WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Women’s Basketball Survives Tough Battles Over Break By Michael Grendell Hoya Staff Writer

Over the Thanksgiving break, the Georgetown women’s basketball team wrapped up a four-game away streak with two close wins. The squad downed local foe George Mason, 72-63, and barely overcame New Hampshire, 61-60, courtesy of a layup from senior forward Rebekkah Brunson. The team has jumped to a 4-0 start before stepping on McDonough Gymnasium’s court for the first time this season.

On the eve of Thanksgiving Day, Georgetown faced down a familiar opponent in Fairfax, Va., namely George Mason. The Colonial Athletic Association standout has become an early-season rival that – for the past few seasons – the team has succeeded in edging out in a series of hotly contested battles. This year did not provide the overtime drama of last season’s matchup, but the game did provide enough ups and downs on both sides to excite the crowd of 500 faithful fans.

The two teams jockeyed for control of the scoreboard in the opening minutes, but eight minutes into the game the Patriots stole the lead and rode it for five minutes until they had put 10 points between them and their guests, 28-18, with seven minutes left in the half. The Hoyas countered successfully with a three-pointer, a jumper and finally a three-point play to bring the game to within two points.

Neither team could gain control of the battle, as the two teams battled to a 34-34 tie to wrap up the half. Similar to the season opener against George Washington, Georgetown resurfaced after a dry spell to become competitive again late in the first half. This time, it was the 11 points tallied by both Brunson and junior forward Varda Tamoulianis that helped buoy the team.

“We were kind of clueless on defense early in the game and we had to adjust to what they were doing,” Head Coach Pat Knapp said. “We played their cuts better, we stopped a majority of their penetration, making them put up and shoot the ball.”

Coming back for the last 20 minutes, the Hoyas grabbed the lead off of a free throw from Tamoulianis. Georgetown held on to a thin margin for almost nine minutes before returning to a 46-46 tie. Despite that hiccup, Georgetown reestablished itself as the dominant team and kept the lead around 10 points for the remainder of the game. While the home team made an attempt in the closing three minutes, bringing the game to within seven at 68-61, the Hoyas quickly stopped the offensive threat from the Patriots and secured their third win.

Brunson put in another strong performance, grabbing 18 rebounds and scoring 19 points. She matched up well against senior forward Vernessa Neamo of George Mason, who led her team with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Tamoulianis and junior guard Mary Lisicky both added 14 for the Hoyas while senior guard Jen Derevjanik propped up the Patriots with 18 points, although her prowess behind the three-point line was challenged by the opposing guards, keeping the home team to 0-of-8 from beyond the arc for the second half. The key to winning, according to Knapp, was offensive rebounding. Georgetown led its opponent with a 20-13 advantage. In overall rebounding, Georgetown came out on top, 51-42, with the Hoyas’ two starting forwards combining for 25.

In comparing this year’s team with the Hoya team that eked out an overtime victory against George Mason last year, Knapp had several explanations.

“It’s a much different team in terms of attitude, will to win and listening ability. I think we are running our offenses better, although everyone is still learning to work with Brunson and Brunson with them. That’s an ongoing process.”

Returning to the court on Saturday night, Georgetown strained to put down New Hampshire at Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham. Only a last-ditch play ending with a layup could save the Hoyas from defeat in an often ugly match.

“The only reason we won was that we got the last shot,” Knapp said.

That last shot was the result of a well executed play. After calling a timeout with a little over five seconds left on the clock, the team scrambled to set the screen for Brunson, who received the inbound pass and sped past two defenders before sinking the layup with two seconds remaining. The play echoed the over-the-head inbound pass that the team used to give Brunson the ball and prevent George Washington from stealing the game away in the final moments of the season opener.

This, however, was not a battle of the underdog Hoyas against a nationally ranked rival, but a ragged effort against a softer opponent. New Hampshire led in the opening minutes, but Georgetown worked its way back into the game. In a first half distinguished by long scoreless stretches from both sides, the Hoyas’ lead stayed in the single digits for the entire first half. While the team looked to break away midway through the half, leading 19-10, New Hampshire clung on tight and pulled itself to within two points before junior guard Bethany LeSueur hit a jumper to keep the visitors up by four at the buzzer, 33-29.

LeSueur was the standout of the first half, lighting up the scoreboard with 13 points.

Senior center Maren Matthias provided the backbone for New Hampshire with 14 points. Both players shot 50 percent or better – LeSueur was 5-of-8 from the floor and Matthias was 6-of-12.

The second half began at a crawling pace with only three points scored in the first four minutes. Slowly the Wildcats gained the momentum, reeling in the Hoyas until a free throw from Matthias evened the score at 42-42 with 11 minutes left to play. From that point until the game’s end, Georgetown held the edge with New Hampshire trying frantically to catch up. Despite trailing in the final minutes, the home team looked stronger for the most part, putting up better numbers.

“The bottom line was that they outshot us and grabbed more rebounds,” Knapp said. “Give our players credit, though, for hanging tough and executing at the end of the game.”

The final offensive play, along with a steal from sophomore swingman Carmen Bruce to prevent a rebuttal from the Wildcats, capped off the victory and helped keep the Hoyas’ winning streak alive.

Despite running a small rotation of seven or eight players for the last two games, Knapp received bold efforts from those he chose to play. Lisicky rebounded from a scoreless first half to add 11 points in the second half while LeSueur ended with 14. Brunson finished with the double-double, 14 points and 14 rebounds. The twin double-doubles helped the senior earn Player of the Week accolades from the Big East.

The team, however, looked anemic at times, losing the battle on the glass, 47-39. The Hoyas had trouble stopping Matthias, who finished with a game-high 27 points along with 12 boards. Knapp also pointed out that on the positive side, Georgetown kept the home team to 3-of-20 from three-point range, which helped minimize the effectiveness of its guards. The Hoyas, however, did not fare much better, only hitting 3-of-12 from the far backcourt.

“I’m not happy with how we played, but we’ll take the win. We did some good things, allowing us to hang tough, stay close and show poise,” Knapp said. “Now we move on.”