Starting its season as a ranked team for the first time in program history, the No. 13 Georgetown women’s basketball team (1-0) came away with a convincing result at McDonough Arena on Saturday, leading from wire to wire in a 79-41 rout of Augusta State (0-1). In a game of full of scoring streaks, Georgetown had the largest runs, tallying 11 and 20 consecutive points on separate occasions. The Hoyas also dominated the offensive boards, outrebounding the Jaguars 20-10.

In the early parts of the game, the Hoyas gained a substantial advantage with the help of their two preseason all-Big East players, sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers and senior guard Monica McNutt. After a few scoreless minutes, the Hoyas jumped out to a 13-0 lead on the back of five points from Rodgers and four points from junior guard Rubylee Wright. Augusta State responded with two three-pointers to make the score 13-6, but the Hoyas answered with an 11-0 run with McNutt accounting for seven of those points.

Before the end of the first half, four points from Rogers and five from junior guard Alexa Roche pushed the Blue and Gray’s lead to 30. Sophomore center Sydney Wilson finished off the first half with an offensive rebound and put-back as time expired to make it 43-14 at the break, epitomizing Georgetown’s rebounding domination in the half. In the opening period, the Hoyas outrebounded the undersized Jaguars 23-11 and 12-4 on the offensive glass.

However, Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy put her team’s rebounding advantage in perspective.

“Augusta State is a small team,” she said. “We will see if we are rebounding like we are supposed to be against Maryland on Tuesday.”

The Hoyas extended their lead to 51-17 at the beginning of the second half as Wright knocked down a pair of jumpers. Augusta State then went on a 12-2 run, thanks in large part to six points from freshman guard Brooke McCants. But Rodgers and junior forward Adria Crawford quickly silenced Augusta State and led the Blue and Gray on a game-high 20-0 run.

Augusta State senior guard Blaire Egardo was able to cut into Georgetown’s lead with three consecutive three-pointers, but the second half ended like the first, with Wilson scoring a layup to make the final score 79-41.

Georgetown spread out its scoring, but Rodgers led the squad with 13 points. She also had a career-high six steals and tied for a team-high with four assists.

“She probably won’t have any more [assists than that in a game] the whole season,” Williams-Flournoy joked.

Egardo supplied most of the scoring for the Jaguars, contributing 20 points.

For Georgetown, Crawford and Roche each added 11 points and five rebounds. Wright finished with 10 points and three assists, and junior forward Tommacina McBride led the Hoyas in rebounding with seven boards.

The Hoyas were pleased with the win – which stretched their home win streak to 16 games – but not completely satisfied with their performance.

“We are really excited about this first game. We started off well, but there is always room for improvement. These are the games in which we just need to work things out, because come January we have to take advantage of these games,” McNutt, who recorded nine points and four rebounds, said.

“It’s the opening game of the season. We did what we needed to, but we need to continue to work on things,” Williams-Flournoy said.

The Hoyas continue their season-opening, three-game home stand against the No. 21 Maryland Terrapins tonight at 7 p.m. The first 1,500 fans in attendance at McDonough Arena will receive a free T-shirt as part of Georgetown’s “gray out” promotion.

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