The Georgetown Hoyas women’s basketball team (2-0, 0-0 Big East) demolished the Salem (WV) Tigers (0-1, 0-0 ECAC) 86-48 in McDonough Arena on Nov. 12. Georgetown, riding high after its opening game win at Navy, was looking to start strong at home with fans back in the stands for the first time in over a year. Senior forward Jillian Archer led the team with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while graduate student guard Milan Bolden-Morris and freshman forward Ariel Jenkins both had 13 points. Eight different Hoyas contributed over 5 points each in a stellar game where everyone seemed to get involved.
Right after tipoff, the Hoyas took the lead and never looked back, going up 28-8 by the end of the first quarter, including an 11-1 run to finish the session. Junior center Graceann Bennett was an unstoppable force in the paint and established herself as a go-to target for Georgetown under the basket, while also helping provide the lockdown defense that stifled Salem. The Tigers insisted on a three-point heavy offense early in the game, but the speedy and dynamic Hoya defense was able to shut them down quickly, holding Salem to 2-19 shooting from three-point range and 5-41 total shooting in the first half.
Offensively, Georgetown got hot quickly and stayed hot throughout the game. The efficient showcase put on by the Hoyas was highlighted by 50 percent three-point shooting from Bolden-Morris and Archer’s 85 percent field goal percentage. Sophomore guard Kelsey Ransom controlled the pace of play with 11 assists on the day.
Salem had a few shining moments with senior Nerea Arambarri Fernandez finishing with 11 points and three 3-pointers, in addition to freshman Allysa Mcrae’s two 3-pointers. The Tigers had brief streaks of offense, particularly in the second half when the Hoyas went to their bench and seemed to get complacent with their lead, but they had no answer for the Georgetown offense. To the credit of the Tigers, a Division II school in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Georgetown only outscored Salem 19-18 and 18-14 in the third and fourth quarter respectively; unfortunately for the Tigers, the lead that the Hoyas built by half made it so that the game was never in doubt.
The Hoyas gave the crowd a show and a dazzling display which was sure to make any fan excited for the season. Incredibly, the team grabbed 73 rebounds, the most in a single game for Georgetown in at least four seasons. With competition only getting more difficult, it will be fascinating to see how the squad grows throughout the year and how the young standout players, such as Ransom and Jenkins, continue to develop their game. Ransom, particularly, has made strides as a floor general in the early going, with a 15:5 assist to turnover ratio on the young season, to go along with 7 steals.
Georgetown is back in action at home on Wednesday November 17 at 7 pm vs the Davidson Wildcats. Be sure to come out and support your Hoyas; admission is free at McDonough Arena. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for more updates and coverage of all fall sports at Georgetown.
