On a night where most of the attention was on the men’s matchup at Syracuse, the Georgetown women’s basketball team played down to the wire against Seton Hall at McDonough Arena, emerging with a 56-51 victory over the Pirates.

The Hoyas (19-5, 8-3 Big East) could never quite pull away from the pesky Pirates (7-18, 0-11 Big East), who continued to play solid basketball despite being down by as much as 16 and even threatened to win later.

The game started perfectly for the Hoyas, as junior center Sydney Wilson tipped the ball to junior guard Sugar Rodgers, who drove up court for a three-point play just four seconds into the game. Rodgers’ teammates rode the momentum to a hot start, as buckets by Wilson and senior forward AdriaCrawford and a three-pointer from Rodgers put Georgetown up, 10-3, forcing the Pirates to burn a timeout.

The Blue and Gray played a stifling 2-3 zone, forcing the Pirates into long jumpers and three-point shots. The Pirates didn’t help themselves by falling into double-team traps in the corners which led to 10 first-half turnovers. Rodgers stayed on fire, hitting from downtown with just over three minutes remaining in the half to extend the shots. The Pirates didn’t help themselves by falling into double-team traps in the corners, which led to 10 first-half turnovers. Rodgers stayed on fire, hitting from downtown with just over three minutes remaining in the half to extend the lead to 16. Rodgers finished the half with 16 points as the Hoyas took a comfortable 12-point lead into the half.

But Georgetown emerged from the locker room a different team. The Hoyas looked sluggish, letting the Pirates creep back to within five in the opening four and a half minutes of the second half. Fortunately, senior guard Alexa Roche provided a spark, hitting two clutch three-pointers to put the Blue and Gray up 13 with 10:30 to play.

But Seton Hall wouldn’t let Georgetown run away with it, as sharp-shooting junior guard Brittany Morris drained several threes to keep the game within reach. Georgetown senior guard Morgan Williams subsequently fouled senior guard Jasmine Crew while she was shooting from beyond the arc. Crew hit the bottom of the net on all three free throws, pulling the Pirates to within six with 2:48 left in the game.

The Blue and Gray reached deep down to rekindle some of that first-half fire, with Rodgers and senior guard Rubylee Wright each making two free throws on back-to-back possessions to put the Hoyas up by 10.

The hack-a-Hoya marathon then began. Poor free-throw shooting let the Pirates keep it close, but in the end the Hoyas emerged victorious, 56-51.

Rodgers showed significant improvement in her shot, scoring 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Wilson had a big night, too, scoring nine points and pulling down nine rebounds. Crew led the way for the Pirates with 20 points.

The Hoyas will travel north this Saturday to take on perennial powerhouse No. 3 Connecticut. Tipoff is at 4 p.m.