No. 19 Georgetown (21-7, 9-5 Big East) defeated Pittsburgh (13-14, 5-9 Big East), 67-57, Wednesday night at McDonough Arena in a tale of two halves.

The Hoyas fell behind early, trailing the Panthers 10-2 after missing 10 of their first 11 shots, including an 0-of-7 start from beyond the arc in the game’s first five minutes. A pair of field goals by junior guard Rubylee Wright and sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers brought the Hoyas to within four points before Pittsburgh began to pull away midway through the half, stretching its lead to as many as nine in the first stanza.

“We just weren’t playing a complete game,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “We were sometimes out of position. Sometimes the backline was coming up. We were giving layups underneath. There were just little things we had to clean up.”

The Blue and Gray went into halftime on a high note, though, scoring five points in the final six seconds to cut the deficit to four at the break. A layup by sophomore center Vanessa Moore, followed by a steal and three-point buzzer beater by junior guard Alexa Roche, closed out an otherwise poor first-half shooting performance.

The Hoyas shot just 28.9 percent from the field, including only 3-of-17 from three in the first 20 minutes. Rodgers and senior guard Monica McNutt combined to shoot just 1-of-13 from the field in the first half, missing all nine of their three-point attempts.

“We can’t live and die by the jump shot,” Williams-Flourney said. “That can’t dictate our game.”

14 first-half turnovers by Pittsburgh kept the game within reach for the Hoyas. Junior forward Tommacina McBride, filling in for fellow classmate Adria Crawford, also picked up the slack for the Blue and Gray with 10 first-half points on 5-of-9 shooting.

After exchanging buckets for the first nine-and-a-half minutes of the second half, the Hoyas grabbed their first lead of the contest at 45-43 on a made three by Rodgers with 10:24 left in regulation.

The Panthers quickly returned the favor with a pair of free throws by senior guard Jania Sims, who finished with a game-high 17 points, before the two sides each netted a pair of baskets to push the score to a 47-47 tie.

A 9-0 run from three consecutive three-pointers by Rodgers, however, catapulted the Hoyas to a 56-47 lead with 6:22 to play. In the final six minutes of the game, Georgetown increased its lead to as many as 13, before settling for a 67-57 victory.

Rodgers finished with a team-high 16 points for Georgetown on 5-of-17 shooting (4-of-12 on three-point attempts), along with six steals. Roche added 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 3-of-3 from deep with four steals and a team-high six rebounds.

The Hoyas won the turnover battle, 27-12, and although they were outrebounded 36-33, the Blue and Gray pulled down 19 boards on the offensive glass.

“[Offensive rebounding is] one of our new goals,” Roche said. “We definitely emphasized… that and each of us paid attention and focused in.”

The Hoyas will play host to No. 1 Connecticut this Saturday at McDonough Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.