On a day that the Georgetown men’s basketball team took center stage, the lady Hoyas tried for an upset of their own against No. 24 Notre Dame. The luck of the Irish prevailed as Notre Dame narrowly escaped the Hoyas (8-10, 1-6 BE) in McDonough Arena 54-52.
“I think we were extremely lucky to win that game,” Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw said. “I don’t think we were playing well. The whole game I just never felt like we were in rhythm.”
No. 24 Notre Dame (12-6, 3-4 BE) caught Georgetown in a struggle for the first 30 minutes. Georgetown shot 25 percent from the field and found themselves down 32-18 at halftime.
Georgetown searched desperately for a solution in the second half. The Fighting Irish maintained their lead, stretching it to 17 at the 11:55 mark. Senior guard Megan Duffy scored on a one-on-one breakaway lay-up to put the Irish up 46-29. Duffy scored 16 points to lead Notre Dame, and she was named Big East Player of the Week.
The Hoyas may have found their solution as the men’s team entered the gymnasium on their way to the locker room. Georgetown and Notre Dame fans both gave the team a standing ovation and the lady Hoyas began to cut into the deficit.
Senior guard Bethany LeSueur led the Hoyas’ 19-4 surge in the final 10 minutes, making clutch baskets and foul shots. She would lead all scorers and rebounders with a double-double performance of 19 and 11. Sophomore forward Kieraah Marlow struggled early on in the paint against the Notre Dame interior but stretched her game, playing on the perimeter to aid the Hoya cause. With 1:13 left in the game, LeSueur hit a jumper to make the score 54-52 in favor of the Irish.
“It was just disappointing to see us get up by 12, 15, 17 points and then let them get their confidence back,” Duffy said of the Hoyas’ run. “We need to learn to put teams away, especially on the road.”
Freshman forward Katrina Wheeler came up with a big block on the defensive end to give the Hoyas the ball back down two. The Hoyas had one last shot after rebounding a missed one-and-one opportunity by the Irish. Junior guard Kate Carlin missed a long three-point attempt as time expired giving Notre Dame the 54-52 victory.
“It was a good play,” Carlin said of her final shot. “It just didn’t go down.”
The Hoya’s run of bad luck continued as they headed to Cincinati (13-5, 3-4 BE) Wednesday. Despite having three players in double figures, the women fell 87-68. They will look to break the streak at home Saturday against Rutgers at 3 p.m.
