WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University women's basketball team (1-0) downed the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday evening in a 70-52 victory in GU's home opener at McDonough Arena. With the win, the Hoyas advance to 2-0 on the season while the Hawks fall to 0-2.
 
"We learned how to be mentally tough when it came down the stretch and learn how to fight when it came down to as close as a two-point game," said Georgetown Head Coach James Howard. "When you're playing a scrappy team like them, it puts you in a position to be on your heels versus attack. We had to switch in the second half and play a smaller lineup to go along with what they were doing. We tried to get the ball to Dorothy a little bit more and get her to the rim. I thought Nikola played well off the bench. She came up with shots when we needed them most."
 
A trio of Hoyas led the team in double digit scoring. Graduate student Dorothy Adomako (Midlothian, Va. / Cosby) led the Blue & Gray with 18 points as well as 10 rebounds and an assist for her 68th career double-double. Graduate student Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown / Virginia) added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, while freshman Nikola Kovacikova (Levice, Slovakia / UKF Nitra) made her home debut with 13 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. The freshman guard was 75.0 percent from the three-point line.
 
Georgetown outrebounded UMES 44-35 on the glass. The Hoyas shot 40 percent (26 for 65) from the field as well as 40 percent (10 for 25) from beyond the arc, while the defense forced the Hawks into 26.3 percent (15 of 57) shooting in the contest. The Blue & Gray forced 14 turnovers from the Hawks with four steals in the game.
 
The Hoyas started off strong as senior guard Dionna White (Baltimore, Md. / Milford Mill) managed a defensive rebound and drove to the basket to score the first bucket of the game. They took an immediate 5-0 lead in the first two minutes of play with a three by Venson. The Hawks tied it up 5-5 and took their only lead of the game after a made free throw. Venson scored five points in the remaining three minutes, including a buzzer beater, to put GU up 18-14 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Senior guard Brianna Jones (North Babylon, N.Y. / North Babylon / Louisville) opened up the second quarter with a 3-pointer, followed by a jumper from Adomako to spark a 13 point run for Georgetown. A pressuring Hoya defense did not allow a bucket from UMES until four minutes into play. The Blue & Gray took its biggest lead of the half with less than three minutes to go in the quarter 36-18. Sophomore forward Tatiana Thompson (Winter Haven, Fla. / Winter Haven) controlled the offense with three-straight baskets for GU, but the Hawks cut the difference to 10 as the teams headed into the half with GU up 37-28.
 
UMES controlled the beginning of the second half, cutting the lead to just two points 37-35 as the Blue & Gray entered a five-minute scoring drought. After a Georgetown timeout was called, the Hoyas found their rhythm halfway through the third quarter. Freshman forward Shanniah Wright (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Polytechnic Preparatory Day School) sank a pair of free throws and Adomako followed up shortly after with a jumper to give GU its momentum back as the team led 41-35. Kovacikova scored eight points in the final few minutes, giving the Hoyas a 10-point lead before the final quarter 53-43.
 
The Hoyas came out in the fourth quarter on a five-point scoring burst. Kovacikova fired up her third 3-pointer to give Georgetown the rhythm it needed to finish strong. The Blue & Gray knocked down three more shots from the 3-point arc to take a 64-48 lead and took control of remaining minutes, outscoring the Hawks 21-12 in the final quarter.
 
Up next, the Blue & Gray will host Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at McDonough Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live stats and a broadcast featuring Monika Moore will be available on GUHoyas.com.
 
Tickets are available at WeAreGeorgetown.com. New this season, women's basketball tickets are going digital. Fans will now be able to manage their tickets entirely online.