Nov. 16, 2014 Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. - The Georgetown University women's basketball team (1-1) dropped a tough 65-57 decision to the University of Richmond Spiders (2-0) Sunday afternoon at the Robins Center in Richmond, Va. The Hoyas battled throughout, but couldn't find a late basket to hold on.
"We played well, but we didn't play for 40 minutes," said Georgetown Head Coach Natasha Adair. "We came out and our focus was where it needed to be, but we left some things around the rim and when it got tight our inexperience showed. My hat goes off to Richmond, they're a tough team and they're playing inspired and full of emotion."
Junior forward Dominique Vitalis (Bloomfield, N.J./Gill St. Bernard) led all scorers with 19 points and pulled down eight boards. Freshman guard Dorothy Adomako (Midlothian, Va./Cosby) posted her second-career double-double in her second-career game with 11 points and a squad-high 11 rebounds.
Georgetown shot just 27.5 percent from the field, but outrebounded the Spiders, 48-40. GU had nine steals, 19 forced turnovers and went 16-of-21 at the line (.762).
The Spiders immediately went inside to begin the game, as the Hoya offense was bothered by UR's pressure defense. It took a few minutes to settle, but Georgetown cut it to one on a 6-0 run, 9-8.
The intensity was matched on the other end, as GU's stingy defense began to force turnovers generating opportunities on the other end. Junior guard Brittany Horne (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) entered the game and immediately made an impact with a 3-pointer followed by an assist on the high low to give GU the 15-11 lead.
With the four-point lead, the Hoyas held Richmond without a field goal for more than six minutes, but were unable to take advantage on offense. Fouls put the Spiders on the line, as the Blue & Gray held onto a slim lead.
A layup at 8:40 gave Richmond the lead back, but GU answered with a pair of layups as neither team could gain a significant advantage.
A 3-pointer by freshman guard DiDi Burton (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City College Prep) tied it at 22, but free throws made the difference when Richmond went into the bonus.
The Georgetown defense went back to work and forced steals with players getting up the court. Vitalis scored back-to-back fast-break layups and Horne got out on the break to get fouled going to the hole.
Richmond managed a late run to make it 33-27 at the break. Both squads scored 26 points from the field in the half, but it was free throws that made the difference as Richmond went 7-of-10 at the line and Georgetown just 1-of-2.
Georgetown looked to the paint to begin the second and headed to the line four times in the first four minutes with Vitalis knocking down five free throws as well as Adomako adding one. A 3-pointer from Horne cut the lead to one, 38-37, with 15:14 remaining.
The Blue & Gray continued to draw fouls and connect at the line as the squad kept it a one-possession game on points from the charity stripe. A technical foul on the Richmond bench gave GU one more chance at the line as junior guard Katie McCormick (Leonardtown, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) sank the second free throw to tie it at 46 with 11:08 remaining.
The lead came as freshman guard Justyce Swango (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) threaded the needle to Vitalis for the layup and Horne added a basket forcing Richmond to call timeout. The 8-0 run gave Georgetown the lead, 50-46.
Richmond answered with a pair of buckets and eventually took a lead, but the Hoyas continued to battle. As the time ticked down, the Spiders hit at the line and Georgetown was forced to foul eventually falling, 65-57.
"This was a game we were in a great position to win, we just need to learn how to close out those games," said Adair. Georgetown will return home on Wednesday for an 8 p.m., matchup against the University of Loyola (Md.) Greyhounds at McDonough Arena. Live stats and a webcast featuring Ben Gordon-Goldstein and Ryan Sakamoto will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.
