In the first of two games on its Big East road trip, the Hoyas women’s basketball team knocked off Syracuse 82-75 in overtime on Wednesday night. Junior forward Rebekkah Brunson led the Hoyas with 25 points and 15 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. The Hoyas’ record stands at 11-2 (2-1 Big East).
The Hoyas held a 35-26 halftime lead, but the Orangewomen had plenty of fight left after halftime. Syracuse sent the game into overtime, scoring 45 points in the second half. Shooting six of six from the line in the extra frame, the Hoyas sealed the victory.
The Hoyas continued this season’s sucessful start with a 70-49 victory over Columbia University on Monday night in McDonough Arena.
Sophomore guard Mary Lisicky started the Hoyas off with her first and only trey of the night off the opening tip. From there the Hoyas raced out to a 19-6 lead that set the tone for the game. Using their typically stingy defense, the Hoyas forced the Lions into several early turnovers that led to easy baskets downcourt. After being named Big East Player of the Week for the second time this season, Brunson scored six points during the Hoya run on her way to 18 for the game.
“Our goal was to hold them under 55 points. We held them to under 50.” said Head Coach Pat Knapp.
The Lions staged a small comeback in the latter part of the first half, cutting the Hoya lead to 6. Coach Knapp used a deep bench to counter the Lions attack with senior guard Shawntese Charles chipping in four points before halftime. The Hoyas picked up their defense as the Lions edged closer, with bench players junior guard Narumol Berggren and junior forward Varda Tamoulianis providing a spark. Berggren finished with three rebounds.
“Coach said to deny the post players, so I did,” said Tamoulianis. “We played well as a team on defense.”
Following Columbia’s comeback, the Hoyas again used turnovers to fuel a 15-9 run to end the half. With 14 points off of Columbia turnovers, the Hoyas headed to halftime with a 36-24 lead.
Georgetown got the second half underway quickly with a 17-7 run. Brunson chipped in eight points before leaving the game with sixteen minutes left.
“We pounded the ball inside,” said Knapp. “It made no sense to do anything else.”
The Hoyas forced their way inside on the way to 28 points in the paint for the game. Once Georgetown’s lead reached 25, the teams traded baskets down the stretch.
The team’s defensive intensity led the way to victory. Despite shooting 40.4% from the field, the Hoyas shot poorly from the perimeter.
“We need to get in sync, offensively, a bit better,” said Knapp.
Against Syracuse, The Hoyas seemed to have fixed some shooting problems from Monday night, as the team shot 44.1% from the field and 10 of 24 from behind the arc.
Georgetown finishes off their road trip Saturday in Storrs, Conn. against No.1 Connecticut, the defending national champions. The Huskies are currently on a NCAA Division I record 54 game winning streak.
“Everyone’s saying it will be real tough playing on the road and real tiring, but I’m excited, said Berggren.
