Dec. 7, 2008
Box Score
Richmond, Va. - The Georgetown University women's basketball team fell, 71-61, to the Virginia Commonwealth Rams (5-2) Sunday afternoon in Virginia. The Hoyas struggled from the field early, allowing VCU to jump out to a quick lead and were never able to fully recover. With the loss Georgetown falls to 7-2 on the season.
Things didn't start out well for the Hoyas as the Rams opened with a 16-0 run and Georgetown committed six fouls in the opening eight minutes. At 12:09, GU finally hit its first basket of the game on a jumper from Shanice Fuller (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River). A forced turnover on the other end resulted in a fast break and Adria Crawford (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) making the layup with the foul and free throw to finally get GU going.
Players managed to score in spurts as Karee Houlette (Houston, Texas/Cypress Springs) gave the Hoyas five more points sinking a jumper a step inside the three-point line and then hitting a trey. At the seven-minute mark, it was Latia Magee's (Jenks, Okla./Jenks) turn to connect on a pair of free throws, a three and a layup as the Hoyas continued to try and get all five players on the court to sync on the offensive end.
In the final two minutes, Georgetown managed a small 7-3 run thanks to an NBA-three from Houlette making the score 35-24 at the break.
Despite struggling from the field, GU still managed to outrebound the Rams 20-16 and shoot 100 percent from the line, but 16 turnovers to VCU's nine and a 16-6 difference in fouls were the telling stats of the half. Houlette led the Hoyas with eight points and Magee contributed seven. Crawford had a team-best six rebounds.
Houlette started things out for Georgetown in the second with a three at the 17-minute mark. Jaleesa Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Alton) then added a pair of layups as the Hoyas continued to pull closer. Freshman Morgan Williams (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson) drove down the right side and Houlette added a bank shot in the lane off of an up-and-under, but every time GU gained momentum the Rams seemed to stop it.
It was Meredith Cox's (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) turn to get into the act with nine minutes remaining sinking a three from the corner and then stepping in for a jumper off of a save by Butler. Georgetown managed to get the deficit under 10 with five minutes left after a layup from Fuller following an injury in the previous play and a drive by Tia McBride (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame).
The Hoyas continued to battle cutting it to nine a number of times as seconds ticked away but just couldn't get any closer. Forced to foul in the closing minute, Georgetown eventually fell 71-61.
Houlette led all scorers with a career-high 18 points including a 4-5 performance from beyond the arc, while Butler added eight. Crawford led GU in the paint with a team-high seven rebounds. The Hoyas were outrebounded 38-33, had four more turnovers and shot 39.3 percent in the contest.
The Hoyas will have a break for finals before returning to the court on December 19 when they host Gardner Webb at 8 p.m.
