The Georgetown women’s basketball team lost a close game to Butler University on Jan. 12 after putting together a late comeback in the second half. After tying up the score with 2:29 remaining, the Hoyas fell short by just one point at the buzzer, losing 47-46.

The Hoyas (4-13, 1-5 Big East) hosted the Butler Bulldogs (11-5, 3-2 Big East) in a Sunday matinee game in their sixth Big East matchup of the season. Last season, the Hoyas dropped their first game against the Bulldogs at home but went on to defeat them by 30 points in Indianapolis later in the season.

Butler’s size challenged Georgetown’s defense from the tipoff. The Hoyas struggled to keep the Bulldogs off of the glass as Butler racked up six offensive rebounds in the first quarter.

The Hoyas also struggled with physicality early on, giving up six points at the free throw line, including two and ones, during the first half of play. After giving up eight unanswered points, the quarter ended with Georgetown down 16-8.

Georgetown entered the second quarter still struggling to score, missing its first four attempts on net and turning the ball over once before putting away its first basket three minutes into the quarter. The Hoyas ultimately failed to cut the deficit, and Butler extended its lead to 11 points on a three-pointer by junior guard Genesis Parker with just seconds left in the half. At the half, Georgetown found itself down 30-19. The Blue and Gray headed to the locker room shooting just 7-for-28 from the field, while the Bulldogs shot only 11-for-33 in a game of offensive struggles. 

The matchup became a tale of two halves for Georgetown as the Hoyas began the third quarter as a completely revitalized team. Despite turning around play offensively and defensively, Head Coach James Howard noted the Hoyas did not change their strategy from the first half. 

The team simply “followed what the game plan was from the beginning,” Howard said in an interview with The Hoya.

Georgetown dominated Butler on the defensive end, conceding just two baskets from the field in the third quarter. Offensively, they finally found momentum after making 25% of their field goal attempts in the first half. Graduate guard Taylor Barnes led the way, capitalizing during the Hoyas’ 11-1 run with seven points off a layup, three-pointer and two free throws. Barnes closed out the game with 16 points on the day, the most for the Blue and Gray. 

The Hoyas ended the quarter down just five points, trailing the Bulldogs 32-37, as they headed into the fourth.

Barnes continued to lead the Hoyas in the fourth, hitting two more three-pointers to help fuel the Hoyas’ comeback efforts. Georgetown grabbed its first lead since the first minute of play with about 5 1/2 minutes left on the clock. 

McDonough Arena was suddenly filled with energy and excitement as the Hoyas fought their way back into the game. After Butler reclaimed the lead, Georgetown tied the game at 46 with just over two minutes remaining.

After a turnover by sophomore guard Cassandra Gordon, Butler’s senior guard Kristen Spolyar was able to draw a foul by driving into junior forward Tatiana Thompson, who injured her shoulder on the play. Spolyar made just one of her free throws, leaving the score at 47-46 for Butler in what would prove to be the final points of the game. 

Georgetown then took its final timeout to draw up a play. When play resumed, graduate guard Brianna Jones missed a jump shot, but senior guard Marvellous Osagie-Erese was able to grab the offensive rebound. She turned around and quickly fired off a put-back attempt, missing the net entirely. Players from both teams then hit the deck trying to get the rebound, resulting in a held ball and possession for Butler, which called a timeout. 

With just 34 seconds left in the game, the Bulldogs ran out the shot clock, shooting and missing a three-pointer with just four seconds left. The Hoyas grabbed the rebound, but with no timeouts, they were unable to get a shot off before time expired. 

Regarding the decision not to foul Butler on the final possession, Howard elaborated on his coaching staff’s plan to run a final play in the last five seconds of the game. 

“The coaches felt we had about four to five seconds left on the clock. We wanted to get a quick pass up the sideline to see if we could get something,” Howard said. “In hindsight, we probably could have gotten a quick foul and put their worst shooter on the line and be down three.” 

The Hoyas bested Butler in shooting percentage on the day as Butler converted on 28.1% of shots from the field and 14.3% of three-pointers, while Georgetown sunk 35.4% of its field goals and 38.5% of its attempts from behind the arc. Despite Georgetown’s greater shooting accuracy, it was bad turnovers, in Howard’s opinion, that cost the Hoyas the game. 

“Our turnovers cannot lead to transition points,” Howard said.  

On the day, Georgetown finished with 21 turnovers compared to Butler’s 14, allowing the Bulldogs to record 16 points off turnovers while only tallying seven transition points itself. 

The outcome marks the Hoyas’ fourth straight loss, although the result is the team’s closest of its recent games. Heading into the game, Howard altered the rotation with hopes of breaking the Blue and Gray’s losing streak. Despite the loss, Howard hopes that the game was “the start of something different.” 

Georgetown’s next game is at Villanova (9-7, 4-2 Big East) on Jan. 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.