Jan. 9, 2010
Box Score
Tampa, Fla. - The No. RV/25 Georgetown University women's basketball squad made it 12 in a row Saturday night as the Hoyas defeated the University of South Florida Bulls (9-6, 0-2 BIG EAST), 66-52, at the Sun Dome. GU's run early in the second half paved the way for the Hoyas' 12th-consecutive victory, just one shy of the program record. Georgetown is now 13-2 on the season and 2-0 in BIG EAST play.
"I don't think tonight was one of our better games but obviously it was still good enough to win," said Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "Forcing 31 turnovers, we did what we needed to do on defense but I think we were too passive on the offensive end."
The game began like an old-fashioned shootout with the squads combining for a trio of trey's in the opening two minutes. A 10-3 GU run before the seven-minute mark allowed the Hoyas to take a small lead but USF's size ensured it would be a battle in the paint throughout the contest. The Georgetown defense did what it does best, forcing turnovers and not allowing easy buckets as the team held the Bulls without a field goal for more than ten minutes.
Back-to-back three's from Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) put the Blue & Gray up by ten at 6:18. However, the Bulls put together a quick scoring spurt late in the half looking as though they would make a comeback. Rodgers' final trey of the half made it 32-23 at the break.
Rodgers led all scorers with 12 points as well as a team-best four rebounds. Monica McNutt (Suitland, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) added eight points for the Hoyas. Georgetown shot 37.9 percent for the half and forced 14 turnovers on eight steals. Jessica Lawson led the Bulls with seven points as USF outrebounded Georgetown 19-18. GU made seven three's in the stanza.
Four-straight turnovers hurt the Hoyas as the second half began and the Bulls answered with three points off of free throws. Georgetown came back with a 9-0 run, fueled by four points from Jaleesa Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Alton), to take a 15-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.
In the first ten minutes of the half, the Hoyas allowed just one Bull field goal and five total points as the lead swelled to 20. The Georgetown press continued to forced turnovers and with four minutes to go in the game, GU had allowed only 39 USF points.
Sloppy play in the final minutes of the contest pulled the lead into the teens, however, the Hoyas maintained the advantage making it 66-52 at the buzzer.
Rodgers led all scorers with 18 points, all off of three's, and a team-high six rebounds. McNutt added ten, while both Latia Magee (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) and Adria Crawford (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) posted nine. Georgetown shot 41.5 percent for the game and forced 31 turnovers while committing 23. The Hoyas notched 16 steals but were outrebounded 36-34.
The Hoyas will hit the hardwood on Tuesday in their BIG EAST home opener against the Providence College Friars. Tipoff at McDonough Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live stats and a webcast featuring Drew Wiseman will be available at www.GUHoyas,com.
