MILWAUKEE – The third-seeded Georgetown University women's lacrosse team will face the top-seeded University of Denver Pioneers in the BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at Valley Fields. The game will be broadcast live on FS2 with Patrick Reed and Rich Donovan calling the action.
Georgetown (10-8) advanced to the finals defeating second-seeded Marquette University 17-10 on Thursday. Senior
Francesca Whitehurst (Baltimore, Md. / Roland Park Country School) led the Hoyas with a career-high six goals along with two assists for eight points in the contest, and also pulled in five draw controls. Earlier this week she was named the BIG EAST Co-Midfielder of the Year. Classmates
Taylor Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / C.W. Baker) and
Morgan Ryan (Maplewood, N.J. / Oak Knoll School) had five points and three points respectively. Gebhardt managed four goals and one assist while Ryan had the hat trick.
Georgetown outshot Marquette 33-20 and pulled in 17 draw controls to the Golden Eagles' 13. The Hoyas forced 22 MU turnovers while committing 17. Senior goalkeeper
Haelle Chomo (Naples, Fla. / Barron Collier) tallied seven saves in the contest and took the win in the cage.
The victory continued the league's history as the third-seeded team has defeated the second seed for the fifth-straight season as the third seed moved to 9-4 over the past 13 years. Georgetown has not appeared in the championship game since 2014.
Whitehurst was named the 2019 Co-BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year as nine Georgetown University women's lacrosse players were named All-BIG EAST as announced by the league office on Wednesday. Four Hoyas were named to the first team, and five earned a spot on the second team.
Whitehurst and unanimous First Team All-BIG EAST selection Gebhardt lead the team in scoring with 66 and 58 points, respectively. Whitehurst has 38 goals and a squad-best 28 assists, while Gebhardt has managed 41 goals with 17 assists on the season. They are followed by First Team All-BIG EAST awardee Ryan in third with a team-high 43 goals, while Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree
Michaela Bruno (Garden City, N.Y. / Garden City) is fourth with 28 goals to go along with 13 assists on the year.
Whitehurst has 66 draw controls and freshman midfielder
Jordyn Sabourin (Catonsville, Md. / Notre Dame Prep) is second with 43. Second Team All-BIG EAST winner
Noelle Peragine (Northport, N.Y. / Northport) and First Team All-BIG EAST honoree
Katie Hudson (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. / Cold Spring Harbor) both had 20 caused turnovers for the year. In goal, Second Team All-BIG EAST awardee Chomo has played a majority of the minutes in the cage with 125 saves and a 10.55 goals-against average for the season.
No. 15 Denver (14-2) defeated Villanova 15-5 in the other semifinal to advance to the championship game. Alongside Quintin Hoch-Bullen and Bea Behrins' four goals, Julia Feiss posted three and Elizabeth Behrins, Kendra Lanuza, Hannah Liddy and Eliza Radochonski all tallied one to boost the Pioneers past the Wildcats. The Pioneers advance to the BIG EAST Tournament Championship for the third-consecutive season, every single year since joining the conference in 2017.
Georgetown is 4-3 all-time against the Pioneers and 0-2 in the postseason. Earlier this season, GU fell 12-9 at home in a tough result at Cooper Field. Ryan led the way with a hat trick, while Whitehurst added two goals and as many assists. Gebhardt posted a goal and two helpers followed by Bruno with two scores on the afternoon. The last meeting in the postseason was a 12-7 Hoya loss in Florida a season ago.
The winner of Saturday's contest will receive the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
