The Georgetown women’s basketball team (2-1) faced the Loyola University Maryland Greyhounds (0-3) at McDonough Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Displaying impressive rebounding and defensive tenacity, the Hoyas defeated the Greyhounds handily, 71–44.

Georgetown jumped out to an early lead, starting the game by scoring 17 unanswered points.

“[My players] were ready,” Head Coach Natasha Adair said. “They were fired up. Coming out of the locker room to start the game, they were sitting on the edge of their seats, they were bouncing and they were ready to go.”

Freshman guard Dorothy Adomako scored six of the Hoyas’ first eight points. Adomako, who was recently named the Big East Freshman of the Week, led the Hoyas with 13 points on the game.

“I just come in and I don’t think like I’m playing as a freshman. I just come and contribute to my team and try to do everything the coaches ask of me,” Adomako said.

Despite her early success in the game, Adomako had to sit out much of the first half after picking up two quick fouls. Other players were forced to step up.
Junior forward Brittany Horne came off the bench and made an immediate impact, scoring a quick basket in transition only seconds after entering the game.

Freshman center Yazmine Belk was also effective down low, scoring seven points in the first half.

“It’s just hustling,” Belk said. “Coach always tells us to hustle. She wants us to get on the floor for every 50-50 ball.”

It was the Hoyas’ defense, however, that contributed to much of their success in the first half. Adair employed several types of defensive tactics against Loyola Maryland, switching from man-on-man to zone, press and even zone-press defensive strategies.

“We have to work on some rotations, but it’s great to see us to be able to change with different players, with different lineups and with different personnel,” Adair said.

Georgetown entered halftime ahead by 13 points off of 42.9 percent shooting from the field.

When the Hoyas returned from the locker room for the second half, they attacked the basket with an undiminished ferocity. The Hoyas jumped out to a quick 10-2 run and did not look back. Junior forwards Dominique Vitalis and Logan Battle added baskets in transition.

The Hoyas also continued to be strong on defense, forcing seven turnovers in the second half.

“We want to be disruptive. One of our strengths is our length — we’re very long in certain areas. We want to use that length against teams that may not be as tall,” Adair said. “We wanted to pressure them, we wanted to force them to turn [the ball] over and we wanted to get easy transition baskets. I thought we did that for the most part.”

The Hoyas’ length helped on the glass, where they outrebounded their Patriot League opponents 57-40. Georgetown snagged 23 offensive rebounds, allowing for multiple second-chance points.

“No one should outrebound us,” Adair said. “Right now we’re leading the league in rebounds and we want to stay there.”

Despite the eventual 27-point margin of victory, Adair still sees room for the team to improve.

“I thought we executed at times and I thought our defense was effective at times, but I still think we have to put together a 40-minute game. We did have little lulls throughout the game. But when we are playing our best and we’re playing effectively, it’s going to be a 40-minute, full effort on both sides of the ball,” Adair said.

The Hoyas will look to build on their success when they travel to Lawrence, Kan., for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge. The team will have the opportunity to win its first game away from McDonough Arena when it faces Temple (1-1), Alabama (1-2) and Kansas (2-0) over the weekend.