It seemed all Georgetown needed was one big play – a friendly roll from the rim, a big defensive stop or a timely offensive rebound. Unfortunately, though , Louisville had an Angel on its side.

The No. 17 Cardinals (17-1, 3-1 Big East) came out looking like a ranked team, making quick work of the Hoyas (11-6, 1-3 Big East) with a 30-16 lead on the back of Sophomore forward Angel McCoughtry just three minutes before halftime. A fiery Hoya squad, however, cut the lead to four by the halftime buzzer. Two Hoya runs would fall short as the Cardinals pulled out a 57-54 win at McDonough Gymnasium on Tuesday.

“They made big shots, they got big shots and it’s bad for the game to end how it ended, because that’s just not an indication of how our kids played,” Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said.

The Hoyas were always one offensive rebound or defensive stop from taking control of the game, but could never break it open.

McCoughtry, Louisville’s leading scorer but not usually a three-point threat, connected on her first four long-range tries, racking up 17 points, four rebounds and two assists in the first half before the Hoya defense clamped down.

While Louisville sat in a 2-3 zone for most of the game, Georgetown made a mid-game shift to a box-and-one zone to put constant, frustrating pressure on McCoughtry. Freshmen guards Shanice Fuller and Kenya Kirkland both saw time in the first half shadowing McCoughtry, and Fuller helped to stifle McCoughtry to only seven second-half points.

“We haven’t seen a box-and-one all year long and Angel struggled with it,” Louisville Head Coach Tom Collen said. “I think mentally it took [McCoughtry] out of her game. It took us out of our game. When they did that, no one else on our team stepped up and made any shots.”

The Cardinals entered the game averaging 80 points per game, but, confounded by the box, could only manage 27 points in the second half.

Collen said that the Hoyas’ defense strategy caused his offense to run sets they had never practiced. The Cardinals’ confusion was evident – there were four turnovers in the final three minutes of the game, including a critical shot clock violation with 41 seconds left.

Entering halftime, Georgetown was down only four points and had all the momentum thanks to a 10-0 run to end the first half.

The Hoyas’ record was 5-5 trailing at the half, and Louisville capitalized on Georgetown’s traditionally slow start, pulling ahead 38-28 on a mid-range jumper by Louisville senior center Jazz Covington three minutes into the half. Marlow chipped away at the lead by scoring seven points in six minutes to bring the Hoyas within one, 45-44. Louisville freshman guard Brandie Radde missed her fifth three-pointer of the game, leading to an easy lay-in by Georgetown junior center Aminata Diop that gave the Hoyas their first lead of the game, 46-45.

Any premature thoughts of victory were short-lived, however, as Louisville regained a three-point lead they would never relinquish.

The Hoyas were handed an opportunity to tie the game as the clock expired, but McCoughtry made a spectacular block to save the Cardinals. With 14 seconds left and a score of 57-54, Fuller fouled junior forward Yuliya Tokova to set up a one-and-one situation at the free-throw line. The Hoyas needed Tokova to miss the first shot to give them a chance for a last-second three pointer.

As Tokova was in mid-motion, McCoughtry jumped into the lane early, forfeiting the free throw and gift wrapping a game-tying possession for Georgetown.

Marlow lined up at the top of the key against McCoughtry, star forward against star forward, but unlike McCoughtry’s threes, which floated into the net uncontested, Marlow’s was violently blocked by McCoughtry.

Despite the loss, Williams-Flournoy was pleased with the Hoyas’ resilience.

“Our kids played with great effort,” she said. “In the second half when we got down by nine, our kids didn’t lose focus at all.”

Team members said they did not lose focus because they knew they could beat a supposedly superior, ranked opponent.

“This was our game tonight,” Marlow said. “We should’ve won it. I just couldn’t get the shot off.”

Georgetown’s next two games are road contests against unranked but underrated Rutgers (8-5, 3-1 Big East) on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and up-and-coming No. 24 DePaul on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m.

It seemed all Georgetown needed was one big play – a friendly roll from the rim, a big defensive stop or a timely offensive rebound. Unfortunately, though , Louisville had an Angel on its side.

The No. 17 Cardinals (17-1, 3-1 Big East) came out looking like a ranked team, making quick work of the Hoyas (11-6, 1-3 Big East) with a 30-16 lead on the back of Sophomore forward Angel McCoughtry just three minutes before halftime. A fiery Hoya squad, however, cut the lead to four by the halftime buzzer. Two Hoya runs would fall short as the Cardinals pulled out a 57-54 win at McDonough Gymnasium on Tuesday.

“They made big shots, they got big shots and it’s bad for the game to end how it ended, because that’s just not an indication of how our kids played,” Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said.

The Hoyas were always one offensive rebound or defensive stop from taking control of the game, but could never break it open.

McCoughtry, Louisville’s leading scorer but not usually a three-point threat, connected on her first four long-range tries, racking up 17 points, four rebounds and two assists in the first half before the Hoya defense clamped down.

While Louisville sat in a 2-3 zone for most of the game, Georgetown made a mid-game shift to a box-and-one zone to put constant, frustrating pressure on McCoughtry. Freshmen guards Shanice Fuller and Kenya Kirkland both saw time in the first half shadowing McCoughtry, and Fuller helped to stifle McCoughtry to only seven second-half points.

“We haven’t seen a box-and-one all year long and Angel struggled with it,” Louisville Head Coach Tom Collen said. “I think mentally it took [McCoughtry] out of her game. It took us out of our game. When they did that, no one else on our team stepped up and made any shots.”

The Cardinals entered the game averaging 80 points per game, but, confounded by the box, could only manage 27 points in the second half.

Collen said that the Hoyas’ defense strategy caused his offense to run sets they had never practiced. The Cardinals’ confusion was evident – there were four turnovers in the final three minutes of the game, including a critical shot clock violation with 41 seconds left.

Entering halftime, Georgetown was down only four points and had all the momentum thanks to a 10-0 run to end the first half.

The Hoyas’ record was 5-5 trailing at the half, and Louisville capitalized on Georgetown’s traditionally slow start, pulling ahead 38-28 on a mid-range jumper by Louisville senior center Jazz Covington three minutes into the half. Marlow chipped away at the lead by scoring seven points in six minutes to bring the Hoyas within one, 45-44. Louisville freshman guard Brandie Radde missed her fifth three-pointer of the game, leading to an easy lay-in by Georgetown junior center Aminata Diop that gave the Hoyas their first lead of the game, 46-45.

Any premature thoughts of victory were short-lived, however, as Louisville regained a three-point lead they would never relinquish.

The Hoyas were handed an opportunity to tie the game as the clock expired, but McCoughtry made a spectacular block to save the Cardinals. With 14 seconds left and a score of 57-54, Fuller fouled junior forward Yuliya Tokova to set up a one-and-one situation at the free-throw line. The Hoyas needed Tokova to miss the first shot to give them a chance for a last-second three pointer.

As Tokova was in mid-motion, McCoughtry jumped into the lane early, forfeiting the free throw and gift wrapping a game-tying possession for Georgetown.

Marlow lined up at the top of the key against McCoughtry, star forward against star forward, but unlike McCoughtry’s threes, which floated into the net uncontested, Marlow’s was violently blocked by McCoughtry.

Despite the loss, Williams-Flournoy was pleased with the Hoyas’ resilience.

“Our kids played with great effort,” she said. “In the second half when we got down by nine, our kids didn’t lose focus at all.”

Team members said they did not lose focus because they knew they could beat a supposedly superior, ranked opponent.

“This was our game tonight,” Marlow said. “We should’ve won it. I just couldn’t get the shot off.”

Georgetown’s next two games are road contests against unranked but underrated Rutgers (8-5, 3-1 Big East) on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and up-and-coming No. 24 DePaul on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m.