The Georgetown University women’s basketball team pulled off a narrow victory over the Loyola Marymount Lions on Friday at the LMU Thanksgiving Classic in Los Angeles. On the Lions’ side, senior center Raychel Stanley led the team with 13 points and six rebounds. Graduate guard Brianna Jones paced the Hoyas with 16 points and six rebounds, but it was the team’s strong performance from beyond the arc that led them to take down the Lions 64-53.
The game began with the Hoyas (2-4, Big East) lagging behind, allowing seven Lion points in the first two and a half minutes. Senior center Raychel Stanley opened the scoring for LMU (2-5, WCC) with two free throws after a foul by Georgetown sophomore forward Shanniah Wright. The Hoyas gave up a 3-pointer and a jumper from Lions guard Ciera Ellington before they were able to regain control in the first quarter.
It was sophomore guard Cassandra Gordon who finally scored the Hoyas’ first points nearly four minutes into the game, but it took Georgetown most of the first quarter to recover from their slow start. In the second quarter, however, the Hoyas stepped up on the defensive end, allowing just seven points in the entire period. Sophomore guard Tayanna Jones and graduate student guard Taylor Barnes were instrumental in helping Georgetown pull ahead, scoring eight and five points, respectively. The half finished with a jumper from Jones, leading Georgetown into the break with a 29-24 lead.
In the third quarter, however, Georgetown’s defense failed to lock down the Lions as tightly as they had before the break, allowing LMU to go on a 7-2 run in the first two minutes. The Hoyas answered the challenge with a 13-2 run, widening the gap to double-digits for the first time in the game with a 43-33 lead. The breakaway was due to a strong half from the 3-point line, with two successful shots from deep for Barnes, one for Gordon, and one for sophomore guard Nikola Kovacikova. Over the entire game, the Hoyas shot 41 percent from three, while the Lions shot 35 percent from behind the arch.
A strong third quarter pushed Georgetown into the final period leading 47-39, but LMU fought until the end. Lions sophomore guard Naomi Lim opened the scoring in the quarter with a 3-pointer, but less than a minute later, Tayanna Jones answered with a deep shot of her own. LMU couldn’t ward off the Hoyas’ defense, allowing 5 of their 17 total turnovers in the final quarter alone. With two more 3-pointers from Brianna Jones, the Hoyas closed out the game with a 64-53 win.
Tomorrow, Georgetown will play their final game of the LMU Thanksgiving Classic against Fresno State (4-3, Mountain West) at 4 p.m. EST in Los Angeles. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for live coverage and coverage of all sports on the Hilltop.
