Dec. 30, 2009

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's basketball squad took another step in the right direction Wednesday evening as the Hoyas defeated the Clemson University Tigers (9-6), 72-57, at Littlejohn Colliseum. With the victory, Georgetown improved to 11-2 on the season and made it 10 wins in a row, just three shy of the program record set in 1980. The game was GU's final nonconference matchup before beginning conference play on Saturday.

"We continued to play our pressure defense and that worked well for us tonight," said Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "There were times when we didn't run in transition and we allowed them to get close, but as soon as we got back to what we do, we were able to maintain the lead."

The Tigers got on the board first, but a 12-0 run thanks to Georgetown's fast break gave the Hoyas the advantage early. Clemson began to claw back using the offensive glass and pulled within three at the eight-minute mark. However, a layup from Tia Magee (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) pulled the lead back to five as the Hoyas worked to stay in control.

With a minute remaining, Clemson's season-leading scorer Lele Hardy notched her first points of the game to cut the lead to just two. However, in her first collegiate trip down the floor coming back from a preseason injury, Sydney Wilson (Silver Spring, Md./St. John's College Prep) threaded the needle from the top of the key to a cutting Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) for the layup. Rodgers added one more basket before the break making the score 35-29 at the half.

Rodgers led all scorers with nine points in the half, while Monica McNutt (Suitland, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) added seven. Jaleesa Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Alton) pulled down a team-high five rebounds and tallied four points. Georgetown shot 50 percent in the half and forced seven turnovers, but was outrebounded 22-17.

The Blue & Gray began to penetrate forcing the Tigers to foul and connected on the free throws which allowed the squad to go up by as much as nine to start the second. Unfortunately, Clemson implemented a similar strategy as the Tigers went into the bonus at the ten-minute mark and proceeded to sink five charity shots.

Despite the sloppy game, the Hoyas still managed to score in transition and held the Tigers without a field goal for over four minutes. With five minutes to go, GU held a nine-point lead but the Tigers were beginning to heat up. Adria Crawford (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) calmed things down for the Hoyas with five-consecutive points including three from the line.

In the final two minutes, Clemson managed to cut it to six but Rodgers answered with a pair of buckets. A McNutt layup on the break put the Hoyas ahead by 13 with a minute remaining as GU forced turnovers and got on the defensive boards. At the final whistle, the Blue & Gray had the 72-57 victory.

Rodgers led the Hoyas with 17 points, while McNutt contributed 13 and Crawford had 12. Butler led Georgetown in the paint with nine rebounds as well as eight points, three blocks and two steals. GU shot 49.1 percent from the field and forced 18 turnovers but was outrebounded 43-31. Hardy led the Tigers with 13 points.

"This is a great momentum-builder going into BIG EAST," said Williams-Flournoy. "We've been able to build our confidence and work on some areas and I think this will help us in conference play."

The Hoyas will open BIG EAST play on Saturday as the squad takes on No. RV/23 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.