Photo by Sydney Carroll
Sunday afternoon, Feb. 1, Georgetown Hoyas women’s basketball (12-10, 5-8 BIG EAST) fell in a close matchup against the Marquette Golden Eagles (15-7, 9-4 BIG EAST). A brutal back-and-forth battle, the matchup was an exciting watch start to finish, but the Eagles managed to pull out a win over the Hoyas with a final box score of 59-67.
The Hoya defense put on a strong performance in the first quarter, but as possessions carried on, the Eagles’ offensive systems caught Hoyas out of position. Successful drives from Marquette’s key scorers like graduate guard Lee Volker, who finished the game with a standout 22 points, put the Golden Eagles up early. The Hoyas were able to stem the flow of points given up, thanks to the help of the rebounding effort from Georgetown’s sophomore guard Destiny Agubata and junior guard Khia Miller. These two enforcers in the paint helped keep the Hoyas in the fight.
A key factor in the Golden Eagles’ victory was the Hoyas’ struggle to convert points in the first half. While clearly dominating the defensive game, wayward passes and inopportune shots plagued the Georgetown offense, shifting momentum back toward the Eagles at key moments. The Hoyas ended the first half trailing close behind Marquette, 27-31.
As the second half kicked off, the Hoyas came out firing with a shooting clinic put on by sophomore guard Khadee Hession. Hession was supported by accurate and consistent passes from sophomore guard Summer Davis. Nevertheless, the Eagles kept the pressure on the Hoya offense with back-to-back clutch rebounds from the Eagles’ junior guard Halle Vice, who ended the game with 10 rebounds through the game. Unfortunately, the entire Hoya offense was too heavy for the shoulders of the five on the court. Repeated unforced errors were the cause of an increasing Hoya deficit.
The fourth quarter ran long, as players tired and fouls or stoppages became frequent. The individually driven plays from the Hoya offense were too inconsistent to keep up with the Eagles’ collectively driven scheme. Marquette’s offense was able to reliably find holes in the Hoya defense as the game went on, putting too much pressure on the Hoyas.
As the clock ticked down, both defenses put on a stellar performance. An entire minute passed with neither team adding points to the board but adding four turnovers. Both coaches burned timeouts to try to solidify an exit plan to finish the game on a high note. As the clock hit zero, Hession sank one last three-pointer from range to close it out.
The Hoya women’s basketball team hits the road this week, facing the Creighton Bluejays (10-12, 6-7 BIG EAST) on Wednesday, Feb. 4. Should the Hoyas combine their moments of greatness into a complete offensive and defensive machine, a win over the Bluejays to get the season back on track is on the table.
