The Georgetown University women’s basketball team held on for a 56-54 win over the St. John’s Red Storm on Jan. 22, thanks to the late heroics of graduate guard Kelsey Ransom, who made a game-winning left-handed layup with 2.5 seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
After three quarters of strong defensive play, the Hoyas (10-9, 3-5 Big East) let the Red Storm (11-8, 1-7 Big East) back into the game after a flurry of turnovers, nearly blowing an 18-point lead, before taking the game at the buzzer.
Georgetown took control out of the gate, winning the tip and converting the possession into points on a jumper by first-year guard Khadee Hession.
After forcing several Red Storm turnovers on the other end, Ransom hit jumpers on back-to-back possessions to give the Hoyas a 6-3 early lead.
Hession and senior center Ariel Jenkins’ contributions on offense, combined with senior forward Kaliyah Myricks’ emergence as a strong rebounder and energetic defender, pushed the Hoyas to a 17-8 advantage after the first quarter.
This was Myricks’ sixth start of the season, as Georgetown Head Coach Darnell Haney continues to mix up the starting line-up.
The Hoyas forced 7 Red Storm turnovers in the first quarter, unusual for a St. John’s squad that entered the game averaging only 12 per game. The Georgetown defense smothered St. John’s, switching effectively in their zone sets and forcing St. John’s to settle for poor shot attempts deep into the shot clock.
The Red Storm began the second quarter on a 4-0 run, highlighted by junior forward Kylie Lavelle’s offensive prowess and the team holding the Hoyas scoreless for nearly four minutes.
Ransom broke the scoring drought with a wonderful sequence, turning a block on the defensive end into a layup. Followed by another layup, two made free throws and a jumper, Ransom pushed the Georgetown lead to 25-14 all by herself with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter.
Jenkins collected an offensive rebound and finished the put-back to complete the half’s scoring.
As a result, the Hoyas led 27-14 at the break, with Ransom outscoring the Red Storm 16-14 herself. The Georgetown defense held St. John’s to 6-23 shooting and dominated the boards on offense, earning a 10-0 advantage in second-chance points.
After a layup by Lavelle to begin the third quarter, Ransom once again hit a jumper and Hession hit a 3-pointer to extend the Hoya lead to 32-16.
A gorgeous pass by Hession to Jenkins — that seemed to surprise even Jenkins herself — followed by a Ransom layup gave Georgetown a 36-18 advantage with 5:31 remaining in the third quarter, the team’s largest lead of the night.
Slowly, St. John’s began to show some signs of life, tightening the score to 40-27 after a pair of Georgetown shot clock violations, but the Hoyas’ formula of feeding Jenkins in the post proved too strong.
Jenkins made a turn-around jumper to push the Georgetown lead to 42-27 entering the final quarter.
St. John’s cut the lead to 44-33 before junior guard Victoria Rivera hit two huge 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, her only made shots of the game, to push the Georgetown advantage to 50-36 with 7:09 remaining.
Ransom hit a layup at the five minute mark to push the lead to 52-38.
A 14-0 Red Storm run followed to tie the game, as St. John’s held Georgetown scoreless for over four minutes, collecting a steal or forcing a turnover on six consecutive possessions — on many of which the Hoyas failed to advance the ball past the half court line.
With the game knotted at 52, the matchup came down to the final minute.
After a St. John’s timeout with 56 seconds remaining, Myricks and Hession combined to force a steal. Haney quickly called a timeout, setting Ransom up for a floater with 33 seconds to spare. Georgetown now led 54-52.
A foul by Hession and two made Red Storm free throws once again tied the matchup.
After Lavelle committed an inopportune foul for the Red Storm —sending her to the bench with 14 seconds remaining— to bail the Hoyas out on a possession in which the team struggled to inbound the ball and pass half-court, Ransom called game with a beautiful left-handed, stutter-step layup.
As McDonough Arena erupted in cheers, St. John’s called a timeout but were not able to execute a set play on their final offensive possession, securing the 56-54 Hoyas win.
In a wild victory, Ransom starred with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Jenkins added a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, 8 of which came on the offensive glass, and Hession finished with 8 points and 4 steals.
While Georgetown shot more efficiently from the field, their lack of ball awareness and propensity for poor turnovers nearly cost them the game.
The Hoyas will look to extend their conference winning streak to three games against the Marquette Golden Eagles (12-6, 4-3 Big East) in Milwaukee, Wis. on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m.
