As the No. 9 Hoyas coughed up a three-goal halftime lead in the second half of last Sunday’s loss to No. 4 Duke, it seemed as though each and every loose ball went to the Blue Devils. If the ball fell to the ground – no matter who dropped it – it was as if Duke emerged from the ensuing scrum with possession.

The Blue Devils had the ball more, took more shots and ended up emerging from the Multi-Sport Facilityvictorious.

On the road against George Mason Wednesday, the Hoyas looked from the start to win the battle of possession and did exactly that, securing more ground balls, committing fewer turnovers and winning the majority of the draws. In reward for its hustle, Georgetown held a laughable 41-24 edge in shots taken and emerged from Fairfax’s George Mason stadium a 12-6 victor.

“The absolute biggest point of improvement [from the Duke game] was running through ground balls,” Hoyas Head Coach Ricky Fried said. “We focused on and emphasized running through ground balls, and there were more fouls called on [the Patriots]. If we didn’t pick it up, they did.”

Senior attackers Coco Stanwick and Brittany Baschuk each scored five goals, with senior attacker Schuyler Sutton and freshman attacker Molly Ford each tallying a single score to round out Georgetown’s total. The Hoyas grabbed a season-high 23 ground balls, but no player other than senior goalie Maggie Koch – who had five – picked up more than two. Koch also made 10 saves.

Ever the team player, Stanwick was quick to compliment Baschuk for her efforts, while downplaying her own offensive fireworks.

“Brittany had a sick day,” Stanwick said. “She’s really come into her own.

“My teammates were really the reason [for my success],” she added. “The ride was huge. There were a couple ouf times where I was pretty much cherry picking, and they got me the ball.”

Baschuk tallied the first goal six minutes into the game. Stanwick tallied the next two, and after a free position goal by ason freshman attacker Megan Udovich, Baschuk got back into the action on a feed from Stanwick, who scored the Hoyas’ final goal of the first half with 7:37 left. The Patriots added their second goal with 1:23 remaining to cut Georgetown’s halftime advantage to 6-3.

After 10 minutes of relative quiet, Ford kicked off second-half scoring and after George Mason countered with a goal of its own, Stanwick and Baschuk put the game out of reach, scoring two goals apiece in the next 4:19. When all was said and done, the Hoyas had doubled up on their opponent, 12-6.

Georgetown’s 41 shots marks its most since a March 25 victory over Rutgers last season. That afternoon, in less-than-ideal conditions, the Hoyas found the net 15 times. This time, with just 12 goals, Georgetown’s 41-shot outburst was both positive and negative.

“The biggest thing is discipline,” Fried said. “They had a left-handed goalie – we knew that going in – but instead of looking and picking a spot to shoot [at], we reacted and shot low. . The 41 shots, though, are quality shots and we know they’re gonna fall eventually.”

Next on tap for the Hoyas is Big East foe Rutgers, a team that Georgetown has traditionally beaten handily but also one that appears to be on the rise.

“They’re gonna be a hard team,” Koch said. “This is a bigger game than Duke because it’s Big East. Our Big East games are the most important.”

Georgetown has never lost to the Scarlet Knights. The Hoyas won 15-7 last year and 15-10 in 2005. Rutgers has not been to the NCAA tournament since 1999, but enters Saturday’s contest 6-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.

“They now understand how the Big East works,” Fried said. “They have some big wins and some confidence coming in. This is for first place in the Big East.”

The opening draw in Piscataway, N.J., is set for 1 p.m.