The Georgetown women’s basketball team (16-9, 8-7 Big East) won at home, 83-72, against Butler (5-21, 2-13 Big East) on Friday night. Junior guard Dorothy Adomako scored 21 points and senior guard Mykia Jones exploded for 15 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 17 point night. Butler sophomore forward Tori Schickel led all scorers with 25 points and added 14 rebounds, and Butler freshman guard Sydney Shelton scored 18 points.
Sophomore guard Dionna White, who scored 29 points in an earlier matchup between these two teams at Hinkle Fieldhouse, started the game hot, scoring 10 points in the first quarter. She also, however, picked up two personal fouls and was replaced with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter by Jones.
Georgetown’s defense forced four turnovers, which led to seven fast break points for the Hoyas and a 21-12 advantage going into the second quarter.
Butler came alive in the second quarter. Schickel and Shelton scored eight points each and the Bulldogs shot 62.5 percent from the field and 75 percent from three point range. Georgetown’s offense struggled after Butler switched to a zone on defense, and the lack of fast break points stifled the Hoyas’ offensive attack.
“I thought we were stagnant,” said Georgetown Head Coach Natasha Adair. “Once we nestled into it we were able to score, but initially, just the recognition of zone just startled us a little bit.”
Georgetown was able to get to the free throw line, attempting eight free throws and scoring six in the second quarter to keep pace with the Bulldogs. Butler took the lead with three minutes to go in the half, but a 7-0 Georgetown run gave the Hoyas a four point lead at halftime.
Georgetown’s offense remained stagnant in the third quarter with three of its guards—White, junior DiDi Burton, and senior Tyshell King—leaving the game with three or more fouls apiece. In a tightly contested game, both teams’ extra aggression led to half of the points in the quarter coming from the free throw line.
Butler again prevented fast break points for the Hoyas by taking care of the ball, but Adomako began to take control of the game, scoring eight points in the quarter. Junior forward Cynthia Petke added five points of her own to supplement Adomako.
The fourth quarter began at a 55-55 deadlock. Adomako opened the scoring by hitting a jumper and White followed with a three to help the Blue and Gray take a five point lead. Butler tied the game again at 60-60 before a personal 11-2 run by Jones put the game out of reach for Butler. Adomako then added back-to-back three pointers of her own to put the Hoyas up 77-65 before Jones added yet another three pointer.
“Mykia Jones came in in the fourth and just lit it up,” said Adair.
The Hoyas forced four Butler turnovers in the fourth and translated those into nine points. Georgetown won the rebound battle 10-5 in the final frame to finally pull away in the game. Petke, who finished with a double-double, grabbed two rebounds in the final minute to allow the Hoyas to run out the clock.
The Hoyas attempted 27 free throws in the game, which helped to prevent long scoring droughts when the offense struggled. They converted on 21 of these attempts. Butler, meanwhile, shot 14-15 from the line.
“(Coach told us) basically if your shot’s not falling, and they can’t guard you, take them to the basket,” said Jones.
With the win, Georgetown officially clinches a first round bye in the Big East tournament, which will be held at Marquette University from March 4-7..
“That’s just another feat you want to accomplish,” said Adair. “You wanna make sure you’re not as tired, your kids have fresh legs; we get to go and observe other teams and absorb that tournament feel and know that we earned something in the sense of getting that first round bye, so I’m proud of them for that.”
Georgetown will play its final home game of the season on Sunday, when it hosts Xavier (11-15, 3-12 Big East). Tip-off is slated for 2 pm ET.
