The Georgetown women’s basketball team walked out of McDonough Arena Wednesday night with their sixth win of the season, a 58-46 triumph over Fordham.
The Hoyas came out aggressive in the first half and confronted Fordham with a combination of strong zone defense and a full-court press. Though the press fell apart at times, it forced Fordham into a few shot-clock violations.
“[The full-court press] slowed them down a little bit, but we didn’t get the results off of it that we should have gotten,” head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said.
On the offensive end, the Hoyas showed their youth at times, forcing ill-advised shots and misguided passes. Still, they were able to find plenty of holes in the porous Fordham defense.
Despite their mental mistakes and obvious immaturity, the Hoya freshmen have been able to get by on pure talent so far this season. Freshman forward Adria Crawford led the Hoyas in both points and rebounds with 12 and 10, respectively. Junior guard Shanice Fuller was the Hoyas’ second leading scorer with nine points and freshman guard Rubylee Wright chipped in with seven.
“They are doing very well,” Williams-Flournoy said of the freshmen. “It’s a learning process and the more games we can get them in right now the more prepared they’ll be for Big East play.”
The Hoyas came out strong in the second half and within six minutes had extended their lead to 13 points, 34-21.
“We told them in the locker room that we had to pick up our intensity and we definitely couldn’t play the second half like we had played the first half,” Williams-Flournoy said.
In the game’s final 10 minutes, Fordham’s defense picked up and forced the Hoya offense to the perimeter. At one point, Fordham pulled within six points, but the Hoyas did not let their lead slip any lower than that, eventually pulling away for the 12 point win.
“Our defense has always been a little bit inconsistent,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We are struggling a little bit on the offensive end right now… Offense will come, but we have to stay consistent on defense.”
The Hoyas hope to build on their momentum and their 6-1 record as they approach Friday’s home game against James Madison. Tip-off for the game is at 8 p.m. in McDonough Arena.
Hilary Nakasone
