For most of the game, it seemed as though the Georgetown women’s basketball team operated on autopilot — force a turnover, attack from all parts of the court, get a bucket, rinse, wash and repeat.

“At times, we were in a rhythm,” Interim Head Coach Darnell Haney told The Hoya. “And we’re gonna play the drum over and over and over again.”

This relentless motor helped drive the Hoyas (14-5, 4-4 Big East) to a dominant 77-49 win over the Xavier Musketeers (1-16, 0-8 Big East) on Jan. 20. Coming off a string of highly competitive conference matchups, Georgetown outplayed a struggling Xavier side on both ends of the court.

Haney credited his No. 7 scoring defense in the nation for the victory.

“I told them at the beginning of the season, ‘If we can’t play defense, we don’t have a chance,’” Haney said.

“We’re gonna go out, and we’re gonna play Georgetown defense every day, every possession, possession by possession,” Haney added. “And the rest will take care of itself.”

Both teams traded points to start the first three minutes of the game, with Hoya graduate forward Graceann Bennett and Musketeer guard MacKayla Scarlett supplying most of the scoring. 

Yet, a media timeout seemed to flip the switch for Georgetown, who proceeded to pounce on a 19-point unanswered run. The Hoyas forced a staggering 7 turnovers during the stretch thanks to a disruptive full-court press, while their offense similarly impressed its post play on the Musketeers behind junior forward Brianna Scott, who is having a breakout season.

Bennett said the team’s post squad, nicknamed “The Goons,” is emblematic of the unselfish play style the coaching staff has preached.

“We work on just having body control in early positions, finishing, we work on post offense,” Bennett told The Hoya. “And that’s our identity — it’s being able to get stops on the defensive end, and then finishing easy plays and looking out for each other on offense.”

Xavier managed to recoup 2 points at the end of the quarter, but the lead stood at 25-10. Although Georgetown held strong on defense to open the second period, it could not capitalize on multiple shot attempts. As a result, both teams went a combined 0-for-10 to start the quarter.

Finally, senior guard Kelsey Ransom broke the deadlock four minutes into the quarter, sparking yet another dominant Hoya run in the process. Once again, Georgetown bullied Xavier inside, netting 12 of its 16 points in the paint, while the Musketeers only managed to muster 4 points in the entire quarter. 

The half came to a close with the Hoyas up comfortably 41-14, a testament to their all-around excellence. The team converted 17-of-31 field goal opportunities while notching 6 blocks and 6 steals to limit Xavier to 0 points on turnovers, second chances and fast breaks.

Georgetown continued its momentum into the third quarter behind sophomore guard Victoria Rivera, who tallied 9 points in the period alone, including two 3-pointers. Even as the Hoyas continued to pull away, the defensive unit stayed aggressive in forcing Musketeer mistakes to stifle any comeback chances.

Given the major 66-28 lead to open the fourth quarter, Haney opted to give the Hoyas’ second unit extra playing time together. Xavier managed to string together a few strong offensive possessions behind Scarlett, but it was too little, too late as Georgetown’s lead was simply too large.

Ransom said the team’s chemistry and discipline fueled the Hoya win.

“It starts with trust each other, then we’ll be in the right places,” Ransom told The Hoya. “We know someone’s going to be behind the ball, we know we’re gonna have the runners, we know there’s going to be someone on the baseline. And that’s just something we rely on each other for.”

Georgetown’s offense was well-distributed throughout the lineup. Bennett led the team with 18 points on 9-for-14 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Rivera, Scott and Ransom also scored in double digits. The bench finished with an impressive 25 points, and the team scored 42 points in the paint.

With tournament season less than two months away, Haney said he expects the team to continue improving its game and working hard toward a deep postseason run.

“One of our standards is next day, next play,” Haney said. “If I do something well, great job, we gotta get to the next, we gotta get to the next. If I do something not too well, I gotta get to the next. That’s just who we are and what we do.”

The Hoyas fell just short in a competitive 77-72 effort against No. 21 Creighton (15-3, 6-2 Big East) Jan. 24. The team will look to rebound on the road against St. John’s (12-9, 6-3 Big East) Jan. 28.