Most teams riding high on seven wins in a row can point to solid team play as the root of their success. The Hoyas’ recent streak, however, has been decidedly less auspicious.

Georgetown has found a way to win despite committing 20 turnovers per game and shooting poorly from inside the three-point line.

On Saturday, the Hoyas (7-2) downed the American Eagles (2-5), 65-56. They continued the program’s longest winning streak in 14 years with a messy 51-34 win at Navy (2-6) Monday night.

“Again we found a way to make it messy but we still came out with a `W,'” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said after the win at American.

The Hoyas defeated the Eagles despite being outrebounded 36-28, exploiting their height advantage over the smaller Eagles for a 32-8 lead in points in the paint. American’s quicker guards and Georgetown sophomore forward Katrina Wheeler’s lagging play contributed to the deficit on the glass. Wheeler played despite a painful blister on her right foot.

“It was hard because every time [Wheeler’s] in there we both rebound and we have [junior forward Kieraah Marlow] who would rebound and some of the freshmen who would rebound,” junior center Aminata Diop said. Diop managed six rebounds and eight points but Wheeler grabbed only one rebound and scored just four points.

Georgetown took a 27-19 lead over American with four minutes remaining in the first half but the Eagles rallied to make the score 30-28 when the buzzer sounded.

The Eagles made 10 of 14 free throws in the first stanza and benefited from two late three-pointers by junior guard Liz Hayes.

“I think we got outhustled a little bit on loose balls,” Marlow said. “I think we have to focus more on grabbing the ball and coming down instead of tapping it around.”

Sophomore guard Nicole Ryan exploded for American to start the second half, scoring 13 consecutive points for the Eagles, who tied the score at 41 with 12 minutes to play. In the first eight minutes of the period, Ryan made four three-pointers.

“When we want to play defense, we play great defense,” Williams-Flournoy said. “But when we get slow and sluggish and off point, that’s when we give up shots.”

Fortunately for the Hoyas, Ryan did not remain the best player on the court for the rest of the game. Marlow scored 13 points in the final 12 minutes to seal the Georgetown victory.

“The second half we adjusted,” Marlow said. “We realized they were weak in the post and we started pounding it in.”

“We got back on our heels,” American Head Coach elissa McFerrin said. “The thing I was most disappointed with is we didn’t maintain an attack mentality. We couldn’t get things done tonight.”

Marlow made two three-pointers in the final 12 minutes and finished with 22 points to lead all scorers. She is 8-for-17 from behind the arc this year.

“The three-pointer is another element of my game that I’ve added in that I feel really comfortable with,” arlow said. “Most people don’t know that so they play off and when they play off, I just read the defense and knock them down.”

While Georgetown played well down the stretch at American, the Hoyas’ offense was sloppy during the first half at Navy, as the Midshipmen took a 17-16 lead at halftime.

The Hoyas shot just 5-for-28 from the field in the first half and 9-of-19 from the charity stripe in their worst half of basketball since a 16-point first half against No. 7 Connecticut on Jan. 4. The Midshipmen were just as guilty of poor shooting, hitting only five of 26 shots and missing all six of their three-point attempts.

“It wasn’t poor shot selection, we just missed a lot of shots,” Williams-Flournoy said. “[We] were really concentrating on playing defense in the first half, but we shot 52 percent in the second half.”

Much of that success was thanks to Wheeler.

“Katrina [Wheeler] had another normal game for her, 14 points and nine rebounds,” Williams-Flournoy said. “She’s fine now.”

While Wheeler performed, Marlow was quiet in her 19 minutes, going only 2-for-6 from the floor and 1-for-3 from the line for a total of five points.

“It was her birthday night,” Williams-Flournoy said. “She was celebrating her birthday and maybe forgot to play a basketball game.”

Georgetown turned up the offense in the second half, scoring 35 points on 14-for-27 shooting while keeping the defensive pressure up, holding Navy to 6-of-28 from the field and 0-for-8 from behind the arc.

In the 1992-93 season, the last time the Hoyas won seven straight games, the team extended the streak to nine, won the Big East conference and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

The Hoyas will have a chance to boost their postseason chances when they take on No.7 Connecticut (5-0) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in McDonough Gymnasium. On Saturday, the Hoyas play Florida Atlantic (1-7) of the Atlantic Sun conference in McDonough at 3 p.m.