Miami Burns Georgetown

Ruthie Braunstein/The Hoya Senior Katie Smrcka-Duffy scored 11 points in GU’s 52-46 loss to Miami.

For Georgetown’s women’s basketball team, Saturday’s trip to Miami was no day at the beach.

The Hurricanes held Georgetown scoreless during a 6-0 run in the final two minutes in a 52-46 victory, ending the Hoyas’ three-game winning streak.

Georgetown freshman forward Rebekkah Brunson had her league-leading ninth double-double, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Georgetown shot a paltry 30 percent from the field, including just 2-of-17 shooting on three-point field goal attempts. And while the bench contributed 33 points in last Wednesday’s victory over West Virginia, it was virtually nonexistent against Miami. Senior guard Porshia Jones’ seven points were Georgetown’s only points off the bench.

“We rushed some shots and we could’ve been more patient in the zone offense, but we just had a poor shooting night,” Head Coach Pat Knapp said.

The first half was a seesaw battle between the two teams, with each team struggling to hold onto slim leads. The Hoyas got an early 4-0 lead from jumpers by sophomore forward Zsuzanna Horvath and senior guard Katie Smrcka-Duffy. Junior guard Lesley Walker was all over the court, sparking the Hoyas to a 14-9 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half. During a four-possession sequence, Walker assisted on a Brunson layup, made a steal that led to a fast-break layup and scored twice. Georgetown was able to extend its lead to as much as nine, 20-11, after a Jones three-pointer.

Miami stormed back, using a 12-1 run in the next four minutes sparked by guard Sheila James, who made three three-pointers during that span. The Hoyas could only manage a lone free throw for more than six minutes midway through the first half. The Hurricanes took a 26-21 lead with 5:07 remaining. Georgetown missed 12 straight shots before Brunson finished off a fast break that started with a Jones steal.

Brunson led the Hoyas with 11 first-half points and seven rebounds. Both teams shot poorly, as neither could manage better than 38 percent from the field.

The spark that Brunson’s layup at the end of the half produced flickered away as the Hurricanes broke out of the gates to start the second period. James hit another three to start a 13-1 Hurricane run in the first six minutes. They were able to take advantage of their offensive rebounds as they scored four second-chance points. Meanwhile Georgetown missed its first seven shots of the half and was only able to put up one point from a Horvath free throw.

With 13:48 to go in the game and Miami up 39-27, Georgetown finally found its way out of the shooting funk. The Hoyas went on an 11-0 run, keyed by Smrcka-Duffy and Brunson, who combined for nine points during that span. They cut the deficit to one, 39-38 with 8:18 left. But the funk returned as they were unable to capitalize off of six Hurricane turnovers.

Georgetown did have a couple opportunities to come back with iami hitting only 3 of 6 free throws down the stretch, but a costly turnover by Jones with 16 seconds left secured the victory for Miami.

“We threw the ball away but we thought [Jones] got hit,” Knapp said.

The Hoyas shot themselves in the foot in the second half, as they committed 14 fouls and had 10 turnovers while making just 1 of 5 free-throws. Their starters made 7 of 26 shots from the field and could not make the Hurricanes pay for their 36 percent second-half field goal shooting and their 42 percent free-throw shooting.

Brunson was named Big East Rookie of the Week for the third straight week on Monday. She averaged 20 points and 13.5 boards in two games for the Hoyas. She had 23 points and 14 rebounds against West Virginia last Wednesday. Brunson is also leading the Big East with nine rebounds per game.

Georgetown (13-8, 5-5 Big East) returns home to McDonough Gymnasium on Wednesday to face Villanova. The Wildcats, who were ranked No. 24 in the nation last week, are coming off a 75-39 blowout loss to No. 3 Connecticut.

“They know that we’re tough at home, and we know they’re a good team, so we should rise to the occasion,” Knapp said.