The Georgetown women’s basketball team (13-10, 6-7 Big East) came back from a 17-point deficit to beat Marquette (11-13, 6-7 Big East) Friday night before falling to DePaul (19-7, 11-2 Big East) Sunday afternoon.

Both Georgetown and Marquette entered Friday’s matchup with momentum. The Golden Eagles came into the contest on a five-game winning streak, while the Hoyas had won three games straight.

Three ties and four lead changes in the first five minutes of play appeared to indicate that a closely matched contest was ahead. However, a layup with 5:03 left in the first quarter ignited a 9-0 run for Marquette. The Golden Eagles remained in control and held a 28-19 lead at the end of the first period.

In the second quarter, Marquette expanded its advantage as Georgetown struggled to find a rhythm offensively. The Hoyas’ leading scorer, freshman guard Dionna White, who averages 15 points per game, went 1-of-11 from the field and scored only four points in the first half. Sophomore guard Dorothy Adomako, who averages 14 points per game for the Hoyas, missed both of the weekend’s games with an illness.

“When you have one of the top players in the league, and they’re not out on the court, the rotations are little different,” Head Coach Natasha Adair said of Adomako’s absence. “Not having her — that’s 16 to 20 points a game. But we don’t hang our heads or make excuses for whatever the situation may be, and that is the beauty of this team.”

The Golden Eagles managed to extend their lead to as many as 17 points in the second quarter. At the break, the Hoyas trailed 35-47.

Marquette maintained its lead throughout the third quarter and led by 10 points with 3:00 remaining. However, in the final minutes of the period, senior guard/forward Logan Battle scored seven straight points and took a charge on the defensive end to swing the momentum in the Hoyas’ favor, heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

“Logan Battle was huge. If I had to give a most valuable player of the game, it would go to Logan Battle. She just made play after play after play,” Adair said. “She’s doing it on both sides of the floor.”
Georgetown entered the final quarter trailing by three points but managed to take the lead with 7:52 left to play, never relinquishing it. After struggling offensively for most of the game, White led the way for the Hoyas in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points and recording three steals.

“[Dionna] is resilient. I remember bringing her over and telling her, ‘I want you to shoot until your arm falls off. It’s going to fall. They are great shots,’” Adair said. “And then, she just made big plays down the stretch.”

Marquette cut Georgetown’s lead to one point with 17 seconds left on the clock. However, the Hoyas were able to remain composed down the stretch in spite of the Golden Eagle’s full court pressure.

“In the last couple of minutes, we knew [Marquette] was either trying to get jump balls or fouls or steals, so it was a matter of taking care of the ball and getting it up through the middle so they can’t trap us on the wings,” Battle said. “It was a matter of thinking and being calm.”

White hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to put the Hoyas up by three. Marquette got a three pointer off just before time expired, but it missed the mark, clinching the comeback victory for Georgetown.

“We were never going to lay down and just quit. We wanted this win pretty bad, and we got it done,” junior forward Faith Woodard said. “We feel like we can beat anybody if we set our minds to it.”

Woodard and Battle both finished the game with 19 points. White chipped in 15, and sophomore center Yazmine Belk added another 10. Woodard and Belk each had a double-double as well — the junior pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, and the sophomore grabbed ten boards.

“I don’t think any team in this league has the depth that we do. I think they have key players for sure, but we can go 12 deep, and on any given night, it doesn’t matter who gets the credit,” Adair said. “That is what a team is supposed to be, and that is what we are.”

Despite their comeback on Friday, the Hoyas were unable to carry the momentum of Friday’s win into Sunday’s contest with the Blue Demons. DePaul opened the game with a three pointer and went on to hit four more before the quarter ended to take an 18-14 lead after 10 minutes of play.

DePaul extended its lead in the second quarter, going on a 10-2 run to establish a double-digit advantage with 6:20 remaining in the half. Adair called a timeout to regroup, and the Hoyas answered with a 6-0 run of their own. However, senior guard Chanise Jenkins hit her sixth three pointer of the game to end Georgetown’s run and put DePaul up by seven. When the half ended, the Hoyas trailed 37-28.

Georgetown came out of the locker room determined to claw its way back into the game. With 2:30 remaining in the third quarter, a made foul shot by Woodard tied the game at 50. Jenkins hit another three to put DePaul back on top. The Blue Demons closed out the period with a 7-2 run to take a 57-52 lead heading into the final quarter.

Jenkins opened the fourth period with back-to-back threes — her ninth and tenth of the game — and put DePaul up by 11 points. The senior finished the contest with a game-high 30 points — all of which came from beyond the arc.

“[Jenkins] made some tough shots. I felt like our kids were there. I felt like they contested for the most part, but my hat goes off to her. She was in a zone. She was unconscious,” Adair said. “She stepped up big for them, and she was part of the reason why they played so well and why they got the victory.”

The Hoyas did not manage to close the gap in the final minutes of play and when time expired, they trailed 80-66. Despite the loss, Adair commended her team for playing hard until the final buzzer.

“We win together. We fall short together. We rally; we learn. We’re going to do all this as a team, and so I’m still proud of how they fought.”

Georgetown was paced by White, who scored a career-high 24 points. White played an impressive 79 of 80 minutes for the Hoyas over the course of the weekend.

“[Dionna] is a competitor. She is fearless. She tried to put the team on her back and make up for not having Dorothy,” Adair said. “You feel good as a coach having the ball in her hands.”

The Hoyas will return to action Friday on the road against Seton Hall (17-5, 7-4 Big East). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.