Feb. 18, 2009
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Washington, D.C. - Senior guard Karee Houlette (Houston, Texas/Cypress Springs) led three Hoyas in double figures with 22 points as Georgetown beat West Virginia (14-11, 3-9 BIG EAST), 79-73, in overtime on Wednesday night in the squad's annual Pink Zone game. Junior Shanice Fuller (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) finished with 19 and classmate Jaleesa Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Alton) had 13 points and nine rebounds, as the Blue & Gray won its first overtime game of the season. The win improves Georgetown to a 16-10 overall record, the Hoyas are 6-7 in the BIG EAST.
Georgetown and West Virginia battled in regulation, but neither team was able to pull ahead with a significant advantage. In overtime, Georgetown came out strong as it had at the beginning of every period, scoring the first eight points of overtime on a three and a layup by Butler as well as a three-point shot from Houlette. From there, GU never looked back, outscoring the Mountaineers 14-8 in the extra period.
After trailing at the half, 35-34, Georgetown surged ahead at the start of the second. Houlette capped a 10-2 run by the Hoyas over the first 3:42 to bring their lead to 44-37. Georgetown later took their largest lead of the night, nine points (54-45), on a layup by freshman Adria Crawford (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison). However, GU could not hold on as West Virginia staged a comeback.
With just under three minutes to play in regulation, Georgetown was down one, 63-62. The Hoyas moved ahead by one on a layup by Fuller with 38 seconds remaining. The teams traded fouls, with West Virginia making both shots and Fuller connecting on one, which left the game tied at the end of regulation.
The Hoyas started out the game strong with a 7-0 run against the Mountaineers over the first 1:56. However West Virginia then fought back, eventually taking over the lead, 10-9, at the 14:26 mark on a layup by Natalie Burton. The Hoyas remained tough in the first half, keeping it within five points for most of the half and even taking the lead once again, 28-26, on a three point shot by Rubylee Wright (Latta, S.C./Latta) at 5:54.
Nevertheless, their late surge was not enough, and Georgetown still went into the locker room down one at the half.
This was the first game of the season that Georgetown played only one overtime period, and the first overtime game that the team won. Earlier in the season, GU fell to Rutgers in double overtime. The Hoyas downed West Virginia on the boards, 41-35, as well as from the field, with GU shooting 51.9 percent and the Mountaineers hitting 38.1 percent.
Georgetown will travel to Syracuse on Sunday for a 6 p.m., game. This will be the second meeting between the two squads. Earlier in the year, the Hoyas defeated the Orange, 80-73, at McDonough Arena.
