PITTSBURGH – The Georgetown University women's basketball team showed grit to hold on for a 66-56 victory over the Pitt Panthers Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center.  Led by 18 points from graduate transfer Taylor Barnes and a big game down low by senior Anita Kelava, the Hoyas improved to 1-2 on the season while Pitt fell to 1-2 for the year.
 
Head Coach James Howard
"I thought we showed a lot of resilience today, they didn't give up.  We're a young team trying to find our place and we had some people step up today.  When we score points, we have success and we had some outstanding performances from Taylor Barnes on offense and Anita Kelava and Shanniah Wright on defense. It was encouraging and it was a great win."
 
How it Happened

• Pitt came out hitting back-to-back 3-pointers before a steal and layup from Brianna Jones put the Blue & Gray on the board.
• Jones continued to battle pulling the Hoyas within one 9-8 on four quick points as the Hoya defense forced turnovers.
• Taylor Barnes knocked down a long 3-pointer to give GU the lead 11-9 and Pitt was forced to call timeout after another Georgetown stop.
• The Blue & Gray controlled the second quarter on both ends as the defense didn't allow a field goal for the first five minutes.
• Big points from Brown brought the Hoyas within one, and a 15-2 run put the Hoyas back in control.
• Nikola Kovacikova hit a layup at the buzzer to lead 38-36 at the break.
• Both teams went cold in the third, but an 8-0 Pitt run allowed the Panthers to take the 47-42 lead forcing a Hoya timeout.
• Georgetown managed a 4-0 run to end the third pulling the Hoyas within one 47-46.
• The final quarter belonged to the Hoyas as GU went on an 11-0 run including six points from Barnes and to put Georgetown on top 57-51.
• Pitt pulled within two, but the Blue & Gray came back down the stretch to pick up the 66-56 victory.

 
Of Note

• Barnes led the Hoyas with 18 points in just her second game of the season, missing last game due to injury.
• Kelava's 14 rebounds were a season high for the Blue & Gray, she also added six points and five blocks.
• The Hoyas outrebounded Pitt 42-38 and forced 11 turnovers while committing just nine.
• Georgetown shot 43 percent (26-61) for the game, and the defense allowed just 32 percent (19-59) from the Panthers.
• The Hoyas combined for nine blocks in the contest.

 
Up Next
The Hoyas will be back in action on Thursday as the squad hosts James Madison at McDonough Arena at 7 p.m.  A webcast ($) featuring Monika Moore and Eric Thibault and live stats will be available at www.GUHoyas.com. Fans can also follow updates on Twitter @GeorgetownWBB.