SEATTLE – The Georgetown University women's basketball team took down the second-seeded University of Washington Huskies on Thursday night as the squad won 64-56 in the opening round of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, Washington. With the win, the Hoyas improve to 23-11 on the year, while the Huskies drop to 16-15 for the season.  

Head Coach Darnell Haney

• "I'm proud of our group. We did a solid job of taking care of the game plan. We became a little lax and messed up some defensive assignments in the fourth quarter which allowed them to go on a run, but we were expecting that. I'm proud of the way we adapted and made sure we took care of business at the free throw line … I'm proud of our group overall to win in the first ever WBIT."

How it Happened

• Four quick points down low began the scoring for the Hoyas as Georgetown was able to maintain a small advantage for much of the first quarter.
• The teams traded buckets throughout the period, and Washington even took a one-point lead with 1:26 remaining.
• A traditional three-point play from senior Kelsey Ransom, and a steal leading to a layup for Jada Claude in the waning minutes made it 18-14 in favor of the Blue & Gray after 10 minutes of action.
• Neither team could gain a large advantage in the second as baskets went back and forth.
• In the final two minutes of the half, graduate student Graceann Bennett broke the tie with a layup and Ransom followed that up with a jumper before a layup from Alex Cowan made it 32-26 giving GU its largest lead of the game to that point.
• A 9-3 Hoya run began the second half including five points from Ransom.
• The Hoyas would continue to push, building the advantage to as much as 15 at the 4:41 mark, but five quick points cut it back to 10, 46-36.
• Late scores from Ransom made it 50-39 at the end of the third.
• The game was not over as Washington came out on a 12-0 run to take the 51-50 lead at 5:42 in the fourth.
• A layup from Bennett stopped the momentum as GU regained the advantage on a 9-1 Hoya run.
• Washington answered back, cutting it to three, but in the final 35 seconds, the Blue & Gray hit five free throws as Georgetown held on for the 64-56 victory.

Of Note

• Ransom led all scorers with 28 points including a 9-11 performance from the line.
• Bennett managed 11 points to go along with five rebounds.
• Graduate student Mya Bembry pulled down a squad-best eight rebounds and posted four points in the win.
• The Blue & Gray shot 46.2% (24-52) from the field, and Georgetown allowed 37.0% (20-54) shooting by the Huskies.
• GU outrebounded Washington 34-27, and Georgetown forced 15 Husky turnovers on three steals.
• Sayvia Sellers led three Huskies in double figures with 15 points, while Dalaya Daniels managed 14 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.
• The 23 wins ties the most in a season since 2012 when GU went 23-9.

Up Next

• The Hoyas will now head to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take on the third-seeded University of Tulsa Hurricanes in the second round of the WBIT on Sunday at the Reynolds Center at 3 p.m. ET.
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at GUHoyas.com.