The Georgetown University women’s basketball team dominated the St. John’s University Red Storm in McDonough Arena on Jan. 13, buoyed by a pair of 11-0 runs.
The Hoyas (10-7, 3-5 Big East) outscored the Red Storm (14-5, 4-4 Big East) in every quarter, outrebounded St. John’s 40-26 and made 27 points off turnovers en route to a decisive 59-34 victory.
Graduate forward Brianna Scott secured the tip off for the Hoyas, and graduate guard Laila Jewett sent up Georgetown’s first attempt of the night from beyond the arc. Jewett’s attempt bounced off the rim, and graduate forward Chetanna Nweke secured the rebound. The Hoyas kicked the ball around and sent it back to Nweke, who put Georgetown on the board with a close range layup.
St. John’s responded a pair of possessions later as guard Beautiful Waheed sank a three-pointer, pulling the Red Storm into the lead. St. John’s lead — their only one of the game — was short-lived, however, as sophomore guard Destiny Agubata sent in a clean three-point shot from the top of the key.
On the Hoyas’ next possession, Agubata put in a pull up jumper from the top of the key, extending Georgetown’s lead to 7-3 less than three minutes in. The Red Storm and Hoyas traded baskets, before Waheed sent in a second clean three-point shot, cutting St. John’s deficit to one with four minutes left in the quarter. Waheed’s pair of three-pointers in the first quarter marked the Red Storm’s only three-point field goals of the game as they shot 2-23 from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard Khadee Hession stepped in for the Hoyas at the 2:58 mark, and sank a three-pointer just 12 seconds later. Jewett sent up a successful pair of three-point shots as Georgetown finished the quarter on an 11-0 run, leading 20-8.
A pair of St. John’s turnovers at the start of the second quarter saw Georgetown complete 2 layups in the opening minute, capping off a 15-0 stretch and allowing the Hoyas to accrue triple the Red Storm’s points at 24-8.
After a timeout, St. John’s returned with an and-1 bucket, ending Georgetown’s uncontested run. The teams began trading off baskets and missed opportunities, as both teams experienced turnovers on poor passes.
With two minutes left in the first half, junior forward Brianna Byars secured the Hoyas a 17-point lead with a tip-in from the paint. St John’s put in a successful layup to end the half, and Georgetown entered the break up 34-19.
Throughout the first half, the Hoyas shot 14-31 while the Red Storm only shot 7-22. Georgetown had a three-point field goal percentage of 40%, while St. John’s sat at 17%. The Hoyas outrebounded the Red Storm 22-10.
Returning from the break, St. John’s appeared to have picked up a renewed energy on defense, marked by an increase in physicality. The Hoyas and Red Storm traded free throws to begin the quarter, before St. John’s put in two layups, capping off a 6-0 run during a four minute Georgetown drought.
Both teams continued to blow chances on fast breaks, missing passes, overshooting and missing easy baskets. Junior forward Cristen Carter broke the Hoyas’ scoring drought with 4:37 remaining in the quarter. Georgetown continued sending in shots and went into the final quarter ahead 47-25 as they went on a second 11-0 run as St. John’s failed to score for over six minutes.
Jewitt sent in her third three-pointer of the night to kick off the fourth quarter, capping off a 14-0 Hoya stretch.
With five minutes left to play, Georgetown found themselves ahead by 30-points — 59-29 — as Agubata sank a three-pointer.
St. John’s guard Brooke Moore secured the Red Storm’s final 5 points of the night, and the game ended at 59-34 with the Hoyas failing to score in the final five minutes.
Georgetown outcompeted St. John’s in every stat except free throw percentage. The Hoyas shot 22-55 from the field, while the Red Storm shot 12-42. St. John’s had 18 turnovers; Georgetown had 11. The Hoyas offensively outrebounded the Red Storm 15-6, and put up 16 second chance points.
Georgetown Head Coach Darnell Haney said the team was prepared to win.
“Our group came out ready to go today,” Haney said after the game. “They listened to the game plan. We were in attack mode and not playing not to lose.”
Haney said the Hoyas’ strong defense helped them secure the victory.
“Regardless of what score is on the board, regardless of how many points we score, I feel like defense is something that you can control,” Haney told The Hoya. “You can’t control shots going in, but you can control guarding the other team and making it difficult for them.”
“McDonough Arena is really nice now,” Haney added. “We have chair backs, it’s painted up real good, but it’s still nightmare on M Street. We want to make sure that every time anybody walks in here or they see us or they see Georgetown across our chests, they’re facing the nightmare on M Street. And I think we did that tonight, so I’m proud of them”
The Hoyas will continue Big East play this weekend as they will travel to Milwaukee to take on Marquette University (11-5, 5-2 Big East) on Jan. 17 with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m. EST.
