WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Eagles Soar Over Hoyas To Seal Win By Julie Wood Hoya Staff Writer
Charles Nailen/The Hoya Sophomore forward Rebekkah Brunson drives against St. John’s. She scored 16 against BC.
Facing its fifth nationally-ranked opponent of the season, the Georgetown women’s basketball team kept it close against No. 20 Boston College Saturday but eventually fell 75-62.
“We played well for 37 minutes, but it wasn’t enough,” Head Coach Pat Knapp said.
The Hoyas (11-7, 3-7 Big East) were led by sophomore forward Rebekkah Brunson’s 17 points and 16 rebounds. It was her first game back in the starting lineup since being sidelined with a stress fracture in her left leg.
However, Brunson’s 17 was not enough to contain Eagles freshman guard Clare Droesch, who scored 25 points. She came off the bench to hit five three-pointers for the second game in a row. Boston College improved to 17-4 overall and 8-2 in the Big East. The Eagles have won 14 of their last 16 games.
The Eagles were up by as many as seven in the first half and were up 36-32 with four and a half minutes to go. However, the Hoyas went on a 14-5 run and led at halftime 40-37.
The Hoyas had just four turnovers in the first half.
The beginning of the second half saw more back-and-forth between the two teams. However, with the score tied at 52 with eight minutes remaining, Droesch hit a three-pointer to spark a 19-10 run that put the Hoyas away for good.
“We didn’t guard her very well in the man or the zone,” Knapp said. “It wasn’t from a lack of effort but a lack of recognition.”
BC senior forward Nicole Conway also hit 2-of-3 three-pointers in her career high 20-point performance.
It was the second-straight game that Georegtown has been hurt by outside shooting. In their last matchup, a 64-45 loss to Seton Hall, the Pirates made 5-of-12 three-pointers.
However, in that game, the Hoyas couldn’t put up much of a fight, shooting 29 percent from the floor and 10 percent from beyond the arc.
Against the Eagles, however, Georgetown shot a respectable 44 percent and kept it close on the boards too, getting 30 rebounds to BC’s 34.
The Hoyas had four players in double figures. In addition to Brunson, junior forward Nok Duany added 13, senior guard Lesley Walker had 12 and junior forward Zsuzsanna Horvath scored 10.
After their first half of four turnovers, the Hoyas gave the ball up 12 times in the second half. BC scored 16 points off turnovers in the game.
“There were some very poor passes,” Knapp said.
Walker tied the Georgetown all-time record for games played. It was her 113th appearance in a Hoya uniform.
Georgetown will look to end their two-game losing streak at West Virginia tomorrow. The Hokies are 12-8 and 4-5 in the Big East. They are coming off a 69-47 win at St. John’s. Sophomore guard Kate Bulger scored 22 points in that game, coach Mike Carey’s 200th career win.
“We have to handle adversity better,” Knapp said. “We still have some big games left.”
Including West Virginia, The Hoyas have six games remaining before the Big East tournament, which will be held March 2-5.
Tip-off against the Hokies is at 7 p.m.
