March 4, 2012
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HARTFORD, Conn. - The fourth-seeded Georgetown University women's basketball squad fell, 39-32, to the fifth-seeded West Virginia University Mountaineers (23-8) in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament on Sunday at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. Shooting woes plagued the Blue & Gray despite a solid defensive effort. The Hoyas are currently 22-8 overall.
"It's mind boggling that we didn't hit shots, because I knew we'd win the game with them (West Virginia) shooting like that," said Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "If we would just finally hit some shots, if a basket would just fall, it would give them the confidence that they needed to continue to shoot."
The Hoya offense struggled in the first half shooting just 11.4 percent with four field goals and its lowest first-half point total of the season.
Despite the shooting woes, the defense stayed strong allowing just 20.7 percent shooting on the other end as well as 13 Mountaineer turnovers.
Georgetown looked good off of the opening tip as junior guard Sugar Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) tallied two quick layups. That would be the only bright spot offensively as the Hoyas then battled through two scoring droughts totaling 18 minutes.
Things didn't get much better in the second half as the Hoyas continued to struggle from the field.
Trailing 21-18 with 14:39 left, West Virginia used a 14-6 run to take control of the game. However, even at that point Georgetown had opportunities to come back.
Down the stretch, the Mountaineers missed seven of their final 10 free throws in the last minute with GU down six, Georgetown had a number of good looks from three but couldn't connect making the final, 39-32.
Rodgers led the way with a double-double notching 14 points and 11 rebounds as well as a squad-high four steals. The teams tied in rebounds with 51 apiece and GU forced 22 Mountaineer turnovers. The telling stat was the Hoyas' 14.7 percent shooting from the field, as well as WVU's 25 percent total.
The 32 points were a season-low for the Blue & Gray who hadn't scored that few since scoring 33 points against Baylor in the NCAA Tournament in 2010. The combined score also shattered the tournament record for lowest point total in a game.
"We played defense and we forced them into 22 turnovers. We rebounded with them. We did everything defensively that we needed to do," said Williams-Flournoy. "Dunning and Bussie didn't hurt us inside, even with us being undersized. You look at the stat sheet from the top up to West Virginia, if you see Georgetown scores, it's totally different."
The Hoyas will now wait for the NCAA Tournament announcement on Monday, March 12. The selections will be aired live on ESPN at 7 p.m.
