Feb. 7, 2009
Box Score
Piscataway, N.J. - History repeated itself Saturday afternoon at the Rutgers Athletic Center as the Georgetown University women's basketball squad fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (13-8, 5-5 BIG EAST), 60-47, in double overtime. The last double overtime game the Hoyas had played was in 1998-99 in a loss to Rutgers. Struggling to hit from the field, Georgetown used defense and rebounding to keep it close but fell short late in overtime. GU is now 13-10 overall and 3-7 in the BIG EAST.
After the recent string of tough losses Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said, "It's getting frustrating but it's still on the positive end because we are playing well. We're eventually going to close out one of these games. We're young and we'll figure it out, we'll get it done."
The Hoya defense set the tone early not allowing Rutgers to score for the first five minutes and forcing three Scarlet Knights turnovers. GU jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but despite the solid defense only Adria Crawford (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) and Monica McNutt (Suitland, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) could connect. After six scoreless minutes on the offensive end, Jaleesa Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Alton) made a layup to keep Georgetown on top, 7-4.
The scoring continued to be few and far between for both squads as Rutgers tied it at seven at 9:21. A free throw from Shanice Fuller (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) a minute later once again put the Hoyas ahead and two more from Rubylee Wright (Latta, S.C./Latta) kept GU in control. Turnovers severely hurt the Georgetown offense and Rutgers was able to tie it with a three at the top of the key.
In the closing minutes of the half, Meredith Cox (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) hit a jumper just inside the arc and another outside of it. Rutgers managed four points going into the half with the Hoyas leading, 15-14. The point total was the lowest of the season in the first half for the Hoyas and tied the lowest of the year for the Scarlet Knights.
Cox led all scorers with five points, Butler had a team-best five rebounds. Georgetown out-rebounded the Scarlet Knights, 27-15, including an 11-5 mark on the offensive end. However, turnovers were the key as GU had 17 and Rutgers posted 12 in the up-tempo half. Neither team shot well from the field with RU hitting 25 percent and Georgetown shooting just 19 percent.
After a tough half for both squads, someone was poised to break out in the second. Early on it looked to be Georgetown as the Hoyas opened with a 7-0 run and forced four turnovers in the first four minutes. Unfortunately, Brittany Ray came back for Rutgers with seven of her own to give RU the two-point advantage. The run became a 14-0 advantage after seven scoreless minutes for the Hoyas. Wright finally stopped it with a three but the damage had been done as GU trailed, 31-25.
The teams began to heat up as Wright, McNutt and Cox traded trey's with RU's Ray to get back within three. With four minutes to go, the defense once again got after it holding RU scoreless for the final 4:49. Despite the defense, the offense still couldn't find the bottom of the net and with 19 seconds left was down three with the ball out of bounds. Cox came off a high screen and put up an off-balance three from the top of the key which was a dead swish to tie it at 39 and force the overtime.
"I set the girl up and, honestly, when I shot it I didn't think it would even hit the rim and then it went in," said Cox. "Everyone was all excited but I realized there was still nine seconds left to play defense."
RU scored first in OT but GU managed to stay with the Scarlet Knights to tie it at 43 on a Butler put-back. Alexa Roche (Bellmore, N.Y./St. Michael's Academy) gave Georgetown the lead with 52 seconds remaining by sinking a free throw but possession belonged to Rutgers. An Epiphany Prince charity shot tied it once more with seven seconds left and Georgetown with the ball on the opposite end of the floor but the shot fell short and the squads prepared for the second OT.
Rutgers scored five-straight points to start the second overtime and it was too much for GU to overcome as the once-hot Hoyas struggled to hit. Forced to foul, five made free throws by the Scarlet Knights increased the deficit as the Hoyas couldn't come back falling, 60-47.
Cox led Georgetown with 14 points and McNutt added 11. Crawford and Butler each had eight points to lead the squad on the boards. GU out-rebounded Rutgers, 49-44, and shot 22 percent from the field. The Hoyas had 29 turnovers but forced 24 on the defensive end.
Georgetown will look to bounce back and will host Cincinnati on Wednesday at McDonough Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Live stats and a webcast featuring Drew Wiseman will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.
