Jan. 31, 2009

Box Score
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Washington, D.C. - With seven minutes left in the first half, the Georgetown women's basketball squad (13-8, 3-5 BIG EAST) was leading the No. 1/1 University of Connecticut Huskies (21-0, 7-0 BIG EAST) Saturday afternoon at McDonough Arena. Playing well on offense and showing intense defense, the Hoyas had managed to continually regain the lead in front of the sell-out crowd. Unfortunately, Georgetown could not sustain the pace and eventually fell, 80-61, after a hard-fought contest. GU cut the final deficit to 19 becoming one of only six squads that kept the final under 20 points to the undefeated Huskies.

"As a player coming to Georgetown, these are the kind of games you expect to be in," said Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "When you sign a Letter of Intent to play in the BIG EAST Conference, these are the games you are going to be in. We just have to continue to fight, which we did, we can't give in."

The Hoyas played an outstanding first half as the lead went back and forth for the opening 14 minutes. Adria Crawford (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) started out the scoring with a layup in the paint and senior Karee Houlette (Houston, Texas/Cypress Springs) hit a big three just when UConn had gotten a two-point lead.

For the next ten minutes the Hoyas did what they had to do to keep it close. Layups from Tia McBride (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) and Tia Magee (Jenks, Okla./Jenks) as well as a three from sophomore starter Monica McNutt (Suitland, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) aided GU as the Huskies had an answer for every Hoya advance.

A pair of three's by Houlette gave GU two more leads with time winding down in the half but at 6:20, free throws from Tina Charles started a 17-3 run for the Huskies. A three with just seconds left made the score 45-30 in favor of UConn as the Hoyas tried to battle back from the deficit.

The first half had four ties and nine different lead changes as GU stayed within reach. Houlette led Georgetown with 12 points all coming from beyond the arc in a 4-5 performance from three. Freshman Rubylee Wright (Latta, S.C./Latta) contributed six and Crawford led the Hoyas in rebounding with six. GU shot 39.3 percent for the half, but was outrebounded by one (16-15) and had two more turnovers (14-12). Charles led the Huskies with 11 points.

UConn opened the second half as it ended the first going on an early 21-0 run spanning seven minutes. GU was staring at a 37-point deficit and had scored just three points in the half, but the Hoyas were not giving up. Georgetown staged a 9-0 run of its own fueled by a three and a jumper from Houlette.

Crawford continued to battle on the boards and banked in a number of put-backs to lessen the deficit and in the final minute, Magee hit a pair of three to make the final score 80-61.

Houlette finished with 20 points going 6-of-10 from beyond the arc but left the game early with an ankle injury. Crawford posted her third double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-best 10 boards. McNutt added 10 points and Magee had six. GU shot 41.2 percent for the game while UConn managed to hit 46.6 percent from the field. The Hoyas were outrebounded 41-27 and had one more turnover (24-23). Charles led the Huskies with 17 points.

Despite the loss, Williams-Flournoy was pleased with the Hoyas' effort, "I just want them to play as hard as they did tonight every game that we play."

Next week, Georgetown will embark on its final two-game road trip of the season starting with No. 25/25 DePaul on Wednesday in Chicago, Ill. Tipoff if scheduled for 7 p.m., CST. Live stats and a webcast will be available on www.GUHoyas.com.