On March 10, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (22-10, 9-9 BIG EAST) beat the Creighton Bluejays (25-5, 15-3 BIG EAST) 55-46 in the semifinal round of the BIG EAST tournament. Georgetown was led by senior guard Kelsey Ransom, who scored 14 points and had six assists while playing a full 40 minute game.
It was clear from the outset that Creighton’s shooting was a bit off. Their offense is centered around high-volume three-point attempts and slips to the basket, but Georgetown’s defense was able to muck things up, preventing some of the shots that are normally a staple for the Bluejays.
For Georgetown, their opening possessions weren’t exactly free-flowing, but they were able to hustle to the rim — and oftentimes to the offensive glass — to swivel shots in. Thanks to the combined efforts of Ransom, junior forward Ariel Jenkins, and graduate forward Mya Bembry, the Blue and Gray were able to keep pace with Creighton in the opening five minutes of the game.
In the latter part of the first quarter, Creighton pulled ahead by a few buckets. Though Georgetown’s defense remained steady, the Bluejays’ offense started to settle in a bit. Fortunately for the Hoyas, their offense started to settle a bit more as well. Bembry hit a smooth mid-range faceup jumper to stop the bleeding a bit, and Ransom swished in a pretty jumper from the elbow to make the score 13-10 Creighton at the end of the first quarter.
When the second quarter started, Ransom continued to demonstrate her ability to score, going back to her bread and butter by making pull-up shots from mid-range. Graduate forward Graceann Bennett then started to get to work, leading the charge on a 9-0 Hoya run. With just under four minutes left in the half, Creighton briefly retook the lead thanks to a three-point bucket from senior forward Morgan Maly, but the Blue and Gray responded with a big three of their own from graduate guard Alex Cowan. At that point, the lead was 22-20 Georgetown, and they wouldn’t relinquish that lead for the rest of the game. When the halftime buzzer sounded, the Hoyas were leading the Bluejays 26-23.
Coming out of the half, Georgetown continued to shine. Their defense stayed strong and connected, as it usually is, but their offense took a step up. Bembry and Jenkins both made really intentional moves to the basket to spin in layups, and Cowan continued to make shots from behind the arc as well. The Bluejays, on the other hand, were clearly struggling — so much so that Creighton head coach Jim Flannery snatched his entire starting lineup off the court and gave those crucial minutes to his bench. That second unit, in particular freshman guard Brittany Harshaw, had a bit more success than their counterparts against the Blue and Gray’s stifling defense, but it wasn’t enough to give them a lead going into the final stretch. The score at the end of the third quarter was 41-33 Georgetown.
Going into the last 10 minutes of the game, the pressure was on Georgetown to keep their offense going and the score in their favor. After a couple of questionable fouls were called on the Hoyas — and specifically against Bennett — it felt like Creighton might have some room to claw back into the game. Junior forward Brianna Scott hit a well-timed layup to calm things down, though, and the Blue and Gray continued to protect their lead. Towards the back end of the quarter, Ransom hit a pretty floater in the lane to stretch the lead to 11; not long after that though, Bennett fouled out with 1:49 left in the contest. Then, Georgetown lost another key contributor when Scott went down with what appeared to be a very painful knee injury. Down two key players, the remaining Hoyas managed to keep the train on the tracks, pulling out a nine point victory when it was all said and done.
Now, Georgetown will play in their first BIG EAST championship game, where they’ll square off against the formidable Connecticut Huskies (28-5, 18-0 BIG EAST). As of the writing of this article, there’s been no official word on the status of Scott, but she was in a wheelchair in social media videos posted after the game’s conclusion. The Huskies will be playing without starting forward Aaliyah Edwards, who suffered a badly broken nose in their game against Providence on March 9.
This championship matchup will be played on Monday, March 11 at 7pm on FS1. For continued coverage of all Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
