WASHINGTON – A strong second half created a win for the Georgetown University women's basketball team on Tuesday evening in McDonough Arena against the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds. The Hoyas defeated the Greyhounds 45-30, holding them to just nine points in the second half, and advanced to 3-0 on the young season, while Loyola fell to 0-3.
"Before the second half, I told the team that we needed to focus on playing defense," said Georgetown Head Coach James Howad. "We came back out and challenged their defense as a team. Five people playing defense, five people going to the basket. We held them to five points for most of the second half. It was a great defensive effort on our behalf. We've been trying to get Dionna back into rhythm and with Dorothy out, we had to focus on getting Dionna in a position where she could help us offensively."
Graduate student
Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown / Virginia) and senior
Dionna White (Baltimore, Md. / Milford Mill) led the Hoyas with 15 points apiece. Venson tallied four assists and four rebounds, while White recorded three assists and six rebounds. Venson was 57 percent from the 3-point line.
The Blue & Gray outrebounded Loyola 41-37 and shot 29.6 percent (16 for 54) from the field, as well as hitting 50 percent from the free throw line. Georgetown forced 15 Greyhound turnovers with six steals in the game.
The Hoyas led for most of the first quarter until Loyola took the lead with almost a minute left. Venson started things off for the Blue & Gray, opening up the scoring within the first two minutes with back-to-back 3-pointers to put GU up 6-0. With just a minute left, the Greyhounds fired a 3-pointer to take the lead, making the score 14-13 before entering the second quarter.
Venson tied the score 18-18 with another 3-pointer in the beginning of the second quarter. Georgetown took the lead shortly after when freshman
Shanniah Wright (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Polytechnic Preparatory Day School) managed a defensive rebound and got the ball down the court to sophomore
Tatiana Thompson (Winter Haven, Fla. / Winter Haven) for a bucket in the paint, taking a 20-18 lead. Loyola made a shot from beyond the three-point arc to take a one-point lead, 21-20, which remained that way until the half as both teams played a pressuring defense.
Georgetown bounced back in the third quarter, taking control of the game on both ends of the court. After White was fouled while driving to the basket, the guard created a spark for the Hoyas as they went on a 10-point scoring run. The Hoyas outscored Loyola 14-4 in the third quarter and led 34-25 as the team entered into the final 10 minutes of play.
A strong fourth quarter by the Hoyas sealed their third-straight win this season. Georgetown did not allow the Greyhounds to score until 4:25 was left on the clock as Loyola made a free throw, trailing behind 40-26. Venson went on a 5-point spurt halfway through the quarter, which included her fourth trey of the night. White scored one more bucket for the Hoyas, while the rest of GU's points came from the foul line, sealing the 45-30 victory.
Up next, the Blue & Gray will travel to James Madison on Friday, Nov. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at GUHoyas.com. Georgetown will return to McDonough Arena on Monday, Nov. 19 to host Pitt at 7 p.m.
