The Georgetown women’s basketball team (12-14, 7-9 Big East) lost a nail-biter on Sunday afternoon against Marquette (19-8, 13-3 Big East), falling 71-68 to the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee. Junior guard Dionna White led the Georgetown scoring effort with 27 points, while senior forward Cynthia Petke added a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Allazia Blockton scored 15 points to lead the Golden Eagles, who, with the win, remain tied with DePaul (21-7, 13-3 Big East) atop the conference.
“We competed, but we need to improve on our defense,” said Georgetown Head Coach James Howard. “We had defensive lapses to start the game and that hurt us. We wanted to be focused and disciplined for 40 minutes coming out of the locker room, and that didn’t happen.”
Georgetown did not back down from the challenge of facing the Big East leaders. After the Golden Eagles took an early 8-0 lead, the Hoyas recovered to cut the deficit to 18-16 at the end of the first quarter. Georgetown would surge ahead in the second period, taking a 33-26 lead with 1:48 remaining thanks to a layup from White, who finished with seven points in the quarter. The Hoyas took a 33-30 lead into the halftime locker room after the Golden Eagles responded with a pair of late shots to cut into the Georgetown lead.
The Hoyas kept up the intensity to start the second half, maintaining a modest lead throughout much of the third quarter. Marquette, however, would finish the period on an 11-4 run, taking a two-point lead, at 49-47, into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was once more a nip-and-tuck affair, as the Golden Eagles would build up a lead between five and seven points, only for the Hoyas to cut it down to one. Georgetown would even take the lead late into period, as an and-one conversion by White made it 66-65 in favor of the Hoyas. Unfortunately for Georgetown, Marquette would respond with a surge of its own, taking back the lead on a layup and hitting free throws the rest of the way. The Hoyas had open looks in the final moments of the game, but could not capitalize. Georgetown’s last hopes were dashed as White’s mid-court shot rimmed out as time expired.
The Hoyas return to the hardwood against Creighton (17-9, 11-5 Big East) on Friday at McDonough Arena. Tip-off is slated for 11 a.m. ET and the game can be streamed on the Big East Digital Network. Follow @GUVoiceSports for game day updates and breaking news.
