Turnovers plagued the Georgetown women’s basketball team (4-24, 2-14 Big East) in their two most recent conference contests, pushing the team’s losing streak to 12 games. The Hoyas fell to Seton Hall (24-4, 13-3 Big East) 95-68 on Friday, turning the ball over a total of 29 times.

On Sunday, the team combined for 26 turnovers against St. John’s (19-8, 10-6 Big East) and lost the game by a 14-point margin.

Georgetown’s 29- and 26-turnover performances over the weekend marked the second- and third-most turnovers that Georgetown has committed in games this season, respectively. The Hoyas had not turned the ball over as many times since their 33-turnover game against DePaul on Jan. 30.

“[Turnovers] were the glaring stat from the weekend,” Head Coach Natasha Adair said. “I can’t pinpoint it on one particular area. I can’t pinpoint it on … pressure because in both contests it wasn’t from pressure. Neither team rattled us with pressure. What I attribute it to is us needing to slow down … and gather ourselves.”

The Hoyas were able to remain competitive through the first 10 minutes of the Seton Hall matchup, despite turning the ball over eight times; however, a series of 10 turnovers through the remainder of the first period allowed Seton Hall to pull away.

The Pirates led by as much as 32 points in the first half, with 24 of those points off Georgetown turnovers.
Georgetown went into the locker room trailing by 27 points at halftime, a deficit that would prove to be insurmountable. The Hoyas turned the ball over another 11 times in the second half and allowed Seton Hall to score 15 points off of those miscues.

The Pirates’ lead never dipped below 27 and ballooned to as much as 40 points. When the final buzzer sounded the Hoyas trailed by a 27-point margin.

The first half of the Hoyas contest with St. John’s followed a similar story line. St. John’s was able to capitalize on Georgetown’s mistakes, translating the Hoyas’ 13 turnovers into 16 points. The Red Storm closed out the half with a comfortable 17-point advantage.

Georgetown came out in the second half determined to claw its way back into the game. With just under 10 minutes remaining in the contest, the Hoyas went on an 8-0 run and were able to pull within four points of the Red Storm.

The Hoyas were unable to escape their turnover woes down the stretch. Seven of Georgetown’s 13 second half turnovers came in the final nine minutes of the contest. The Hoyas’ late-game miscues enabled the Red Storm to reestablish their lead as time ran out, finishing the game with a 75-61 victory.

“[The turnovers] came in all different areas, whether it was around the basket or in transition,” Head Coach Natasha Adair said. “I think it is us being a little impatient offensively … and just playing in a rush, instead of calming down and executing on the offensive end. Sometimes you see that in young team.”

Despite the two losses, outstanding performances by individual players provided bright spots for Georgetown.

Sophomore forward Faith Woodard shined for the Hoyas against Seton Hall. Woodard, who has averaged 7.9 points per game this season, exploded for a career-high 24 points. Woodard also led the team with a game-high 12 rebounds.

“Faith Woodard was amazing,” Adair said. “I was very proud of the way Faith played in the [Seton Hall] game.”
Junior forward Dominique Vitalis led the way for the Hoyas against St. John’s. Vitalis led the team in both scoring and rebounding against the Red Storm, finishing the game with a double-double consisting of 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Continuing the pattern of impressive play that has defined her first season as a Hoya, freshman guard Dorothy Adomako made significant contributions for Georgetown in both contests. Adomako scored 18 points against Seton Hall and another 16 points in the matchup with St. John’s.

“Dorothy Adomako has been a consistent player throughout the season,” Adair said. “It is hard for people to stop her.”

Three players in particular stood out from amongst the Hoyas’ opponents. Junior guards Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant scored 27 points and 26 points respectively for the Red Storm. For Seton Hall, junior forward Tabatha Richardson-Smith, who scored 29 points in the Hoyas’ last meeting with the Pirates, poured in a team-high 23 points on Friday.

“You are not necessarily going to stop Richardson-Smith, but you have to make it hard for her,” Adair said. “Early on we didn’t make it hard. We wanted to limit her to her average and we were not able to do that.”

Georgetown will look to end its current losing streak when it faces off against conference rival Creighton (16-11, 9-7 Big East) in its final home game of the season on Friday.

“There are teams with the record we have that have checked out,” Adair said. “That is not our team at all. We are still fighting.”

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at McDonough Arena.