WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Huskies Hand It to Hoyas GU Scores Fewest Points of Season By Julie Wood Hoya Staff Writer

Charles Nailen/The Hoya Junior forward Zsuzsanna Horvath battled against the Huskies, but to no avail.

The Georgetown women’s basketball team could not score a point until more than five minutes into its matchup against No. 1 Connecticut on Tuesday. And by then, it was too late.

The undefeated Huskies (19-0, 5-0 Big East) went up 15-0 before the Hoyas (9-7, 1-4 Big East) managed to get on the board, cruising to an 85-41 pounding of the injury-riddled Hoyas. It was the fewest points the Hoyas have scored this season and the fewest against UConn since the 1988-89 season in a 63-36 loss.

Leading scorer sophomore forward Rebekkah Brunson is out with a stress fracture in her lower right leg. She is tentatively scheduled to play tomorrow against Syracuse. The Hoyas also lost sophomore Varda Tamoulianis for the season to a knee injury.

“Without Brunson and [Tamoulianis], I think they’re a different team. If they had those two kids, it would be a lot more difficult then it was,” UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma said. “When we play as well as we did today, it’s tough to play against us.”

The Huskies were paced by leading scorer and Big East Player of the Week senior forward Swin Cash’s 18 points. It was her 10th double-double of the season. Cash’s three fellow seniors on the team – All-American point guard Sue Bird, forward Asjha Jones and forward Tamika Williams – all scored in double figures. As a team, the Huskies were 17-for-19 from the free-throw line.

Freshman point guard Mary Lisicky led the Hoyas with 12 points. Junior forward Nok Duany chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with just under six minutes left in the game.

The aggressive and relentless trapping defense of the Huskies led to 25 turnovers by Georgetown and a 29.3 shooting percentage. UConn had a season-high 16 steals.

“They disrupted us. There’s no question about that,” Head Coach Pat Knapp said. “UConn gets you a little bit more frazzled than you’d like to be.”

The Huskies’ defense keeps them head-and-shoulders above any other team in women’s college basketball. They lead Division I in field-goal percentage defense (30.2 percent). Their average margin of victory is 38.7 points, and they lead the Big East in scoring offense, scoring defense and turnover margin. They have beaten six of the AP Top 25 teams, including No. 2 Tennessee and No. 3 Oklahoma.

Many of the Hoyas’ usual offensive strengths turned into weaknesses Tuesday night. Since they have been without Brunson, Duany has stepped up most in point production, averaging 19.4 points per game in the past five games. The Hoyas had trouble getting the ball in to the low post against the Huskies, though, and Duany fouled out after scoring her lowest total in eight games, 10 points.

Lisicky’s team-leading 38 percent from behind the three-point line has been key for the Hoyas in the past. On Tuesday, however, Lisicky was 2-for-10 from beyond the arc, not to mention shooting 25 percent from the floor. Her backcourt teammate senior captain Lesley Walker was 2-for-12 from the floor.

Despite her shooting woes, Lisicky handled the pressure put on her by Bird and 6-foot sophomore guard Diana Taurasi fairly well. “It was obviously very positive for Mary,” Knapp said. “She’s talented, she’s very aware, she’s smart and she competes. There’s probably not much more you want in a player,” Knapp said.

The Hoyas will look to end their two-game skid tomorrow when they face Syracuse (9-6, 2-2 Big East) at 2 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The Orangewomen are coming off a 75-71 overtime loss at iami. They are led by sophomore guard Julie McBride’s 16.9 points per game.