Despite a 63-54 road win over Marquette University on Jan. 17, the Georgetown University women’s basketball team succumbed to the Golden Eagles’ hot streak in McDonough Arena on Feb. 1.
The Hoyas (12-10, 5-8 Big East) lost 67-59 to the Golden Eagles (15-7, 9-4 Big East), as they struggled to keep up with Marquette’s offense.
Georgetown Head Coach Darnell Haney said he was unhappy with his team’s defensive play.
“We didn’t start out this game the right way,” Haney told The Hoya in a post-game press conference. “We didn’t play Georgetown defense and rebound like we needed to. They imposed their will on every aspect of the game.”
“I’m not happy with our lack of urgency,” Haney added.
Marquette won the jump, and guard Lee Volker hit a 3-pointer to secure the first points of the game for the Golden Eagles, but Hoya sophomore guard Destiny Agubata quickly answered with a midrange jumper.
Agubata continued to gain speed with a layup, but then guard Halle Vice and Volker secured 6 easy points off layups for Marquette, putting the Hoyas behind 9-4 with 4 minutes left in the quarter. Sophomore guard Khadee Hession, who came off the Georgetown bench, answered shortly after subbing in with a 3-pointer.
Marquette went on a 7-0 run over the next three minutes, with Volker’s hitting another 3-pointer and finishing a layup off a drive to the basket. Agubata answered aggressively for Georgetown, absorbing contact on a drive to the rim, drawing a foul and converting the free throw. By the end of the first quarter, the Hoyas were down 16-8.
The second quarter was Georgetown’s best, as they outscored Marquette 19-15. Agubata continued to build momentum for the Hoyas, showing off her handles on a drive to the rim and finishing a layup.
With 6:42 left in the half, Marquette went on another 7-0 run, before sophomore guard Summer Davis broke the streak with a mid-range jumper. Georgetown then began to build its own streak as Summer Davis and Hession hit key shots. The Hoyas were hyped up as junior forward Brianna Byars hit an and-one layup, making the free throw afterwards. Georgetown looked strong going into the halftime break, down just 31-27.
However, the Hoyas failed to build off their first-half energy, shooting 25% from the field in the third compared to the Golden Eagles’ 80%. Summer Davis, Byars and Hession continued to provide energy off the bench, combining for 9 points in the quarter. However, Marquette continued to assert their offensive and paint dominance throughout the quarter, outscoring Georgetown 21-12 and outrebounding the Hoyas 9-3.
Haney said he sought to turn the tide towards the end of the third quarter going into the fourth, but he couldn’t replicate the Hoyas’ second quarter energy.
“We just missed some assignments and didn’t capitalize on opportunities we had in the third quarter,” Haney said. “And Marquette capitalized on our mishaps.”
Trailing 52-39, the Hoyas struggled to recover from their 13-point deficit. The Golden Eagles continued to draw fouls, get to the free-throw line and score in the paint.
Still, glimpses of Georgetown’s second quarter energy flashed, as graduate forward Briana Scott hit a 3-pointer from the wing and Hession scored an and-one layup after being knocked to the ground. Hession hit a final shot from beyond the arc as the clock wound down to bring the score to 67-59.
Throughout the game, Georgetown shot 37% from the field while Marquette shot 54% overall and 46% from the 3-point line. The Golden Eagles dominated the boards throughout the game, outrebounding the Hoyas 35-25. Georgetown’s bench produced 42 points of the Hoyas’ 59.
Haney said the team’s performance was influenced by the previous win against Marquette.
“A lot of times, you think you’re going to be able to walk on the floor and do something the same way you did it the day before, and that’s just not how it works,” Haney said. “That first group that was out there was lethargic, and you can’t be lethargic.”
Haney said that despite the outcome, he was pleased with the production from his bench players.
“Summer and Khadee had great energy today,” Haney said. “We got 42 points off of the bench, and there’s not too many teams that can get that from their bench. But at the same time, the people who start the game need to show up every single night.”
Hession said Haney played a big role in helping her regain her confidence after suffering a concussion.
“I was missing a lot of shots, and my confidence was slowly going down,” Hession told The Hoya. “But then Coach Haney called me after the Seton Hall game asking me, ‘What’s up? How are you feeling?’”
“I’m very grateful for Coach Haney because not a lot of coaches are going to reach out to you when you play bad, they’ll just be like, ‘Okay, I’m done with this player.’ But he wants me to be great,” Hession added.
The Hoyas had their next Big East game against the Creighton University Blue Jays (10-12, 6-7 Big East) on Feb. 4.
