WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University women's basketball team defeated the Providence College Friars (13-10, 5-6 BIG EAST) on Sunday afternoon at McDonough Arena. With the victory, the Hoyas improved to 11-11 overall and 5-6 in the BIG EAST Conference to sit in a tie for sixth place.
 
"We were able to keep our composure when they went on their run," said Georgetown Head Coach James Howard.  "We had to make a couple adjustments and we ran plays for Dorothy and Dionna that really made a difference.  For us to be able to pull away and get the stops at the end I'm proud of them.  Fourth quarters have been our Achilles heel and tonight we were able to do that which will help us going forward."
 
Graduate student guard Dorothy Adomako (Midlothian, Va. / Cosby) recorded her second double-double of the weekend for the Hoyas with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Dionna White (Baltimore, Md. / Milford Mill) contributed 19 points and eight rebounds to go along with seven steals and five helpers. Graduate student Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown / Virginia) was the third Hoya in double figures with 16 points to her credit.  Junior guard Morgan Smith (Upper Marlboro, Md. / Riverdale Baptist) added a team-high 11 rebounds including six on the offensive glass.
 
The Hoyas shot 34.5 percent (20 for 58) from the field while allowing the Friars to shoot 37.1 percent (23 for 62). Georgetown outrebounded PC 43-38 and both teams committed 17 turnovers apiece. Georgetown also tallied 10 steals while the Friars recorded eight.
 
The Friars opened scoring for the game, breaking a two-minute opening stalemate. Despite the slow start, the Hoyas came back with a steal and layup from White, followed quickly by a layup from Adomako to bring the score to 4-2. The Friars tied up the score, but a 3-pointer from White and a layup from Adomako placed the Hoyas back in the lead. PC responded with back-to-back layups, but their run was broken by two successful free throws from White. A 3-pointer from Venson further extended the GU lead to 14-10. Despite the Friars' efforts to regain the lead, the Blue & Gray maintained a slight advantage throughout the quarter, leading 19-17 at the end of the first.
 
The Hoyas came out strong at the start of the second quarter, beginning with a 3-pointer from White. A steal and another layup from White moved the score to 24-17. PC came back with a jumper and, despite a layup from Venson, the Friars went on a 6-point run, reducing the Hoya advantage to just one at end of the half 26-25. 
 
The Friars pulled ahead early in the third quarter, but GU came back with a seven-point run, including a pair of layups by Adomako, to bring the score to 33-27. Providence continued to press the Hoyas, but a jumper from Venson halted PC's five-point run. A jumper from Smith and two successful free throws from Venson helped to maintain the Hoyas' lead, allowing Georgetown to finish out the third quarter leading 39-36.
 
Providence tied up the score at the start of the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer from Adomako put the Hoyas back up 42-39. After a layup by each team, the Friars pulled ahead with a 5-point run, forcing Georgetown to call for a timeout. Consecutive layups from White and Adomako brought back the Hoya advantage, and a 3-pointer from Venson pulled the score up to 51-46 with under five minutes left in the game. GU maintained a slight lead as the teams traded free throws and timeouts, with successful free throws from Venson and freshman guard Cassandra Gordon (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Santa Barbara) in the final minute of the game. Despite a hard push from the Friars in the last 15 seconds, Georgetown held on for the 61-56 win.
 
The Blue & Gray will start its three-game road swing starting at No. 10/9 Marquette University on Friday, February 8 with an 8 p.m. tip. The game will be broadcast live on FS1 and live stats will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.  The game will be one of FOX Sports' All-Access contests.  The game is presented commercial-free on FS1, allowing FOX Sports cameras and microphones to capture moments not normally available to a television audience, including live access to every team huddle and inside both locker rooms during halftime and postgame.  Play-by-play announcer Lisa Byington and analyst and Hoya alum Monica McNutt will be live from the Al McGuire Center.