After Fast Start, GU Falls Just Short

After capturing the Moran Realty Classic Championship over Thanksgiving, the Georgetown women’s basketball team returned home on Wednesday night to face the George ason Patriots. The homecoming was dour, however, as George Mason nudged past the Hoyas in a thrilling, 66-64 victory, extending their school-best start to 5-0.

Sluggish play in the beginning of both halves and poor free throw shooting contributed to Georgetown’s loss, but it was the Hoyas’ inability to put away the game at the end, that cost them the most.

“We didn’t execute and we fouled too much,” Head Coach Pat Knapp said. “I think we got out-hustled and you’ve got to give credit to George Mason for coming out to play.”

The Patriots tore out of the gates, taking advantage of the Hoyas’ early mistakes to build a 21-10 lead at about 10 minutes into the first half. During that stretch, George Mason hit four three-pointers, while limiting Georgetown to just four field goals.

“Early on we didn’t box out, we overdribbled and we didn’t have people running the offense well,” Knapp said.

The Hoyas finally found their stride and chipped away at the Patriots’ lead as the first half ended. Even with 10 turnovers in the early part of the game, Georgetown was able to hold George Mason to just two points in the last 6:44 of the half. Key three-pointers in the last five minutes of the half by senior guards Katie Smrcka-Duffy and Dani Ilic helped tighten the game, and with one second left, junior guard Lesley Walker hit two free throws to tie the game at 27.

However, the Hoyas were severely hurt by their poor performance from the foul line, connecting on just four of 14 free throws during the opening half.

The second half began like the first, with the Patriots jumping out to a 41-33 lead five minutes in. Then, the Hoyas heated up and fought back to take the lead, 47-46 on a layup from sophomore guard Shawntese Charles. Georgetown was getting its points on close-range shots and relying on the strong interior play of sophomore forward Zsuzanna Horvath and senior forward Nathalie Bourdereau. With 5:01 left, a jumper by Bourdereau widened the lead to 57-52 and seemed to signal the momentum shift the Hoyas had sought all game long.

But for the next three minutes and 37 seconds, Georgetown went into a slump, hitting only one shot. Meanwhile, the Patriots closed the gap with a couple of big shots and consistent free throw shooting. George Mason’s Monica Williams hit a big three-pointer to knot the game at 59 and Jill Regan was perfect on six free throws down the stretch to reclaim the lead.

With 14 seconds left and the Patriots leading 65-59, the Hoyas made things interesting. Smrcka-Duffy drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to three and then Walker hit a layup with three seconds left to make it 65-64. However, after a George Mason free throw gave them a 66-64 lead, a desperate heave at the buzzer fell well short for the Hoyas.

“We lost the game after the five-minute mark,” Knapp said. “We shot 50 percent for the game and [George Mason] shot only 34 percent, but in the second half, we shot only one free throw while they shot 19.”

Smrcka-Duffy led the Hoyas with 19 points while Bourdereau had 11 boards, all on the defensive side.

The loss to George Mason, a team that had not beaten Georgetown since the 1992-1993 season, is a damper to what was a very successful Thanksgiving break for Georgetown. The Hoyas traveled to Chicago to compete in the Moran Realty Classic, held at the DePaul Athletic Center. After easily disposing of Marist, 74-50, in its first-round matchup, Georgetown crashed the home team’s party by edging out DePaul, 73-70, in overtime to win the championship.

“Our kids played very well at DePaul and we played hard on each play,” Knapp said.

In the first half against DePaul, Georgetown used a 12-0 run to go up by as much as 13. However, the Blue Demons answered back to cut the deficit to five at halftime. The second half saw both teams fight neck and neck to the end of regulation. Smrcka-Duffy and Walker hit three-pointers to give the Hoyas a 62-59 lead with less than a minute to play, but the Blue Demons came back with a three with only 19 seconds left to play, making it 62-62.

In overtime, Walker hit another crucial three-pointer to put the Hoyas up for good, 72-70. Smrcka-Duffy iced the game with a free throw with three seconds left.

Smrcka-Duffy led Georgetown with 28 points and four assists while Walker added 20 points.

Freshman forward Rebekkah Brunson finished the game with her first double-double of the year. Brunson’s performance in the tournament earned her Big East Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 27. The Oxon Hill native had 11 points and 10 points against DePaul.

In the first round game against Marist, Smrcka-Duffy led Georgetown with 17 points. Walker added 16 points, and Charles set a career-high with 14.