WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University women's basketball team hung on against the Villanova Wildcats (11-7, 2-5 BIG EAST) on Saturday afternoon, defeating them 68-63 at McDonough Arena. The victory marked Georgetown Head Coach James Howard's 100th career win and graduate student Dorothy Adomako (Midlothian, Va. / Cosby) dropped a career-high of 28 points for the Hoyas, who improved to 9-9 overall and 3-4 in the BIG EAST.
 
"My 100th career win had been a long time coming and it's a blessing," said Howard. "I bless all the coaches I worked with who gave me this opportunity to be in this position and I thank the players because they went out there and gave me a tough win. We were down by six or seven with less than five minutes and with the way Villanova plays, they were going to run out the clock, but we played huge on offense in the final minutes. I'm glad I got my 100th win this way because it's something I'll always remember - how we came back after being down."
 
Adomako and senior Dionna White (Baltimore, Md. / Milford Mill) scored a combined 53 points. Adomako also contributed 11 rebounds to her 28 points and shot 50 percent (11 for 22) from the field. White contributed 25 points, six rebounds and four assists. She also shot 50 percent throughout the game (6 for 12) and was 11 for 13 from the free throw line.
 
The Hoyas outrebounded the Wildcats 33-26 and committed nine turnovers while forcing nine from VU on three steals. Villanova edged Georgetown in shooting percentage as the Wildcats hit 46.3 percent (25 for 54) from the field, while the Hoyas managed 46.0 percent (23 for 50) for the game. The Blue & Gray shot 72.0 percent from the charity stripe (18 for 25) while Villanova was 50 percent (3 for 6).
 
"We didn't play all 40 minutes today, but when it counted, we made key plays to get this win," said Howard. "I saw a lot of resilience out of this team today. This was a big win for us mentally because we needed a win and I'm happy we were able to pull it together. We really utilized Dorothy and Dionna today, who both had huge games."
 
The Wildcats opened up the scoring with an 8-0 run, but after a timeout called by Georgetown, Adomako put the Hoyas on the board as she went 3 for 4 from the charity stripe. White downed a 3-pointer to cut Villanova's lead to two and senior Brianna Jones (North Babylon, N.Y. / North Babylon / Louisville) tied it up at eight. The Blue & Gray improved its defensive efforts in the final three minutes of the first quarter, allowing the Wildcats just one basket before Adomako hit a trey at the buzzer to make it 18-15 in VU's favor.
 
The powerful duo of Adomako and White sparked an eight-point run for the Hoyas in the second quarter, giving GU a one-point lead before the Wildcats took it back. Both squads went back and forth down the court as each team scored one basket after another. However, the Hoyas stopped the scoring pattern with 1:16 to play before the break when freshman Cassandra Gordon (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Santa Barbara) hit a 3-pointer to cut the difference to just one. Shortly after, Adomako drove to the basket to put the Blue & Gray ahead at the half 36-35.
 
Both squads continued to battle for the lead. All 11 of Georgetown's points in the third stanza were split between Adomako and White. The Hoyas found their offensive rhythm and led by four at one point, but VU hit a trey to cut it to one. With less than two minutes to go, White went 4 for 4 from the foul line to put the Hoyas up by one, but a second-chance layup from the Wildcats gave them the lead back 48-47 before the last quarter.
 
The Hoyas fought to stay with the Wildcats in the final 10 minutes, but Villanova opened up the fourth quarter with a trey to lead by four. White pulled up in the paint with a jumper, but VU responded with a basket and a 3-pointer as GU trailed by seven. The scoring went back and forth between both squads until five minutes remained and the Hoyas were down 63-56. White made a trip to the foul line, sparking a 12-0 run and Georgetown never looked back.
 
With 2:11 to play, Adomako forced a layup and drew a foul on the made basket. The graduate student converted the three-point play to make it 63-62 with the Hoyas trailing by one. A turnover committed by the Wildcats put the possession in Georgetown's favor. Adomako added another basket to put GU ahead by one. With an excited crowd, the Hoyas forced another turnover from Villanova and the Blue & Gray hung onto the ball until the Wildcats claimed the possession. With 10 seconds left, Jones knocked VU's pass out of bounds to keep them from scoring, forcing a timeout.
 
Villanova committed a pair of fouls, sending White to the charity stripe both times. The senior guard went 4 for 4 from the line to finish it out strong for the Hoyas in their 68-63 victory.
 
The Blue & Gray will hit the road on Friday to Queens, New York to take on the St. John's Red Storm. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena. The game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) and live stats will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.
 
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