On Sunday, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (5-4, Big East) suffered their first home loss of the season to the VCU Rams (6-2, Atlantic 10) in a 47-45 final. The Hoyas lost in heartbreaking fashion despite holding the lead for over 27 minutes of the game. Graduate student guard Dorothy Adomako scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while senior guard Dionna White scored 14 points with five rebounds. For the Rams, sophomore guard Taya Robinson scored 12 points with nine rebounds. The Hoyas were doomed by a rough day from deep and the free throw line, shooting 23.1 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Before today, Georgetown had been shooting 31.1 percent from three and 70.7 percent on free throws. Additionally, VCU scored 17 second chance points and 14 off of Hoya turnovers.
“They got more finishes at the rim and at the free throw line in a tightly contested game,” head coach James Howard said. “When you play a tough VCU team, we’ve got to be the same way.”
The Hoyas jumped out to a fast start, aided by 3-pointers from White and Adomako, taking a 14-6 lead after four minutes in the first period. However, the Rams put together a 10-2 run to finish the period, which finished in a tie at 16. Sophomore guard Tera Reed finished with six points in the first.
The two squads engaged in a back-and-forth battle in the second period, as neither team could build a lead of more than two points. It was a brutal shooting period, as the teams combined to shoot just 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from the field. Furthermore, there were nine turnovers in the period overall. Robinson hit the sole 3-pointer of the period, giving her seven points at the half. Adomako finished the first half with nine points. Going into halftime, the game was tied at 24.
In the third quarter, the Hoyas once again jumped out to an eight-point advantage, leading 32-24 after six minutes of play. Adomako was able to convert two tough layups, while White was able to poke the ball away from freshman forward Kseniya Malashka and sink the fast break layup. The Hoyas were able to maintain this lead, as they entered the final period up 36-30. Just before the buzzer, White had an almost identical fast break play, this time stealing the ball from junior guard Nyra Williams.
In the fourth and final period of the game, the Hoyas lost their footing and allowed the Rams a chance to take it. VCU tied the game up quickly on a 6-0 run, with four points coming from junior guard Jailyn Maddox. From there, the game was tightly played until VCU opened up a 47-42 lead with just 21 seconds remaining. White nailed a 3-pointer to pull the Hoyas within two, and Williams was subsequently fouled and sent to the free throw line. When Williams missed both chances, the Hoyas had a last chance opportunity to send the game to overtime, but graduate student guard Mikayla Venson’s last-gasp 3-pointer rattled off the rim.
Robinson was the only Ram to finish in double-figure scoring, but four of her teammates contributed at least five points. Venson, who has been a key piece on this Georgetown team, had a rough game, which was crucial in the loss. Venson had been averaging 13.3 points per game and was shooting 40.8 percent from deep, but mustered just six points on Sunday and was 0-of-8 from beyond the arc. One silver lining for the Hoyas was the performance of junior forward Anita Kelava, who grabbed 12 rebounds, seven of which were offensive, and blocked four VCU shots.
“We just have to come out and finish the game stronger in the future,” Adomako said.
Georgetown will look to rebound on Saturday when they host No. 13 NC State (8-0, ACC). The game is set to tip off at 1:00 p.m. ET. The Rams will stay on the road when they play Cincinnati (5-4, American) on Wednesday. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for more updates and coverage of all winter sports at Georgetown.
“We’ve got to play as a team on Saturday,” Howard said.
