The Georgetown Hoyas women’s basketball team beat the Sacred Heart Pioneers 90-59 to advance to the second round of the WNIT on Friday night. The Hoyas (17-15, 9-9 Big East) were led by senior guard Dionna White, who racked up 21 points and seven assists, and graduate student guard Dorothy Adomako, who contributed 21 points and eight rebounds. The Pioneers (19-13, 14-4 Northeast) were led by sophomore guard Erin Storck’s 18 points and five rebounds.
The Hoyas started the game strong with an 11-2 run in the first three minutes. However, the Pioneers stopped the drought, ending the quarter 21-15 for Georgetown. White was the main contributor in the first quarter with 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists, which was only the start of a great night for her.
In the second quarter, both teams stepped up their defense, maintaining the whole quarter’s scoring to only 22 points combined. For the Hoyas, Adomako was the most involved player, getting six points and three rebounds. For the Pioneers, the scoring was distributed between four separate players with just one field goal each.
“We were trying to give them a single line so we could get our big to intimidate,” head coach James Howard said of his team’s defense. “[Junior forward] Anita [Kelava} did a great job, getting blocks and altering their shots.”
It is worth noting that the Hoyas only had one turnover during the first half, while the Pioneers recorded seven, and this was one of the main reasons for the Hoyas’ lead. Georgetown went to the half up 33-25.
The second half started with a 13-4 run for the Hoyas, which bumped up their lead to 17. After this initial stretch, the Pioneers were never able to get back in the game, losing the third quarter 26-10. The leaders for the Hoyas during this quarter were freshman guard Nikola Kovacikova with two 3pointers and three assists, with Adomako and White adding seven and nine points respectively. For the Pioneers, sophomore guard Adrianne Hagood made five points and Storck added another three.
The final quarter was also dominated by Georgetown offensively, scoring 31 points, but the Pioneers took advantage of the Hoyas comfort levels, scoring 24 points themselves. With the Hoyas’ big lead, head coach James Howard inserted players like freshman guard Cassandra Gordon, who had six points on back-to-back connections with Kovacikova, and sophomore center Breonna Mayfield, who added four points and three rebounds. Junior guard Allyson Murphy and Storck led the Pioneers with seven and six point each.
Georgetown played great offensive basketball, attacking the open court with 19 fast break points, and using the paint, finishing the game with 52 points under the basket. Howard highlighted Kovacikova’s individual performance in the game and during the week
“For the last few weeks, she has had a whole different mindset and has stepped up, seeking the leadership role we really needed after Venson’s absence,” Howard said after the game.
In addition, with her 21 points, Dionna White becomes the second player in the school’s history to reach the 2,000 point milestone, only behind the top scorer in Georgetown’s history, Sugar Rodgers. After the game, when asked about it, she added: “It felt great, it is a great accomplishment and is always exciting to have teammates cheering for me.”
The Hoyas will look to keep the run going in the second round of the WNIT when they play at Harvard (17-12, 9-5 Ivy) this Sunday. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. ET. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for more updates and coverage of all sports at Georgetown.
