Andreas Jeninga/The Hoya Under pressure, Georgetown junior guard Mary Lisicky attempts a jumper. Lisicky surpassed 1,000 points in her college career during Saturday’s effort.

With poise and precision, junior guard Mary Lisicky effortlessly sent her free throws sailing through the net all afternoon. If the rest of the Georgetown women’s basketball team had shown such control from the stripe, the team may have edged out Rutgers (17-9, 8-5 Big East) for a win last Saturday. The Hoyas (11-13, 5-8 Big East), however, missed 40 percent of their attempts; as free throws went, so went the game in a 71-65 loss.

In the last game at McDonough, a close loss to Boston College, forward Rebekkah Brunson dominated while the other players scrambled. This time Lisicky was the standout while her teammates could not support her efforts with better statistics. Lisicky set a career record with 29 points off four three-pointers and 11-of-12 foul shooting. She also reached the 1,000 career points mark, the 19th player in the program’s history to reach that level. She joins Brunson, who reached that stage last year. The last time two 1,000-point scorers graced the court for Georgetown was in the 1992-93 season.

“They left me open today, and other teams had not left me open,” Lisicky said. “I had my shots, and they were falling.”

A grudge match to revenge the Hoyas’ 67-64 loss at the buzzer to the Scarlet Knights in late January, the game saw 55 fouls called and five players sent to the bench after fouling out. While the game eventually escalated into a series of trips to the foul line, it started off cleanly.

Georgetown broke out early from a 6-6 tie to hold Rutgers scoreless for four minutes, bringing the home team’s lead to 13-7 with 11 minutes left in the first half. The Scarlet Knights then awoke from their slumber and came back to take a lead as the Hoyas struggled to make their shots on offense. Outscoring its opponent 22-9 in those 11 minutes, Rutgers took a five-point lead into the locker room for halftime, 29-24.

The first half was marked by the lack of presence from both teams’ leading scorers. While junior guard Cappie Pondexter had one point, Brunson was held scoreless throughout the half, but collected seven rebounds and three fouls. Georgetown returned to the low shooting percentages that plagued it in losses earlier this month, shooting 7-of-28 for 25 percent. Rutgers shot 37.5 percent.

The second half started out promisingly for the Hoyas, who went on an eight-point run to take back the lead, 32-29. It took the Scarlet Knights almost six minutes to score, and midway through the second half their hosts were outscoring them 19-5. Pondexter stepped up her play, however, pulling Rutgers to within two points with a three-pointer followed by a pair of free throws.

“[The ringer] should go off right away, but sometimes I just go along and blend in instead of taking over,” Pondexter said. “When we’re down, I want to win, and I start looking at myself as a leader.”

Georgetown’s last chance to pull away came soon after Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer drew a technical foul and the team led by six points, 45-39. The sharp shooting from Pondexter and senior guard Dawn McCulloch kept Rutgers in the game, and with 9:06 left, the score was tied at 45-45. The Scarlet Knights then took the lead and held it for the remainder of the game.

The Hoyas had their opportunities, but an inability to connect from the free-throw line hurt them.

“We were in position to win the game,” Georgetown Head Coach Pat Knapp said. “We have to give Rutgers credit for hitting shots when they were supposed to.”

Trying to regain the ball in the final minutes of the game, the team was forced to make fouls. In the final three minutes, Rutgers went to the line 21 times, giving the game’s finish a very choppy flow. The fouls piled up as junior guard Bethany LeSueur, senior guard Sarah Jenkins and Brunson all had to return to the bench with five fouls. The Scarlet Knights lost junior guard Chelsea Newton and junior center Rebecca Richman to fouls as well.

“I was trying to play hard out there and get some steals, but I know I made some dumb fouls,” Jenkins said. “Big East games are a battle. Like any other team, they were playing physical.”

In the end Georgetown would not get its revenge, losing by five points, 71-65. Lisicky ended with her 29 points, and the only other Hoya to reach double digits was Brunson, who acquitted herself in the second half to finish with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

“We still don’t have enough double-figure production here,” Knapp said. “There’s got to be somebody else besides Becky [Brunson] and Mary [Lisicky] who can score points.”

Pondexter also emerged in the second half to collect 22 points, 13 from free throws.

Georgetown picked up its shooting to 40 percent for the second half, but finished 19-of-58, or 32.8 percent. The Hoyas did win the battle for boards, with the team beating their opponents 46-33 in rebounding.

“Everybody outrebounds us. I don’t remember the last time we outrebounded someone,” Stringer said. “That’s a major issue with us.”

The most telling stat came from the free-throw line: 31-of-44 for Rutgers and 23-38 for Georgetown. Those 15 lost points would have amply made up the difference for the Hoyas.

Now the team must win all three of its final games to finish the season with a winning record. As two of those teams are in the bottom of the conference, it is unlikely that the homestretch will trip the Hoyas up or stop them from entering the Big East tournament.

Then again, one of those teams, Syracuse, has already beaten Rutgers – so the road may not be all that easy.

“Every team in the Big East is a tough team. So you have to come out and play them like they’re Rutgers or UConn or any other of those teams,” Lisicky said.

Tip-off against Syracuse is at 8 p.m. on Wednesday for Georgetown’s final home game this season.