11/22/2004
Box Score
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH?-- At one point in the first half of Monday night's contest Georgetown was holding the University of Utah women's basketball team to just better than 20 percent from the field. But the Utes overcame the cold start and held off the visiting Hoyas 64-53 at the Huntsman Center.
Georgetown (0-2) was paced by three players as Mary Lisicky (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall), Sarah Jenkins (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and Kieraah Marlow (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) all scored 11 points apiece. Utah (1-1) was paced by junior Shona Thorburn, who scored a game-high 15 points. On the boards GU's Marlow led the team with eight rebounds and Varda Tamoulianis (Moscow, Russia/Academy of Labour and Social Relations) recorded six.
Both teams struggled to find the basket in the early going. Midway through the first half, the contest was knotted at just 10-10. Marlow and Jenkins scored on back-to-back possessions for the Hoyas, giving them a 14-10 advantage. But an 8-0 burst put Utah back on top 18-14. The Utes maintained that four-point advantage at the intermission, leading 23-19.
Georgetown converted at a .333 clip in the first half, while Utah shot just .300. Shooting percentages improved for both teams in the second half. But the percentages improved dramatically for Utah. The Utes hit at a .538 clip in the second stanza, while Georgetown continued to struggle, shooting just .342.
A Jenkins jumper just 33 seconds into the second half pulled Georgetown within two points, 23-21. But that was as close as the Hoyas would get. A Camie Allen bucket inside started a 7-1 run for Utah, capped by another Sitterud three-pointer. That brief run gave Utah the breathing room it needed, 30-22, with 17:46 remaining.
The Utes pushed their advantage to as many as 15 with six minutes remaining. Georgetown took advantage of two Utah turnovers and a missed free throw to cut its deficit from 10 to five, 58-53, with less than one minute remaining. But the Utes converted six-of-eight from the line over the final 51 seconds to ice the victory.
