On Sunday afternoon, the Georgetown Hoyas women’s basketball team (7-15, 2-12 Big East) fell 105-104 to the DePaul Blue Demons (20-7, 12-4 Big East) in double overtime. Sophomore guard Kelsey Ransom led the Hoyas with a career-high 29 points.
The first quarter entailed a lot of back-and-forth and although Georgetown never trailed, the team was never able to maintain a substantial lead. The Hoyas had a seven-point lead, their largest of the quarter, with a minute left to play. However, DePaul’s sophomore guard Kendall Holmes hit a three-pointer with three seconds left, cutting Georgetown’s lead to just four. Ransom had a strong first quarter, notching 10 of Georgetown’s 22 points.
The Hoyas started the second quarter off strong on a 6-0 run and seemed to have found their offensive rhythm, going up by as much as 11 at one point. But they couldn’t quite hold off the Blue Demons, who managed to cut the score to 43-37 by halftime despite a buzzer-beating jumper from Hoya guard Mary Clougherty.
The third quarter was much of the same. Georgetown always maintained their lead by at least one but never pulled ahead by more than 10. The Blue Demons’ offense started to get going; three fast-break two-pointers and a three-pointer for Creighton was enough to bring the score to 61-60 in Georgetown’s favor to close out the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, Georgetown looked as if they were on their way to closing out the game. Graduate guard Milan Bolden-Morris hit two three-pointers to increase the Hoyas’ lead to seven, but Morrow responded with a three-point jumper for Creighton. The Blue Demons then put up a pair of shots courtesy of junior guard Kierra Collier and senior guard Sonya Morris to take the lead for the first time all night, 70-69.
The rest of regulation was back-and-forth, with neither team able to go up by more than two points. A Ransom jumper with 24 seconds to go gave Georgetown an 85-83 lead. But Morrow answered at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime with the score tied at 85.
The Hoyas had some sloppy turnovers and missed shots in the first OT period, but the Blue Demons weren’t making everything either. With seven seconds left and the game tied at 94, Ransom got a steal. Georgetown called a timeout and ran a play that resulted in a missed three-pointer for graduate guard Kaylin West. Ransom grabbed the offensive rebound off the board and managed to put up a last-minute jumper but was blocked by Collier, which forced the game into double overtime.
The second overtime was much more interesting, characterized by turnovers, steals, and free throws for both teams. The Blue Demons excelled in free throws, shooting 23 of 26 for free throws on the night compared to the Hoyas’ 15 for 20.
With four seconds left to play and Georgetown down 103-101, West fouled Creighton’s senior guard Lexi Held, who made both free throws to give the Blue Demons a four-point lead. The Hoyas called a timeout. Bolden-Morris made a buzzer-beater three for the Hoyas, but with no foul called on the play, it wasn’t enough. The final score was 105-104, Blue Demons.
Morrow, who has been one of the most dominant players in the Big East this year (and Sunday was no exception), accounted for a large part of the Hoyas’ troubles. She is second in the conference in scoring, averaging 20.9 points per game, and leads the Big East in rebounding with 13.7 per game as the only player in the conference to reach double digits in that category. She had 28 points and 18 rebounds on Sunday.
Georgetown’s biggest weakness was their three-point shooting. They shot a dismal 26.3% from beyond the arc, compared to DePaul’s 45.5%. If the Hoyas had been able to make just one more three or had fewer turnovers, they could have pulled out the win. Their performance was impressive nevertheless, considering Creighton is currently second in the Big East and only brought three people off of their bench.
The Hoyas will look to snap their five-game losing streak on Friday, Feb. 18 against Marquette. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in McDonough Arena, and the game will be broadcasted live on Fox Sports 2. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for more updates and continued coverage of all Georgetown sports.
