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WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's basketball team battled, but couldn't hold on to a first-half lead to fall to the University of Florida Gators (4-1), 81-73, Friday evening at McDonough Arena. It is the first home loss of the season for the Blue & Gray who drop to 2-5 on the year.

"First of all, hats off to Amanda Butler and a really good Florida team," said Georgetown Head Coach Natasha Adair. "Tonight we saw the team get better and, even if they numbers don't say it, this is a process. We have to have a short memory because tomorrow we have to get on a plane and Sunday we have to be ready to play Holy Cross. Tonight was a March game, we've played Kansas, Alabama, Temple and Florida in November. These games are meant to get us ready, so if this is us in November, I'm excited to see us in March."

Freshman guard Dorothy Adomako (Midlothian, Va./Cosby) led all scorers with a career-best 20 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Junior forward Dominique Vitalis (Bloomfield, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's) added 14 points and eight boards, while junior guard Katie McCormick (Leonardtown, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) tallied 13 points and six rebounds.

The Hoyas outrebounded the Gators, 41-29, and shot 41.0 percent in the game.

Kayla Lewis led Florida with 19 points as four Gators scored in double figures. The Gators shot 51.0 percent in the contest.

The lead went back and forth early on as neither squad could gain a significant lead. A big 3-pointer by Adomako gave the Hoyas the 12-10 advantage midway through the first. However, the lead was short lived as a pair of free throws tied it up again. Adomako stayed hot with a shot fake and jumper tying it again as the Blue & Gray fought to keep it close.

The pace picked up as both squads were moving up and down the court at a furious pace. The Hoyas put together a 5-0 run with big plays from junior guard Brittany Horne (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) with a 3-pointer and a fast break layup. The Gators answered with a trey of their own, but Horne knocked another down with a hand in her face to make it 26-19 at the eight-minute mark.

The Hoyas managed to hold on to the lead using a big defensive effort and finishing in the paint. Georgetown was able to draw fouls and get to the line as the Blue & Gray were cruising.

Georgetown led by as much as eight down the stretch, but the Gators tied it at 34 with 2:05 to go with an 8-0 run. Vitalis hit a jumper and a pair of free throws in the waning minutes as the Hoyas went into the break leading 38-34.

McCormick opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and on the other end of the court the defense forced turnovers. Despite the GU momentum, the Gators created some of their own with a pair of 3-pointers to cut the lead to three and a bucket made it, 43-41, four minutes in.

Midway through the second, it became a game of breaks as both squads were moving quickly up and down the floor. The Hoyas managed to maintain a small lead and disrupt the Gator offense, but it remained a nail biter with no squad gaining the edge.

Florida took the lead, 50-49, at 11:30 on a fast-break layup, but the Hoyas answered as McCormick slashed through the lane. Florida scored on the layup and added a three-point play to take the four-point lead, 55-51, their largest of the game to that point.

McCormick swished the trey to cut it to one, but Florida managed one of their own as the crowd went wild.

The Gators staged a 9-2 run with a pair of 3-pointers to take the eight-point lead, 64-56. However, GU fought back as sophomore guard Jade Martin (Bloomington, Minn./John F. Kennedy) knocked down a trey on the left side.

With a nine-point deficit, a three-point play from Vitalis cut it to six and a jumper on the baseline by Adomako made it 68-64.

As the minutes ticked down, the Hoyas battled to regain the lead. A big defensive stop allowed Adomako to sink a pair of layups to make it 70-68 with 2:30 to go. Florida scored, but Adomako drove the lane and, once again, cut it to two.

Florida answered and managed to hold on for the 81-73 victory as Georgetown was forced to foul.

The Hoyas will close out the 2014 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Challenge on Sunday at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Georgetown will face The College of Holy Cross in the fourth game of the tournament for both teams. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. An audio broadcast will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.