Nov. 16, 2010
Box Score
Photo Gallery
WASHINGTON - The No. 13 Georgetown University women's basketball squad (2-0) notched its first statement win of the season Tuesday evening defeating local-rival the University of Maryland Terrapins (1-1), 53-45, in front of a raucous crowd at McDonough Arena. The Hoyas used a late second-half surge to hold off the No. 21 Terps and defeat its first ranked opponent of the season.
After Georgetown led by as much as 12 early in the second half, the Terps came back to take a 45-43 lead with 1:40 remaining in the contest. Junior point guard Rubylee Wright (Latta, S.C./Latta) had been in and out of the game with cramping and was signaling for a sub before pulling up to hit the go-ahead three right in front of the GU bench.
"When Leelee shot that I was thinking, no, no no," said Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "She had been cramping so much that I didn't think she had the strength to get to the ball to the basket. But as soon as she made it I was thinking yes!"
Sophomore shooting guard Sugar Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) added another trey less than a minute later to make it a two-possession game. Junior guard Alexa Roche (Bellmore, N.Y./St. Michael's Academy) came up with a steal on the other end and hit a pair of free throws which sent the crowd of 1,953 into a frenzy. Rodgers sank two more from the charity stripe in the closing seconds making the final, 53-45.
Rodgers drained a long three to close out the first half as the Hoyas went into the break up, 26-23. The Blue & Gray used a 9-0 run to open the second and gain the momentum needed to make up for a poor shooting night.
Maryland controlled much of the first half, taking an early lead as the Hoyas fouled to make up for a size differential in the paint. The Terps went up by as much as nine just nine minutes in, but the Georgetown defense began to force turnovers leading to buckets on the other end to get back in the game.
Sophomore Sydney Wilson (Silver Spring, Md./St. John's College Prep) made a statement in the middle, taking over underneath for a Georgetown squad known to be undersized.
Rodgers led the team with 21 points, while Wilson added a career-best ten as well as nine rebounds and three blocks. The defense forced 29 Terp turnovers on 15 steals and held the squad to just 17.5 percent shooting from the field. On the offensive end, Georgetown shot 29.7 percent on field goals, but were outrebounded, 63-44.
Lynetta Kizer led Maryland with 10 points and 16 rebounds while Alicia DeVaughn added 10 points and 11 boards.
Georgetown has won 17-consecutive home games, one of the longest streaks in Division I women's basketball. The victory also marked the first time in nine tries that the Blue & Gray has defeated Maryland.
"This was an exciting win for us and it's great for the program, but we still have a lot of games," said Williams-Flournoy. "We have La Salle on Friday and then a very tough road at the Paradise Jam before we get into BIG EAST. So even though this is a big win, it's not the most important game of the year and our girls know that. They've learned how to celebrate and move on to the next one."
The Hoyas will be back in action on Friday evening as the squad takes on the La Salle University Explorers at 7 p.m., at McDonough Arena. Live stats and a webcast featuring Ryan Sakamoto will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.
