WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Hoyas Weather Red Storm By Julie Wood Hoya Staff Writer

In its 63-54 victory over St. John’s on Saturday, Rebekkah Brunson proved once again that she is the key to the Georgetown women’s basketball team’s success.

It was the sophomore forward’s second game back from being out with a stress fracture, and she scored 19 points and had nine rebounds in just 23 minutes. Eight of her points came in a crucial 19-4 Hoya run in the middle of the second half that gave them the victory.

The Hoyas (11-8, 3-5 Big East) have won two straight games with Brunson back in the lineup.

“Her energy, her rebounding, her aggressiveness turned our team around and blew by St. John’s for the spurt that we needed. Without that, you’re down to the wire,” Head Coach Pat Knapp said.

The Hoyas trailed the Red Storm (3-16, 0-8 Big East) for the majority of the first half. They kept it close, but were down by as many as five points before going up by one point at the break. Freshman point guard Mary Lisicky had seven turnovers in the first half – the most she’s had in a game all season.

“I don’t think we took care of the ball. We obviously didn’t move well defensively. We didn’t rebound well either,” Knapp said.

The Hoyas allowed the Red Storm to get 13 offensive rebounds, when their season average is 7.7.

But with 13 minutes remaining in the game, Brunson’s energy turned things around. She started the run by converting the foul shot on a three-point play. She continued to score on second-chance shots close to the basket as well as mid-range jumpers. She scored 11 of the Hoyas’ points during their 19-4 run.

Brunson was 8-for-13 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the foul line.

Her 23 minutes was three more than the trainer’s pregame stipulation. She played 13 in her first game back, the Hoyas’ win over Pittsburgh, and had six points and five rebounds. She is unsure how many games until she will be back in the starting lineup, but said “maybe two.”

“It felt good just to be back on the court. My foot felt a little better; it allowed me to move a little bit more,” Brunson said.

In addition to her crucial points, Brunson provided a much-needed energy spark – after her three-point play, she pumped her fists in the air, getting the McDonough Gymnasium crowd of 741 into the game.

“I tried to give [my team] some energy,” Brunson said. “The games that I saw from the bench where I wasn’t playing, they looked like they didn’t have a lot of intensity.”

The Hoyas were 3-6 without Brunson.

Georgetown looks for its third-straight win tomorrow against Seton Hall (10-9, 2-6 Big East). The Pirates have also had their season hampered by injuries. They lost their leading scorer and rebounder, junior forward Leslie Ardon, to an ACL injury. She will be out for the remainder of the season. They recently snapped a three-game losing streak with a 10-point win over Providence.

“We’re going to have to play a hell of a lot better on Wednesday,” Knapp said.

Tip off against the Pirates is at 8 p.m. in McDonough Gymnasium.