VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Georgetown University women's basketball team could not overcome a tough second half start falling 74-53 to the Villanova University Wildcats Saturday evening at Finneran Pavilion. With the loss, the Blue & Gray falls to 4-14 overall and 1-6 in the BIG EAST Conference, while Villanova moves on to 11-7 on the season and 5-2 in the league.
 
How it Happened

• Georgetown struck first as graduate student Taylor Barnes sank a 3-pointer on GU's opening possession.
• Villanova would answer, but the Hoyas regained the lead on a jumper from senior Marvellous Osagie-Erese. 
• The Wildcats came back with the 8-0 run as the Blue & Gray struggled to counter.  VU would lead by as much as nine in the quarter ending the first stanza with the 23-14 advantage.
• The Hoyas opened the second with a 7-0 run to cut it to two 23-21 as sophomore Nikola Kovacikova hit a pair of free throws and a trey.
• Midway through, the Blue & Gray would cling to the two-point deficit but a 12-0 run gave the 'Cats some momentum.
• In the final minute of the first half, Barnes sank a pair of free throws and then beat the buzzer from downtown to make it 40-31 at the half.
• Villanova began the third quarter on a 12-0 run as the Hoyas went cold.  Sophomore Shanniah Wright gave a spark late in the period with five quick points, but the Wildcats always had an answer.
• Georgetown could not mount a comeback in the final quarter eventually falling 74-53.

 
Of Note

• Barnes led the way for the Hoyas with 14 points, while Kovacikova posted 13 as the two Hoyas in double figures.  Wright also had nine for the game. 
• Senior Anita Kelava pulled in nine rebounds to go along with two points in the contest.
• Georgetown shot 37 percent from the field hitting 18-of-57 shots, while Villanova was 44 percent hitting 27-of-59 shots.
• The Blue & Gray was outrebounded by the Wildcats 41-32 and forced 10 turnovers.

 
Up Next
The Hoyas will hit the road next weekend traveling to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a 12:30 p.m. ET matchup against the Marquette Golden Eagles on Friday before taking on the DePaul Blue Demons on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET in Chicago. The game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) and live stats will be available at GUHoyas.com. Fans can also follow the Hoyas on Twitter for in-game updates at @GeorgetownWBB.
 
The BIG EAST has a dedicated channel on Caffeine, www.Caffeine.tv/BEDN, where fans can find all BEDN content. In addition to appearing on Caffeine, all BEDN events will be co-streamed on YouTube via the conference's main channel, www.youtube.com/BIGEASTConference, and Twitter on the main BIG EAST handle, @BIGEAST.