Box Score

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's basketball fell to the Marquette University Golden Eagles (19-8, 13-3 BIG EAST), 71-68, in a BIG EAST Conference matchup Sunday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center. With the loss, the Hoyas drop to 12-13 overall and 7-8 in league play with a pair of home games remaining.

"We competed, but we need to improve on our defense," said Georgetown Head Coach James Howard. "We had defensive lapses to start the game and that hurt us. We wanted to be focused and disciplined for 40 minutes coming out of the locker room, and that didn't happen."

Junior guard Dionna White (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill) led the way with 27 points and also added four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior forward Cynthia Petke (Yaounde, Cameroon/-/Chipola College) tallied her 15th double-double of the season with 11 points and a team-best 12 rebounds.

The Hoyas were outrebounded, 71-68, but forced 18 turnovers on nine steals while committing just 12 turnovers in the contest. Georgetown shot 43.1 percent (28-of-65) from the field, but allowed 48.1 percent (26-of-54) shooting from Marquette.

MU came out fired up opening the game on an 8-0 run over the first three minutes. Thompson ended the run with a bucket in the lane, but the Golden Eagles responded with a trey. Five quick points from White pulled the Hoyas within three, 11-8, and sophomore guard Morgan Smith (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) followed with a bucket of her own making it a one-point game.

Looking at a 15-14 deficit, White picked off an MU pass and went in for the layup to give the Hoyas their first lead of the game near the end of the period. The Golden Eagles would hit a three at the buzzer to make it 18-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Marquette began the second stanza with a small run, but senior guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va./Yorktown/Virginia) scored five quick points to move ahead, 20-16. The Golden Eagles would have an answer with a three, but White's bucket on the next possession made it 24-23 in favor of the Blue & Gray. At 3:32, a layup from Petke sparked a 7-0 run including five points by White. It gave the Hoyas their largest lead of the game, but two late buckets would make it 33-30 in favor of Georgetown going into the break.

The squads traded 3-pointers to begin the third quarter as GU clung to a small lead. The Hoyas couldn't find a way to pull away as the game began to get physical for both teams. Late in the third, MU made a run to tie the game at 43. A White jumper put the Hoyas ahead, but Marquette answered back with a layup. Free throws in the final minute gave MU the lead at the end of the stanza, 49-47.

Marquette held the advantage for the beginning of the final quarter, but the Hoyas stayed right there. In the final two minutes of the game, White scored back-to-back buckets and was fouled on her layup hitting the free throw to put GU ahead, 66-65. Marquette made a layup and a GU turnover gave the ball back to the Golden Eagles. The Hoyas came up with the stop and called timeout to set up a play. The ensuing shot clanged off of the rim and the jump ball on the rebound went to the Golden Eagles. Georgetown had a pair of chances to hit the last second three, but couldn't find the tying shot to fall, 71-68.

Georgetown will close out the regular season with a pair of home games next weekend. The Hoyas will face Creighton University on Friday at 11 a.m. in a School Day Game. On Sunday, GU will play Providence College at 2 p.m. in the regular season finale. Both games will be broadcast live on BEDN and live stats will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.

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