The Georgetown women’s basketball team learned from a few of its mistakes, erasing a 10-point deficit with a strong run to overtake Army 73-63 at home on Friday night.

The shooting woes that cost the Hoyas (2-3) in Wednesday’s loss to Richmond were there for much of the following game. But the team pulled through on defense in the second half to eventually shut down the Black Knights (3-3) and claim the victory. Georgetown pulled away on an incredible 27-4 run within 10 minutes that put the game out of Army’s reach.

“It’s the intensity. It’s something we’ve got to do every time. I think once we figure that out, we’ll win a lot more basketball games against better teams,” senior guard Sarah Jenkins said. “I think our intensity on the defensive end really helped us win the game.”

Outside of their spectacular run, the Hoyas struggled to stay ahead of their opponents in another streaky contest. The home team trailed throughout most of the first half after setting the pace in the opening minutes.

Army capitalized on more consistent shooting, especially from three-point range, as Georgetown strained to get the ball through the hoop.

The Hoyas fired back as the clock wound down, finding their key to success in their defense. By making steals and smothering the opposing offense, Georgetown revived itself with 18 points off turnovers in the first half to Army’s eight. The result was a comeback from 21-27 with 5:23 on the clock to a 33-32 lead at the halftime buzzer.

“The players need to get into the mindset that this is an aggressive defense. This is not just some 2-3 zone where everyone just puts their hands up,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said.

Jenkins and fellow senior guard Bethany LeSueur led the charge on both offense and defense, grabbing steals and sinking jumpers. Despite dominating the Black Knights in the paint, layups still remained problematic for the team.

“We missed so many layups,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We made great plays, great passes, but then we couldn’t score off our layups.”

The Hoyas lapsed back to their bad habits at the start of the second half, allowing their guests to run up the score, 49-39. While Army was in high spirits at a Georgetown time out with 14:26 left, the home team went back to the drawing board and reemerged with a more focused attack on defense that helped turn the tides.

Over the next 10 minutes, the Hoyas struck back with a fury, leaving the Black Knights with few opportunities. By the time Georgetown let down its guard in the final minutes, the team had wrapped up the victory, 73-63.

Another 14 points off turnovers helped make the difference in the second half. So did the appearance of senior guard Mary Lisicky as an offensive presence, who contributed all 12 of her points in the second half.

Jenkins and LeSueur kept up their efforts, finishing with a game-high 18 points and 14 points, respectively. Freshman forward Kieraah Marlow joined them in the double-digit scoring column with 12 points. Her 11 rebounds gave her the game’s only double-double.

“I think that Sarah really got us started off. Sarah made a couple of steals and that got things rolling,” LeSueur said about the key to the team’s performance.

Jenkins deflected the praise back on her teammates.

“We make it easy for each other to score, giving each other the ball places where we can score,” she said. “When we execute and play together as a team, everyone gets good shots and we’re able to knock them down.”

Army’s duo of senior forward Lindsay Brent and sophomore guard Jen Hansen provided the defensive and offensive engines for their team. Brent pulled down a game-high 17 boards while Hansen chipped in with 14 points off four three-pointers.

Georgetown suits up tomorrow night against George Mason in cDonough Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m., the second matchup in a four-game homestand.

The Patriots (1-3) lost half their squad to graduation last year and will lack four of last season’s starters. Senior center Julie Flanders is the only returning starter. Last year the Hoyas spoiled the Patriots’ season opener, handing them a 72-63 loss.

This season, the team can use the win as a chance to pull even after a rough start. Georgetown faces a challenge in the next three games to establish a winning pattern before the season picks up after the holiday break.

“We’ve got great coaches. They keep feeding us the positive, and that’s what is important, Jenkins said. “There’s a lot of positive energy around us, and I think that helps us feel like we can go out there and compete every night.”