WASHINGTON –  The Georgetown University women's basketball team came back to defeat the Xavier University Musketeers (9-3, 0-1 BIG EAST) 68-61 Saturday evening at McDonough Arena in the BIG EAST Conference opener.  With the win the Hoyas move to 7-5 on the season and 1-0 in league play.
 
"We fought hard in the second half," said Georgetown Head Coach James Howard.  "At halftime we challenged them, we thought we were much better than we had shown in the first half.  Coming off of finals and Christmas break I saw some fatigue, but we had kids that stepped up for us in the second half.  Dionna White played great, we had four kids in double figures and that always helps when you're playing a good team with a lot of confidence."
 
Three Hoyas scored in double figures led by senior guard Dionna White (Baltimore, Md. / Milford Mill) who posted her 12th double-double of her career with 24 points and 12 boards, while adding four steals. Graduate student Dorothy Adomako (Midlothian, Va. / Cosby) managed 17 points, senior guard Brianna Jones (Babylon, N.Y. / North Babylon / Louisville) had 10 points and graduate student Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown / Virginia) tallied 11 points along with eight rebounds in the contest. Junior forward Anita Kelava (Zagreb, Croatia / Croatian National Team / Maine) managed four blocks to go along with two points and eight boards.
 
Georgetown outrebounded Xavier 46-40.  The Hoyas shot 35.8 percent (24 for 67) from the field as well as 72.0 percent (18 for 25) from the charity stripe.  The defense forced the Musketeers into 35.1 percent (20 of 57) shooting in the contest. The Blue & Gray forced 16 turnovers from Xavier with 10 steals in the game.
 
The Musketeers opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers from the corner. Georgetown battled back using stifling defense to make it 8-6 at the first media timeout.  Xavier continued to hit from downtown with a quick 8-0 run.  A late trey by sophomore guard Tatiana Thompson (Winter Haven, Fla. / Winter Haven) pulled the Blue & Gray within five, but Xavier sank one at the buzzer to make it 19-11 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Georgetown battled in the second looking for an opportunity to make a run.  The Blue & Gray struggled to get into a rhythm offensively, and a 3-pointer midway through the stanza was the dagger putting Xavier ahead 28-14 and forcing a GU timeout.  The Musketeers scored out of the timeout, but the Hoyas continued to fight as Adomako hit four-straight points.  The guard traded 3-pointers with Xavier and then had a steal at midcourt resulting in a fast break layup to make it a 10-point game and force an XU timeout. 
 
In the final seconds of the first half, White went in for a layup to cut the lead to eight 35-27 going into the half.
 
The Hoyas came out fired up in the third quarter as the squad staged a quick 4-0 run from White to cut it to four 35-31 and force a Xavier timeout.  Jones connected on a jumper in transition as the defense was coming up with stops following the six unanswered points.  The Musketeers ended the run with a pair of made free throws, but the momentum of the game had switched to the Hoyas.
 
Adomako was strong in the paint forcing the and one to cut the lead to two 38-36.  Xavier found the answer with a quick bucket, but Venson sank a pull-up jumper on the other end.  The Musketeers would regain a small lead, but the Hoyas were by no means out of it as Venson drove the lane for a layup and White added a steal and a put back to make it 45-43.  Following an XU free throw, White came down and scored cutting the deficit to one. 
 
Xavier hit another free throw, but White continued to dominate managing the three-point play to give the Hoyas the 48-47 advantage.  The Blue & Gray hustled up and down the floor as a pair of defensive stops, including a diving steal from White, made it 54-47 in favor of the Hoyas at the end of the quarter.  GU outscored Xavier 27-12 in the stanza and ended the quarter on an 18-2 run including 11 points from White.  
 
Georgetown began the fourth with another bucket from Adomako as the Hoyas looked to hold on to the small advantage.  Xavier would come as close as five, and a trey at the three-minute mark made the score 62-59 as GU clung to the lead.  It was White who would find some points to slow the Xavier run.  In the final two minutes, Venson converted the three-point play and the Musketeers would have no more answers as Georgetown held on for the 68-61 victory.   
 
Georgetown will continue BIG EAST play on Monday as the squad hosts the Butler University Bulldogs at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) with Matt Janus and Monika Moore calling the action.    
 
To watch BEDN, download the FOX Sports GO app for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and phones and select Windows devices to view BEDN games on-the-go. The app also supports Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast. The FOX Sports GO platform can also be accessed at FOXSportsGO.com on desktops. A cable provider's login is required to access FOXSportsGo on a desktop.
 
Admission for Monday will be complimentary.