Jackson Perry
Elite teams always seem to find ways to win even when they don’t play their best. Last night, the No. 12 Hoyas women’s basketball team (21-4, 10-2 Big East) escaped a trap game, beating South Florida (14-11, 5-7 Big East) 54-50. Coming off a loss to the No. 8 West Virginia team—and with a tough game against No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday looming—Georgetown could have easily overlooked the Bulls and been dealt a difficult loss.
“We don’t look to any team, every game’s a big game, it’s the Big East,” senior guard Shanice Fuller said after the game. But that attitude was not apparent early in the game, as USF jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The run prompted coach Terri Williams-Flournoy to take out the starting five and go with bench players to stop the bleeding.
“[The starters] didn’t come out to play, they weren’t playing hard, and that’s not how we play,” Williams-Flournoy said.
Unfortunately for the Hoyas, USF didn’t let up, holding on to a 19-10 lead with 5:41 left in the first half. Poor shooting was the main reason for the early deficit, with Georgetown shooting 33 percent from the field, and going an ice cold 0-6 from behind the three-point line in the first 16 minutes.
USF handled Georgetown for most of the half, but the Hoyas exploded in the last few minutes, going on a blistering 16-1 run. Their shooting woes suddenly disappeared as they shot 8-13, capped off with a three-pointer from freshman guard Sugar Rodgers as time expired, to go into the locker room leading 26-20.
Coming out in the second half, the Hoyas continued to keep USF at bay. The Bulls kept fighting, though, eventually retaking the lead with 10 minutes to go, thanks to guard Allyson Speed’s career-high six three-pointers and center Jessica Lawson’s 19 points.
From then on, the game was back and forth until the final buzzer, including five lead changes in the closing minutes. In the end, the Hoyas found themselves on top of the scoreboard, thanks to an unrelenting will to win.
“We we’re just thinking about getting the rebound, getting the stop, and putting the ball in the basket,” guard Jaleesa Butler said.
Georgetown hopes to ride the momentum from the exciting win into their game against No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday in McDonough at 3 p.m.
