Georgetown women’s basketball (14-4, 4-3 BIG EAST) dominated the Xavier Musketeers (1-15, 0-7 BIG EAST) 77-49 on Saturday Jan. 20 at McDonough Arena. The Hoyas showed their strength against a struggling Xavier team that came into the game with only one win all season. Graduate forward Graceann Bennett had a standout game for the Hoyas, with 18 points and 8 rebounds in just 26 minutes.
Bennett scored Georgetown’s first six points, all of which came in the paint. She followed that up with a great assist to sophomore guard Victoria Rivera, who finished through contact to earn an and-1. Georgetown’s defense aggressively pressed the Musketeers in the first quarter, holding Xavier scoreless for over six minutes. The defensive effort from the Hoyas allowed them to open up a 25-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Hoyas had similarly strong performances in the second and third quarters. Georgetown played smothering defense in the second quarter, holding Xavier to only 4 points all quarter. The Musketeers didn’t do themselves any favors either, though; they wasted possessions by turning the ball over 17 times throughout the game. Xavier was also unable to stop Georgetown in the paint, allowing Bennett, junior forward Brianna Scott, and senior forward Jada Claude to get open looks in the paint. Rivera also had a big third quarter, highlighted by making three-pointers on back-to-back possessions.
The Hoyas held a huge 66-28 lead entering the final quarter, which allowed Georgetown head coach Darnell Haney to let most of Georgetown’s starters rest until the Musketeers began to show more life. Shots that hadn’t been falling all game for Xavier began to go in the basket. Coach Haney decided to put most of the starters back in to try and halt the Musketeers’ momentum, but Xavier continued scoring from long range, making five three-pointers in the fourth quarter, four more than they had made in the previous three periods. However, it was simply too little too late for the Musketeers, and the Hoyas comfortably won 77-49.
Lots of players contributed to the Hoyas’ strong offensive performance; senior guard Kelsey Ransom, Rivera, and Bennett all scored in double figures. Georgetown really dominated with size and strength, scoring 42 points in the paint to Xavier’s 16.
Xavier has struggled mightily all season and did not pose much of a challenge to Georgetown, but a win in conference play is always vital, and the Hoyas got the job done in dominant fashion on Sunday.
The Hoyas will try to win another BIG EAST game on Wednesday Jan. 24 when they host the No. 20 Creighton Bluejays (13-3, 4-2 BIG EAST) at McDonough Arena. The game will be broadcast on FloHoops. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
