Though Georgetown women’s basketball team (4-20, 2-10 Big East) secured the tip to start the game, those first few seconds marked the last time that the Hoyas would have any significant advantage over their opponent.

Georgetown extended its losing streak to eight games as the team fell to Villanova (14-10, 8-4 Big East) 64-48 Sunday afternoon.

Villanova junior guard Caroline Coyer dominated on both ends of the court and led the Wildcats to an insurmountable 21-point lead going into halftime. The 5-foot-10 guard finished with 23 points and notched 13 rebounds, both of which were game highs.

Coyer’s performance marked her first double-double of the season and set her career high in rebounds.

“[Coyer is] a tough player,” Georgetown Head Coach Natasha Adair said. “She’s one of the top players in the league. We respect the fact that you can’t leave her open — you’ve got to find her.”

While Coyer was off to a hot start, Georgetown struggled immensely to gain control of the game and ended the first half with only two points in the paint. The Hoyas entered halftime with just 17 points on 7-of-30 shooting.

“Villanova did a great job packing it in,” Adair said. “They clogged the paint up, they didn’t want us to get to the rim. I thought we got really good looks, but we just didn’t take them, or we second guessed them.”

While Georgetown’s first half was filled with empty possessions that led to long scoring droughts, one sequence in particular exemplified Georgetown’s offensive struggles.

With 2:59 left in the first half, junior guard Katie McCormick launched a jump shot from the top of the key, only to have her shot blocked by Villanova junior guard Katherine Coyer, Caroline’s twin sister.

Caroline Coyer grabbed the rebound and threw the ball into the frontcourt, where her teammates lost control of the ball.
Nevertheless, Katherine Coyer, who was streaking down the left sideline of the court, caught the ball before it went out of bounds, drove to basket, drew a foul on Georgetown and simultaneously scored a layup, before converting the ensuing free throw to complete the play.

What could have been a two-point basket for Georgetown turned into a nightmarish three-point play for Villanova.
Though the Hoyas floundered in the first 20 minutes of the game, they came out of the locker room with renewed fight.

After Villanova’s lead ballooned to 27 points with 14:19 left in the game, the Blue and Gray went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 18 points with 8:43 left.

“I was proud of our team’s fight,” Adair said. “I was proud that we played hard and that we played through the end of the game. I thought the second-half effort showed a lot of what we could do. We just have to make sure that we come out ready or whatever it is, the tale of two halves, that we put it all together.”

The Hoyas outscored the Wildcats 31-26 in the second half and successfully limited their opponents to 38.5 percent shooting from the field — a far cry from Villanova’s 51.9 percent effort in the first half.

“I think if we started like that at the beginning of the game, it would have turned out differently,” freshman guard Dorothy Adomako said. “Just playing in the second half, I felt like the energy was better.”

Junior forward Dominique Vitalis led the way for the Hoyas in the second half. Vitalis finished the game with a team-high 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half.

“Just to play with confidence and just trust in my abilities,” Vitalis said about adjustments she made for the second half.
Adomako, who leads the Hoyas with an average of 13.7 points per game, uncharacteristically struggled to find the bottom of the net against the Wildcats.

Although she ultimately ended the game with nine points, the second-highest total for the Hoyas, she was 3-of-11 from the field.

The game against Villanova was the first in a three-game home stand for the Hoyas. Georgetown will return to action on Friday when it hosts Xavier, in another push to end its losing streak. Tipoff is slated for 8 pm.