Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s return to Athens — this time as head coach — saw her team reach its most wins in five seasons. Her reunion run came to a conclusion in the NCAA Tournament, when the team was edged out in the second round by Iowa, the eventual tournament runner-up.
“My coaches are amazing,” Abrahamson-Henderson said after the loss. “We have a really good coaching staff. We have 15 players and we got them to this point, which is unbelievable.”
In hopes to build upon the success the Bulldogs had last season, Abrahamson-Henderson dipped into the transfer portal as she did the summer before.
Georgia was left with a total of six players to replace ahead of this season, as its biggest losses in the offseason came with exits of guard Diamond Battles and forward Brittney Smith. Both were instrumental to Abrahamson-Henderson’s rebuild, following their coach from the University of Central Florida to Athens. Both are in the beginning stages of their overseas careers.
“That’s hard,” Abrahamson-Henderson said of losing the seniors. “Diamond Battles I’ve known since she was a junior in high school. It’s probably been eight years.”
With the departure of guard trio Battles, Audrey Warren and Alisha Lewis, Abrahamson-Henderson sought out talent from coast to coast, signing guards Asia Avinger and Taniyah Thompson.
“The portal this year for coach Abe and her coaches was a blessing,” Abrahamson-Henderson said of last season’s transfer portal additions. “Because we got to bring in cultured kids and we got to bring in kids that are going to play the style and the way we want to play.”
Avinger, a junior from San Diego State, was one of two Aztecs to total 700 points and 200 assists in her first two years of playing. Avinger’s college career was initially delayed after she suffered a season-ending knee injury just before her freshman debut.
However, Avinger has already started hot for the Bulldogs after her first game with the team. In Georgia’s opening 71-59 win over North Carolina A&T, the guard had 15 points — which led the team alongside returnee De’Mauri Flournoy — and hit a career-high four 3-pointers.
Thompson, meanwhile, brings a year of experience at Penn State with her after spending the first three seasons of her career at East Carolina. In 30 appearances with seven starts, the defensive-minded guard recorded 57 rebounds, 27 steals and 26 assists for the Nittany Lions last season.
In response to the gaps left in Battles and Smiths’ absence, Abrahamson-Henderson furthered her pattern of landing transfers from her old job.
Fifth-year forward Destiny Thomas could slide into Georgia’s starting lineup in place of Smith, her old teammate at UCF.
Thomas established herself as a rebounding and double-double machine for the Knights, tying the program record with a career-high 24 rebounds against Seton Hall last December. In her senior season, she recorded 12 double-doubles for the year and was ranked No. 2 in the nation for offensive rebounds per game with five.
Outside of the three new veteran faces, some of the Bulldogs’ previous lineup elected to return once more. Guard Chloe Chapman and forwards Jordan Cole and Javyn Nicholson will enter the season as fifth-years.
Cole previously used the last name Isaacs but legally changed her last name after being officially adopted by her stepfather on Oct. 4. Both Cole and Nicholson will likely anchor Georgia’s interior-presence as they did last season.
Last season, the Bulldogs finished 22-12 overall with a 13-3 home record, but struggled with conference play, as they finished 9-7 after several close losses.
Georgia fell to No. 6 in SEC rankings and was unable to surpass Mississippi State and Ole Miss to scratch the top three of SEC women’s basketball, which featured coach Dawn Staley’s reigning 2023 SEC Champion South Carolina, and reigning 2023 NCAA Champion LSU.
With the reality of playing in one of the most competitive conferences in women’s basketball, Georgia’s 2023 conference schedule will be no easier. Conference play will tip off with a matchup against Texas A&M in Athens on Jan. 4, and will ramp up quickly after that.
The Bulldogs found success last season in the first year of Abrahamson-Henderson’s tenure, but time will tell if the squad can reach even higher heights.