-55 with 1:33 remaining. Deanna Nolan put Georgia up with five straight points, but it looked like the game was headed to overtime when Vandy responded with a jumper by Zuzi Klimesova and Danker's layup with 5.9 seconds left tied it at 60. Then Kelly Miller, who finished 3-of-8 for eight points, pushed through two Commodores and put up the winning shot. "She made a great shot," McElhiney said. "I feel like we were there [in position]. ... Give her credit. She's a great jumpshooter. She knocked down a big shot when it counted." Nolan finished with 21 points to lead Georgia, Coco Miller added 11 and Tiaunna Briggans had 10. It was sweet revenge for Georgia, which fell from the tournament's No. 2 seed to third after fourth-seeded Vanderbilt upset the Lady Bulldogs a week ago in Nashville. Georgia has beaten Vanderbilt four times in the past two seasons. Anderson had a game-high 28 points for Vanderbilt and was named the tournament MVP. Klimesova added 14 and Danker 13. McElhiney, who had a team-high 27 points against Tennessee on Saturday, was just 1-of-6 for two points. Neither team could have played much better through the first nine minutes. Georgia missed only two of its first 12 shots, and Vanderbilt only four of its first 11 as they went up and down the court non-stop until the first timeout at 11:09. Landers said it was a wonder neither team's players passed out, and Vanderbilt head coach Jim Foster called it a track meet his team didn't want.
Georgia jumped ahead as Vanderbilt turned the ball over five times in the final five minutes, and Coco Miller keyed an 11-1 spurt with five points, turning a 28-24 lead into a 39-25 halftime lead.
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