Better late than never.

After a slow start, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team got its act together during an explosive second half, capping off its fifth consecutive perfect season in the Big East with a 16-8 win over the University of Connecticut (10-4, 3-2 Big East).

Saturday’s victory gives the No. 8 Hoyas (11-3, 5-0 Big East) their fifth-straight conference title and guarantees them a spot in the NCAA tournament.

“We still have to work on our consistency,” Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried said. “The first half, to be honest, we didn’t really show up. . We have to know that we have to show up every day at the beginning of every game.”

Senior attack Sarah Oliphant led the Hoyas in the first half with two goals and an assist, opening scoring three minutes into the period. Connecticut responded, putting up two goals in the next four minutes before sliding into a scoring drought.

Georgetown was no scoring machine, either, scoring just four goals over the remainder of the half. Sophomore midfielder Sara Zorzi tied the score at two before junior midfielder Lucy Poole and sophomore attack Brittany Baschuk gave the Hoyas a two-goal edge. Oliphant sneaked one in with nine ticks on the clock, and Georgetown took a 5-2 lead into the break.

Fried said his team responded to its poor play coming out in the second half, though he said he didn’t tell them anything that he hadn’t already emphasized before the game.

“People decided they were going to make a difference and play the way they’re capable of playing, and you can see the result. We have to play the way we’re capable of playing and not worry about who we’re playing,” he said. “The biggest difference is that our seniors decided to step up and play the way they’re capable of playing.”

Less than two minutes into the period, sophomore attack Coco Stanwick found the back of the net for the first of her two goals. UConn responded with a goal of its own, but in a flurry of Hoya scoring that lasted just 1:24, Poole and Oliphant scored one each and senior midfielder Allison Chambers added two goals to give Georgetown a 10-3 advantage.

“A big part of it was draw controls,” Fried said. “When you’re able to get possession, you’re able to push the ball in transition. We have good shooters, and when we’re getting quality shots, we can finish to the goal.”

Connecticut answered with a goal just a minute after Chambers’ second. In the first seven minutes of the second half, both teams scored as many goals as they had managed to do in the entire first 30 minutes of the game. For Georgetown, Chambers collected four goals and an assist, all in the second period.

“The first half, it was questionable as to where she was mentally,” Fried said of Chambers. “She showed up in the second half. She didn’t do anything she doesn’t do every day in practice – she just played to her ability. When she plays well, she’s as good as anyone in the country.”

When the Hoyas’ lead increased to eight, making the score 12-4 thanks to goals from Stanwick and Baschuk, the end result was all but settled. The teams traded scoring over the final 20 minutes, the Huskies closing the lead to just five, 13-8, but three unanswered Hoya goals sealed the 16-8 victory and the Big East championship for Georgetown.

Georgetown collected only three assists on the afternoon, which Fried attributes to UConn’s one-on-one defense.

“We’re usually a team that passes a lot more and gets a lot of assists. They weren’t trapping; we were able to go one-on-one. It’s good for us to show that if people aren’t going to trap us, we’re capable of finishing to score,” Fried said. “People assume we’re looking for the pass. If we can penalize people for doing that, we’re going to be successful.”

Georgetown will look to penalize James Madison (7-8) when the Dukes come to North Kehoe Field on Wednesday. The Hoyas lead the series 9-4 despite a 12-11 loss last season.

“They’re going to be a tough team,” Fried said. “They’re having a difficult year right now, but they’re going to be prepared to play us. We have to make sure we show up. You’re probably tired of hearing it, too, but if we show up and play our game, we’re going to be OK.”