The Georgetown women’s basketball squad ran into a perfect storm Tuesday night in Coral Gables, Fla., as unranked Miami (8-1) upset the No. 11 Lady Hoyas (7-2) 81-72 in overtime. The loss drops the Blue and Gray to 1-1 on their four-game road trip.

Sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers drained a three from the corner with 21 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 68. However, the Lady Hoyas struggled mightily to find the basket in the extra period.

“We didn’t play our game,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “Anytime you give up 81 points and have 23 turnovers, you aren’t going to win.”

iami capitalized on these mistakes, turning the Lady Hoyas’ season-high 23 turnovers into 27 points. They also executed their own offense much more efficiently; the Blue and Gray managed only three steals after averaging over 11 per game through their first eight contests.

In spite of their uncharacteristically sloppy play, the Hoyas were able to hang with the Hurricanes throughout a manic first half that featured five ties and four lead changes.

After the break, however, the ‘Canes unleashed a full-force gale on the unprepared Lady Hoyas. Miami finally built a comfortable lead, largely on the strength of long-range shooting, as six of their 10 three-pointers came in the second frame. The game looked to have gotten away just five minutes into the half when junior forward Sylvia Bullock’s layup extended the Miami lead to nine points.

The Lady Hoyas wouldn’t bow out so quickly, though.

Senior guard Monica McNutt’s three capped a furious comeback and gave Georgetown a 63-62 lead with four minutes to play. The squads traded buckets the rest of the way, with the Hurricanes taking a slight advantage until Rodgers’s three sent the contest into overtime.

Despite the valiant comeback, the Lady Hoyas could not find the twine in the extra frame. They shot an abysmal 2-of-9 from the field and were outscored 13-4 by the ‘Canes, who sank all eight of their free throws in overtime.

iami took advantage of Georgetown mistakes not only by scoring plenty of points off turnovers but also by taking care of business at the charity stripe. The Lady Hoyas committed 22 fouls – junior forward Adria Crawford fouled out in overtime – and the ‘Canes were 21-for-28 on free throw attempts.

“We play aggressive defense, and fouls are going to happen,” Williams-Flournoy said. “But we just gave them too much confidence, and we didn’t take care of the ball on offense.”

On a positive note, Georgetown was unusually dominant on the glass, outrebounding Miami 55-33. Unfortunately for the Lady Hoyas, their strong frontcourt play could not compensate for excessive turnovers and a red-hot Hurricane backcourt.

iami was led by junior guard Riquna Williams, who scored a game-high 23 points and added six rebounds. Guard Shenise Johnson, also a junior, added 17 points and wreaked havoc on her Hoya counterparts with six steals.

Rodgers paced Georgetown with 22 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Rubylee Wright chipped in 13 points and seven assists. Crawford pulled down 11 boards for the Lady Hoyas.

The Blue and Gray, coming off a convincing road win at Wake Forest last weekend, are now an even 1-1 through the first two games of their current four-game road trip. They kick off conference play at Rutgers (5-3) tonight and then cap the trip at Rider (0-7) on Saturday.

“The girls know what a big game Rutgers is,” Williams-Flournoy said. “They know what conference means, and they’ll be up for it.”