No. 23 Georgia women’s basketball team travels to Rochester, Mich. tonight to face the Oakland Grizzlies for the first road game of the Lady Dogs season.

Being away from Athens will become routine for Georgia (1-0), as nine of its next 14 games will be away from Stegeman Coliseum, including trips to Rutgers, Georgia Tech and Virginia.

Head coach Andy Landers said he believes that it will only help his squad.

“I think it absolutely makes us better,” he said. “Playing on the road generally draws a team closer together. It creates a little tighter focus and a little bigger challenge.”

In collegiate athletics it is rare for traditionally elite programs to travel to face lesser competition, but Landers said the trip will be a good first challenge for his team.

“I’m anxious to see exactly how we respond to this first challenge,” Landers said.

“I’m sure this will be a really big game for Oakland with the University of Georgia coming into their house.”

Last season’s game against the Grizzlies (2-0) in Athens was anything but a breeze for the Lady Dogs, as they overcame a first half deficit before holding on for a hard-fought 69-59 victory.

After last season’s scare, Oakland won’t have the luxury of sneaking up on Georgia again.

“Well this is a team that played us very, very well last year at our place and they’ve got everyone back,” Landers said.

“They’re a team that’s very difficult for us to match up with. If you are not 100 percent intense defensively for the full thirty seconds [of the shot clock] they make you pay.”

Added junior guard Christy Marshall: “I think this is going to be a very competitive game like it was last year. They are excellent shooters and they use a lot of staggers and a lot of screens and we have to get mentally prepared for that.”

Oakland’s offense is primarily based on a lot of guard movement and to counter, Landers is considering playing redshirt sophomore guard Jaleesa Roden.

Following the game against Oakland, Georgia will travel to Detroit Mercy Saturday.