Sometimes, a trip home is just what the doctor ordered.
The No. 21 Georgetown women’s basketball team (3-2), coming off two consecutive losses to ranked teams, easily swept a two-game homestand this weekend. The Hoyashanded Houston (0-3) a 66-36 beating Saturday afternoon and used a second-half run to break open a tight game against Monmouth (0-3) Monday night.
Senior forward Tia Magee led the Blue and Gray in both contests, combining for 28 points and 19 rebounds in the two victories.
“Tia Magee and I spoke before she left this summer,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “She had to understand … that we needed her to come back a little more aggressive scoring-wise and a little more aggressive defensive-wise. She has to make the big plays for us.”
Georgetown ensured early on that Saturday’s game would be entirely devoid of drama, starting the game on a 22-2 run and never looking back. The lead reached 40 points at one point in the second half, and all 15 Hoyas saw at least five minutes of floor time. Magee had 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in only 24 minutes of playing time, while senior guard Alexa Roche added 10 with seven boards.
“I thought we did some really good things today,” Williams-Flournoy said in a press release. “We rebounded and we only turned the ball over 11 times. Those types of stats will make the game easier for us.”
Monday’s game, however, was not so easy.
Visiting Monmouth played with no fear to kick off the first half, as junior guard Carly Thibault, and senior guard Alexis Canady rained threes and the Blue and Gray offense struggled at first with junior guard Sugar Rodgers in street clothes. Williams-Flournoy elected to sit her star, who has been nursing a sore ankle for weeks. Fortunately for the Hoyas, they were able to adjust fairly quickly.
“[Rodgers] is a very, very, very good player” Magee said. “But we are a team. We’re well rounded. [Rodgers] scores a lot of our points, but we have a lot of players that are capable of scoring.”
The Hoyas held a comfortable lead for most of the first half, but a few quick Monmouth fastbreak points just before halftime narrowed the gap to five. The Hawks came out firing in the second half, tying the game up at 34 with just under 17 minutes left in the game.
The Monmouth rally seemed to wake up the Blue and Gray, as the hosts used a series of full- and half-court presses to put the Hawks away over the course of a 20-2 run. Georgetown forced 20 turnovers on the day, many of which came during the game-deciding run, and coasted the rest of the way to a 66-44 victory. Magee, senior point guard Rubylee Wright and freshman guard Taylor Brown scored 13 points apiece.
“One turnover gets us hyped, and it intimidates them a little bit, so they overthink,” Magee said. “Once they overthink, we can capitalize on every little mistake they make.”
After the Hoyas broke the game open, Williams-Flournoy had freshman guard Jasmine Jackson take over the point, allowing senior point guard Rubylee Wright to move to her more natural off-guard position.
“It ain’t new for me, personally, because I always think I’m a scorer,” Wright said. “I have fun playing the two, especially because Sugar couldn’t play. It was just a position that I had to step up and play.”
The two home victories should give the Blue and Gray some momentum going into a big-time matchup with No. 10 Georgia this Saturday at the Lady Rebel Roundup in Las Vegas. And although Brown was impressive in filling in for Rodgers, the Hoyas’ star will be ready to go against the Bulldogs.
“I took her out of the lineup [tonight]. With a sprained ankle, sometimes you just have to completely rest it.” Williams-Flournoy said. “She will be back.”
Tipoff Saturday is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
