WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University women's basketball team dropped a close 48-40 decision to the Villanova University Wildcats Sunday afternoon in a BIG EAST Conference contest at McDonough Arena.  With the loss, the Blue & Gray falls to 5-20 on the season and 2-12 in the BIG EAST while the 'Cats improve to 14-11 overall and 8-6 in the league.
 
How it Happened

• The first quarter was a defensive battle with the Hoyas clinging to a small lead on a take from graduate student Taylor Barnes and a jumper in the paint by senior Anita Kelava to make it 7-4.
• Villanova came back with a 6-0 run as GU trailed 10-7 at the end of the first quarter.
• A pair of layups from sophomore Nikola Kovacikova and junior Tatiana Thompson to start the second stanza gave the Blue & Gray the lead 11-10.
• The second quarter looked similar to the first as both teams struggled to score early, but GU managed to hold onto the lead.
• Sophomore Shanniah Wright was a force down low to move ahead 17-12, but the Wildcats answered right back with back-to-back 3-pointers as VU went into the break leading 18-17.
• Villanova began the second half with a 6-0 run.  Georgetown cut the deficit to five twice, but a quick 5-0 Wildcat run forced a Hoya timeout.
• The Hoyas tried to keep the deficit to single digits as a late 3-pointer from sophomore Tayanna Jones made it 37-29 at the end of the third period.
• Georgetown continued to battle in the fourth as a 7-0 run to begin the final period was sparked by a jumper from Kelava and included a 3-pointer and layup by sophomore Nikola Kovacikova to cut it to one 37-36 and force a VU timeout.
• The run continued as sophomore Cassandra Gordon sank a step back jumper on the baseline to give the Blue & Gray the lead.
• The Wildcats would respond with an 11-0 run and the Hoyas would not find the answer late eventually falling 48-40.

 
Of Note

• Kovacikova was the lone Hoya in double figures with 12 points as all nine players that played scored in the contest.  The sophomore also managed four rebounds and six assists.
• Kelava pulled down eight rebounds to go along with four points and four blocks.
• Georgetown shot 28.3 percent from the field hitting 17-of-60 shots while the Wildcats shot 29.6 percent hitting 16-of-54.
• The Blue & Gray was edged on the glass 41-40 and both squads committed 10 turnovers apiece.

 
Up Next
The Hoyas will host their final two regular season home games next weekend at McDonough Arena.  The squad takes on No. 13/13 DePaul on Friday evening at 7 p.m. before battling Marquette on Sunday for Senior Day at 2 p.m. 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.