CHICAGO – The No. 4 Georgetown University women's basketball team powered by All-BIG EAST honorees Dionna White (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill) and Dorothy Adomako (Midlothian, Va. / Cosby) put together an impressive performance on Sunday with a 76-67 victory over the fifth-seeded Villanova Wildcats in the BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep Quarterfinals at Wintrust Arena.  A huge second half propelled the Blue & Gray into the semifinals.
 
The pair combined for 52 of GU's 76 points as the Hoyas (16-14) won their fifth straight as well as advancing to the BIG EAST semifinals in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history.  The game was full of records as it marked Georgetown's best field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and fewest turnovers in a BIG EAST Tournament game as well as career tournament highs for both White and Adomako.
 
"It was a tough game out there," said Georgetown Head Coach James Howard.  "We take our hats off to Villanova. It was very hard to play them again after playing them in that second game up there, and the outcome of that game, we knew our team was better than what it showed that night. I think our young women rallied around that and really came in with a different focus."
 
Along with her 27 points, White managed a squad-best nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.  Adomako tallied two boards, an assist, a block and a steal added to her 25 points.  Providing support was senior guard Brianna Jones (North Babylon, N.Y. / North Babylon / Louisville) with eight points and two rebounds, as well as graduate student guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown / Virginia) who had seven points and seven rebounds to go along with a huge defensive effort.
 
The Hoyas shot 52.7 percent (29 of 55) from the field and hit 57.1 percent (8 of 14) from beyond the arc.  The Wildcats (18-12) managed 48.2 percent (27 of 56) from the field and 41.9 percent (13 of 31) from three.  Georgetown was outrebounded 30-29, but forced 11 'Cat turnovers while committing an impressive six.
 
Jones opened the scoring with an early 3-pointer as GU jumped out to the six-point lead, 8-2, on another jumper from the senior.  Villanova began to hit from downtown which put the Wildcats in the lead, but a free throw from White tied it back up at 13.  White would add another basket, but 'Nova answered with a 6-0 run to lead 19-15 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Adomako nailed back-to-back buckets to open the second and tie the game at 19.  The squad would trade baskets as neither could gain more than a one or two-point advantage.  At the 5:51 mark, White drove in for a layup to tie the game at 29.  The Wildcats would answer with five quick points to make it 34-29 as the media timeout gave the Blue & Gray a chance to regroup.
 
Villanova would go up by as much as seven late, but a triple from White at the buzzer made it 41-38 at the half.
 
The third quarter began with a jumper from Adomako as the Blue & Gray battled to keep it a one-possession game.  Georgetown continued to have an answer for every Villanova bucket, but neither team could put together a run to gain a true advantage.  Following a huge defensive stop, White drove the baseline and dished to Jones on the wing who knocked down the trey to put the Hoyas ahead 53-51 midway through the third quarter.
 
The Wildcats would come back to tie, but GU held the momentum as an Adomako jumper in the lane put GU back on top.  White converted the conventional three-point play and Adomako had a huge block and then took it down before driving the baseline and rolling in a layup to make it a 7-0 run and force a Villanova timeout with the Hoyas leading 60-53.
 
Defense was key as stops turned into points on the other end as White and Adomako dominated play.  The final play of the quarter was a three-point play from Adomako as Georgetown capped off the 14-3 run to make it 67-56.  In the quarter, the Blue & Gray outscored the Wildcats 29-14 as Georgetown was cruising.
 
Villanova scored first in the final period, but White managed to keep it a 10-point game on two occasions.  The Wildcats battled, but White and Adomako were all over the court and would not allow Georgetown to lose the game.  In the final two minutes, the Hoyas slowed it down as Villanova was forced to foul.  Georgetown executed and pulled through with the 76-67 victory.    
 
The Hoyas will face top-seeded Marquette on Monday evening in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals at Wintrust Arena.  The opening tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast live on FS1 with Lisa Byington and Sarah Kustok calling the action.  Live stats will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.