Sparked by junior guard Sugar Rodgers, the No. 20 Georgetown women’s basketball team cruised to its fourth consecutive victory, defeating Coppin State, 70-54, Wednesday night. Rodgers led the offense with 26 points as the Hoyas improved to 6-2 on the season.
The Hoyas jumped out to an early lead in the first half and never looked back. Rodgers dominated the opening minutes of play, draining seven threes in the first seven minutes and tying her personal best for a single game. Her offensive explosion put Georgetown ahead, 25-8.
“One of the keys to last night was having Sugar come out and set the tone immediately,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “She gave us a lot of confidence right off the bat, and that made a difference.”
Senior forward Adria Crawford added to the barrage with back-to-back layups off of offensive rebounds before handing it over to senior guard Rubylee Wright, who drained three consecutive baskets with five minutes left in the half. Senior forward Vanessa Moore added two just 20 seconds later to put the Hoyas up, 40-16, and give the team its biggest lead of the game.
Georgetown entered the break ahead, 44-26. In the first half, the Hoya defense let up just four field goals from the Eagles for a total of 11 points. The Eagles came out strong in the second half, however, firing back with an offensive explosion of their own and cutting the lead to 11 within the first seven minutes. Coppin capitalized on Georgetown fouls, hitting eight free throws in nine minutes of play.
But the Hoyas quickly found their groove, regaining enough enough momentum for a 10-2 run that would put them ahead by 20 with eight minutes left to play. Crawford sank four free throws in the final minutes of the game to seal Coppin State’s fate. At the end of the day the Hoyas pulled away with the victory, 70-54.
The commanding lead in the last 10 minutes gave several different players a chance to shine on the court.
“Last night’s game allowed us to play a lot of people that may not always have the opportunity to play, and I think overall they did OK,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Obviously, there are things that everyone can work on and improve upon.”
Rodgers led the Hoyas in scoring with 26 points and added four assists and six rebounds. The star guard shined defensively as well, tying her career high for steals in a game with six in the first half.
Crawford and Wright each notched 13 points in the decisive victory. Crawford led the team with seven rebounds and Wright racked up five assists, extending her team-leading total to 31.
The game marks Georgetown’s fifth consecutive win since falling to top-ranked Maryland and LSU three weeks ago.
On Sunday the Hoyas will take on Rider at home in McDonough Arena. The Broncs are currently 3-3 on the season with wins against Lafayette, Bucknell and St. Francis. Georgetown is 4-0 all time against Rider and defeated the Broncs 81-54 last season.
Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
