The No. 19 Georgetown women’s basketball team (16-5, 4-3 Big East) upset the No. 8 West Virginia Mountaineers (19-2, 5-2 Big East), 65-60, Tuesday night at McDonough Arena.

Sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers’ 30 points — 18 of which came in the second half — led the way for the Hoyas en route to their second consecutive Big East victory.

“I think to lose as bad as we did at Notre Dame, [the players] said it was a wake-up call,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “And I hope that it was because we didn’t play as well as we could at Notre Dame. We better come ready to play every game because the Big East is extremely tough.”

“Our coaches have described us as a bad roller-coaster,” senior guard Monica McNutt said. “So now, we’re trying to sustain this thing as we get ready to look forward to postseason play. We really want to get focused.”

The Blue and Gray jumped off to a fast start against the Mountaineers with a 10-0 run to open the game that included back-to-back threes by McNutt and Rodgers.

The Mountaineers responded quickly, narrowing the deficit to two following a 10-2 run led by senior guard Liz Repella’s seven points. The Hoyas returned the favor with a 7-0 run of their own before West Virginia tied it again at 19-all, thanks to a 9-0 run with 9:35 left in the first half.

For the next five minutes, the two teams traded baskets until a small 6-1 run by the Hoyas over the final four minutes gave Georgetowna 35-28 advantage heading into the break, at which point they had yet to trail in the game.

But in the second half, the Mountaineers returned to form and gained their first lead of the game with 16:57left with an 8-0 run fueled in part by five Georgetownturnovers. The Hoyas responded with a pair of free throws by Rodgers and the two teams exchanged baskets for the next several minutes, leaving the game tied at 45 with 12:37to play.

Another 8-0 run by West Virginiavaulted the Mountaineers ahead 53-45 with 8:53remaining. But in the spirit of the evening, the Hoyas bounced back with a 10-1 run to take the lead back at 55-54 with 5:47remaining.

Following a 60-60 tie at the 2:44 mark, the Hoyas were able to distance themselves for good with the help of a baseline layup by Rodgers and two free throws by the sophomore guard. Strong defense led to three missed three-point attempts by West Virginia in the final minute, and the Blue and Gray closed out their second victory over a top-10 opponent on the year.

Despite 28 turnovers of their own, the Hoyas’ sharp shooting and rebounding enabled them to pull off the upset. Rodgers’ 30 points came on 9-of-15 shooting including 2-of-6 from beyond the arc and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Georgetownas a team shot 51.3 percent from the field and was able to hit clutch free throws, going 21-of-24 overall from the line.

In 38 minutes of action, McNutt added 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting including two three-pointers. She also reeled in six rebounds.

Junior forward Adria Crawford scored eight points and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Junior forward Tia Magee chipped in nine points as well, while junior guard Rubylee Wright led the way defensively with four steals for the Blue and Gray.

Uncharacteristically, Georgetownoutrebounded West Virginia, 32-17, nearly doubling up on the Mountaineers in that category.

“We did a really, really good job rebounding,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Everybody has to get in and get a rebound.”

The Mountaineers’ star forward, redshirt senior Madina Ali, was largely shut down, only able to muster 12 points (all in the second half) and four rebounds.

“I knew she wanted to penetrate instead of shooting the ball, so when she got it I tried not to push up on her as much,” Magee said. “And I did get her in foul trouble, so that helped us a lot too.”

The Blue and Gray struggled with turnovers though as West Virginia, led by senior guard Sarah Miles’ four steals, had 12 thefts in the match. The Hoyas were able to force the pressure back on the Mountaineers as Miles turned the ball over an astounding 11 times.

Overall, the game’s back-and-forth style benefited the Hoyas, and it was they who had the last word in terms of runs on Tuesday.

“They made their run — OK, we’re making our run too,” McNutt said about the team’s mentality as momentum shifted throughout the night. “So let’s go.”

The Blue and Gray’s victory gives them their first conference win streak of the season on the back of their 60-44 triumph over Villanova on Saturday. The Hoyas will look to continue their streak on the road this weekend at Seton Hall, where tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.on Saturday.