On Tuesday night, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (13-8, 4-4 Big East) looked to get to .500 in Big East conference play for the first time this year, as they took on the struggling Cincinnati Bearcats (8-12, 0-7 Big East).
The Bearcats were held scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, allowing Georgetown to jump out to a 6-0 lead. The Hoyas were anchored early on by the dual post threat of senior Sydney Wilson and junior Andrea White, who were dominant down low, bullying the Bearcats’ undersized defenders. Wilson and White would go on to combine for 20 points and 11 rebounds in the game.
Cincinnati, however, remained tough, led by the hot shooting of Alyesha Lovett, the team’s second-leading scorer, who knocked down four three-pointers, scoring 14 of the Bearcats’ 24 points in the first half. Georgetown guard Sugar Rodgers, who finished with a team-best 17 points in the game, led a late scoring push to extend the advantage.
The second half opened with a furious 10-0 run by the Bearcats, who seized the lead from the Hoyas before the 15-minute mark. Georgetown was scoreless in the second half until the 14:41 mark when Rodgers finally converted a jumper.
Georgetown received a spark in the form of sophomore forward Brittany Horne, whose hot shooting from downtown proved crucial for the Hoyas down the stretch. Horne drained consecutive three-pointers midway through the second half, providing a huge swing in momentum that kept the Hoyas in the game.
As the game waned, Rodgers was involved in all three of the Hoyas’ baskets down the stretch, converting a layup in isolation, two free throws, and feeding White for a layup, guiding the young Hoyas in the tense final minutes.
Besides Rodgers’ stellar play, the game itself produced a wild final 90 seconds. With the Hoyas leading by four, a foul by Georgetown’s center Vanessa Moore sent Cincinnati’s Dayeesa Hollins to the line, where she coolly knocked down both free throws. The Hoyas’ next possession ended in a missed jumper by Rodgers, but Moore ripped down the offensive rebound, allowing the Hoyas to call a timeout.
After a missed jumper by junior guard Samisha Powell out of the timeout, the Bearcats had two opportunities in the final 13 seconds to tie or take the lead, but each missed the mark, giving the Hoyas a 54 to 52 victory.
Next up for the Hoyas is a trip to Louisville, Ky., to take on the No. 12 Cardinals (17-4, 5-2 Big East) this Saturday at 2 p.m.
