Nov. 21, 2009
Box Score
West Lafayette, Ind. - Despite a few tense moments, the Georgetown University women's basketball squad managed to hold off the Seattle University Redhawks (0-4) and get the 68-54 victory Saturday in the team's second game of the BTI Classic hosted by Purdue University. The Hoyas played an outstanding first half and overcame defensive lapses in the second to improve to 2-2 on the season.
"I was pleased with how we played in the first half, but we didn't play good defense and had too many sloppy turnovers in the second," said Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy.
Georgetown jumped out to an early lead and didn't look back posting a 9-0 run midway through the first half. From that point on, the Hoyas were in control hitting three's, making layups, rebounding and forcing turnovers. The coaching staff mixed up the lineup but the Blue & Gray still managed to control the tempo.
Late in the half, sophomore Rubylee Wright (Latta, S.C./Latta) hit back-to-back three's as Georgetown cruised into halftime with a 25-point lead, 41-16. This marked the fewest points the Hoyas have allowed in a half so far this season.
The Blue & Gray truly had a team performance in the first half as 10 different players hit a field goal and as many notched at least one rebound or assist. Tia McBride (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) led the squad with seven points while Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) and Wright both had six. Adria Crawford (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) led the Hoyas in rebounding with five boards including three on the offensive glass. Georgetown outrebounded the Redhawks 24-12 and forced 11 turnovers with six steals.
Seattle scored first to open the second half, but the excitement would be short lived thanks to a three from Rodgers. GU looked solid early, but as the lineup changed the Redhawks began to make noise with an 8-0 run at the 12-minute mark. Monica McNutt stopped the run with a three at the top of the key but Seattle then went on a 17-4 tear to make a game of it cutting the lead to seven points with four minutes to play.
Wright hit a layup and Rodgers added her fourth trey of the game to give Georgetown some breathing room but the Redhawks tried to make it interesting cutting the lead to 10 under two minutes. An intentional foul on Latia Magee (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) was what GU needed to get the win as Magee hit the free throws and Crawford made a layup on the ensuing possession to get the 68-54 victory.
Rodgers led the Hoyas with 15 points while Monica McNutt (Suitland, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) and Wright posted 10 points each. Crawford notched a team-high seven rebounds and Rodgers contributed six. Georgetown narrowly outshot its opponent from the field hitting 42.4 percent but allowing Seattle to make 41.3 percent of field goals. GU also outrebounded the Redhawks 43-22 and forced 23 turnovers.
The contest marked the first game of the season for the Hoyas against another Jesuit university.
GU will have close out the tournament against the host-Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Purdue game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Stephanie White and Dan Gutowsky on the call. Live stats will also be available at www.GUHoyas.com.
