In its first home game since Nov. 11, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (7-2, Big East) defeated George Mason (5-5, Atlantic Ten), 69-56. Georgetown junior forward Dorothy Adomako led all scorers with 25 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Faith Woodard recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore guard Dionna White added 14 points and five assists for the Blue and Gray.
Thursday’s victory extends the Hoyas’ winning streak to six games, the longest such streak since the team last made the NCAA Tournament in the 2011-12 season.
“I think we’ve bought in and we’re just trying to keep it going,” said Woodard. “It feels good to be back at home. If we win on the road there’s no reason we can’t win at home and continue that streak. We’re really excited.”
The Hoyas were red hot from the opening tip, which translated into 24 points in the opening period. After falling behind 5-0 early on, the team utilized an 18-3 run to take the lead, which they held for the remainder of the game. Woodard managed eight points in the quarter on an impressive 3-4 shooting from the field, including 2-2 from the deep.
“Faith was good from three today,” said Georgetown Head Coach Natasha Adair. “When you’re hot, let’s keep feeding the beast.”
Photo: Alex Lewontin
Despite the hot start, both teams struggled in the second period, combining for just 19 points. Georgetown shot 28.6 percent from the field in the quarter, but its lead was preserved thanks to excellent team defense that forced four Patriot turnovers and a dismal 21.4 percent shooting slump. At halftime, the Hoyas enjoyed a 35-20 lead and appeared to be comfortably in the driver’s seat.
George Mason refused to go away easily, however. The Patriots rode the hot hand of senior guard Kara Wright, who notched 10 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting in the quarter. But Wright’s best efforts couldn’t pull George Mason much closer as she was outdueled by Adomako’s 13 points in the period. Adomako combined three-point shooting, offensive rebounding, and a variety of post moves throughout the third period.
“I thought (Dorothy) really made a statement tonight,” Adair said. “Being back at home, she played how she’s supposed to play.”
“I think (our shooting) was part of the flow of the game,” Adomako said. “We definitely have to start with defense, which leads to our offense.”
The Georgetown defense made its presence known in the fourth quarter. The Patriots looked to push the tempo of the game in an effort to make a comeback and managed to cut the Georgetown lead to eight points with 4:52 remaining. But the Hoyas would not give in. GMU managed just one offensive rebound in the quarter and was held without a field goal for the final 2:53 of the game. Still, Adair felt as though her team was lacking on the defensive end.
“Sometimes you get a lead and you become complacent,” she said. “I told them, ‘This is about us. What team do we want to be?’ The consistency of sustaining (the lead), and even increasing it … I wanted to challenge them. I just felt like down the stretch, especially in the third and fourth (quarters), we just weren’t as consistent.”
The team will look to remedy their late game defensive struggles and 17 turnovers in preparation for their next game: a battle with Alabama on Sunday.
“It’s an SEC opponent coming into our house,” Adair said. “We know it’s going to be a battle. Our kids are dialed in. I think it’s going to be competitive.”
“We definitely need to bring our energy. Finishing the non-conference season 8-2 would be great heading into the Big East,” said Adomako.
Sunday’s game is set to tip-off at 2:00 p.m. in McDonough Arena. The game will be streamed on guhoyas.com.
