UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Georgetown University women's basketball team used a huge second-half run to advance to the second round of the BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep Brands on Friday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The ninth-seeded Hoyas used a 33-2 run spanning both halves to defeat the eighth-seeded Providence College Friars 68-55 in the opening round. With the win, the Hoyas improve to 10-18 on the season.

What They're Saying

• Head Coach James Howard
  "I thought our team came out tonight, and they played for each other. And you could see that on the floor. They were really clicking and that's what each and every coach tries to practice for. It's so at the end of the year, we are able to be one, we have a thing we talk about, we are one. And I thought that's what we came with tonight."
• Milan Bolden-Morris
  "My role as a leader on this team is to always bring that energy, bring that juice. And I live by the quote, 'if you're juiceful you're useful; if your juiceless you're useless.' That's my job. I've always tried to keep communicating, keep talking, be the hot man in the group. I'm the loudest in practice, I'm the loudest here. I don't think that's going to change much."

How it Happened

• Graduate student Milan Bolden-Morris started it off with a jumper and added a triple as Georgetown jumped out to the 5-0 lead.
• Georgetown looked to be in control, but a late 11-2 run gave the Friars (11-19) the 13-9 advantage at the end of the first.
• Providence built the lead to eight in the second, but sophomore Kelsey Ransom was not going going away quietly.
• The guard sparked an 11-2 run with six points of her own and capped off with a triple from junior Graceann Bennett to close out the half as Georgetown took the 26-25 lead.
• The Blue & Gray was fired up out of the break as freshman Brianna Scott sank a three and GU began the half with a 22-0 run sending the Hoya faithful into a frenzy.
• The defense forced turnover after turnover in the press, and Scott as well as Bennett were hitting from downtown as Georgetown put on a clinic.
• Providence ended the run scoring its first points of the half at the 4:08 mark, but the Hoyas were looking at a solid advantage.
• Leading by as much as 23 late in the fourth, Providence fought its way back as Georgetown cooled off making it 49-34 at the end of the period.
• The fourth quarter continued to be a battle as a four-point play pulled the Friars within nine with 5:35 remaining. The Hoyas called a timeout to regroup and scored out of the break but it would be a battle down the stretch.
• Providence would come as close as eight, but a 3-pointer from Bolden-Morris stopped any momentum as Georgetown hung on for 68-55 win.

 
Of Note

• Bolden-Morris led the way with 18 points, while Bennett added 13 points and a squad-high seven rebounds.
• Scott had 12 points, and Ransom rounded out those in double figures with 10 to her credit. Both Scott and Ransom pulled down six rebounds apiece.
• The Hoyas shot 41.0% (25-61) from the field and allowed 37.3% (19-51) shooting by the Friars.
• Georgetown outrebounded Providence 40-32, and the GU defense forced 23 Friar turnovers.

Schedule Notes

• Georgetown will now face the top-seeded UConn Huskies on Saturday at noon in the quarterfinals. The game will be broadcast live on FS1 and live stats will be available at GUHoyas.com.