For the cheerleaders, it was an embarrassing moment: Instead of bringing out the “Go Fight Win” signs for their on-court dance during the Georgetown women’s basketball game, their signs read “Go Fight Go.”

Good thing the Hoyas brought the win.

Georgetown finally snapped its six-game losing streak with a 64-52 victory over the Seton Hall Pirates in what Hoya senior guard Bethany LeSueur called a “must-win” game. With the Big East tournament coming up in a month, the four worst of the 16 teams will not be invited to the tournament. The Pirates (6-15, 3-7) are ranked 13th, while the Hoyas (9-12, 2-8) are tied for 14th place.

“Every game we play and every game they play is a step closer to hopefully get into the tournament,” Seton Hall Head Coach Phyllis Mangina said.

Saturday’s game unfolded in much the same way that other Georgetown games have: The score switched back and forth at the beginning until one team started to control the game; then the other team fell far behind by the middle of the second half but put together a hurried run at the end of the game to try to catch up. This time, though, the Hoyas were the ones with the advantage.

Thirteen and a half minutes into the game, Georgetown had a double-digit lead, and by intermission the Hoyas were up 36-23 – only the second time so far that they have led at halftime during the conference schedule.

“Essentially, I didn’t think we [were] that good in the first half,” Mangina said. “They took advantage of that.”

Georgetown extended its lead to as much as 17 points in the second half, its largest lead against a Big East opponent.

But Seton Hall put up a fight in the second half, making an effort to keep up with Georgetown possession-for-possession. But the added pressure caused the game to speed up to a frenzied pace, with several turnovers, missed shots and frantic defense.

“We were just trying to press and try to get them to turn the ball over, and I think play got really sloppy,” Mangina said.

The loss was the Pirates’ fifth straight.

Leading the Hoya charge was freshman center Katrina Wheeler with 17 rebounds and 11 points, her seventh double-double of the season. With that, Georgetown outrebounded Seton Hall 44-37.

“I figured I owe it to myself and to my team to go the extra mile,” Wheeler said.

Out on the court, Wheeler looks like a physical therapist’s favorite patient, with braces on both of her ankles and her right knee, a sleeve covering her left leg, tape on her left wrist and a bandage under her chin.

“It’s called being a freshman,” joked Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy.

For Wheeler, it’s all part of playing the physical game underneath the basket. In addition to those 17 boards, a career high, she blocked five shots.

“I figure if I wasn’t going hard, I wouldn’t have the bruises,” Wheeler said.

Some of the first-year growing pains remain – Wheeler did have six turnovers, and she did not score in the second half – but she held Seton Hall’s top player, junior forward onique Blake, to two points on 1-for-12 shooting on the game.

“[Blake] had a very difficult day,” Mangina said. “We know a lot of people are focusing and concentrating on her, but there were a lot of makeable shots that she had.

“I know she’s probably upset with herself for not doing some better things, but every night people are focusing on her and concentrating on her, so we’ve got to do a better job of opening things up and making some shots.”

Georgetown’s other freshman, guard Nikki Bozeman, made her way into the starting lineup last week, squeezing out junior swingman Kate Carlin. Against Seton Hall, Bozeman had nine points, six rebounds and five assists in 36 minutes. Carlin, who averages 9.2 points per game, was held to a pair of points, rebounds and assists in 18 minutes.

“I just pretty much made them compete for the position,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Every position is open, and Nikki won that position. . But I like it, because it gives me a chance to play Kristin Heidloff at the two-guard.”

Heidloff has been one of the league’s top assisters all season – her 4.38 average is fifth-best in the Big East – and the move from point guard has not affected her ability to hand out the help. In addition to her five assists, Heidloff picked up a team-best 17 points, which also ties her season-high.

“I’ve just been getting pretty good open looks,” she said. “I’ve been getting set up well.”

Heidloff has averaged 16 points per game in her last five contests and is averaging 10 points per game for the season, good for third on the team.

Georgetown meets its equal in its next game against Syracuse, as the Orange have the exact same record (9-12, 2-8) as the Hoyas. The teams are tied for second-to-last place in the Big East.

In 2004-05, the Hoyas and the Orange met three times. Georgetown beat Syracuse twice during the regular season, but ‘Cuse came out on top in the first round of the Big East tournament.

This year, Wednesday’s game will probably be the only time that the teams meet, since this is the only regular-season game slated, and it is unlikely that both of them will qualify for the conference tournament.

Game time is 7 p.m. in Syracuse, N.Y.