Feb. 4, 2011
WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's basketball squad will host the University of Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday at McDonough Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. The Blue & Gray is 18-5 overall and 6-3 in BIG EAST play.
Georgetown had a big come-from-behind victory at Louisville on Tuesday evening. The Hoyas trailed by 11 at the half but came back with a huge run to get the lead and eventually win, 76-52, snapping Louisville's 10-game home win streak.
Sophomore Sugar Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) led the Blue & Gray with 26 points, including 22 in the second half. Rodgers scored 13-consecutive points during Georgetown's run and tallied her 1,000th-career point in the process. She had an all-around game with six steals and three assists.
Junior Tia Magee (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) added 12 rebounds and eight points while senior Monica McNutt (Suitland, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) notched 16 points and eight rebounds. Junior Rubylee Wright (Latta, S.C./Latta) managed a squad-high six assists.
Georgetown shot 67.1 percent in the second half and outrebounded the Cardinals, 36-26. The defense also forced UofL into 30 turnovers on 16 steals.
Rodgers leads the Hoyas with 18.6 points per game and 51 steals. She is also averaging 4.9 rebounds per game to lead the squad and is just ahead of Magee and McNutt who are both averaging 4.7 rpg. Wright has recorded a team-high 121 assists on the season and is GU's fourth-leading scorer averaging 7.3 ppg behind McNutt and Magee who are managing 11.5 and 8.4 ppg, respectively.
On Monday, Rodgers was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time this season. She averaged 21.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 4.0 apg in a 2-0 week. Rodgers scored a career-high 30 points in the Hoyas' win over No. 8/8 West Virginia. She shot 60 percent from the field (9-of-15) and connected on 10-of-10 from the line against the Mountaineers. In Georgetown's win at Seton Hall, Rodgers had 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, to go along with five assists and four rebounds. Rodgers was also named the ECAC Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Cincinnati is 8-13 this year and 1-8 in the BIG EAST. The Bearcats fell to Pittsburgh on the road, 79-48, on Tuesday. Bjonee Reaves led the team with 22 points, while Tiffany Turner grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Reaves was the lone scorer in double figures for the Bearcats.
Shareese Ulis leads Cincinnati with 14.6 points per game. Turner is averaging 6.9 rpg to top the squad.
The Hoyas are 2-5 all-time against the Bearcats. Last season, the Blue & Gray downed Cincinnati, 60-56, in Ohio. McNutt led Georgetown with 26 points including eight threes, while Rodgers had 15. Jaleesa Butler posted a squad-best eight rebounds.
GU had five steals on 11 forced turnovers. The last meeting at McDonough Arena was during the 2008-09 season when the Hoyas downed the Bearcats, 69-61. Georgetown is 1-2 all-time at home against Cincinnati.
Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Live stats and a webcast featuring Ryan Sakamoto will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.
Saturday's game celebrates National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The event includes ticket promotions for elementary and middle school female athletes as well as a meet and greet with the Hoyas. Fans with a ticket stub from the men's game against Providence will be admitted in free of charge.
