As fans made their way out of sold-out Verizon Center on Saturday after a rousing victory for the men, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (18-3, 7-1 Big East) tipped off against conference foe Rutgers (12-9, 4-3 Big East) at McDonough Arena looking to match its male counterpart’s performance.

“There’s a little friendly back-and-forth about it,” junior captain Monica McNutt said. “They won, so we don’t want them to show us up.”

With a 59-50 win over the Scarlet Knights, the then-No. 17 Hoyas did not let that happen. They bounced back strongly on their home court after a loss at Marquette on Wednesday that snapped their previous 16-game winning streak.

“I knew they would come back strong,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “I knew they would hurt first, and I was going to make them hurt because I was going to show them everything they did wrong. But I knew they would come back strong from it. . I told them, `We won 16 in a row. We cannot lose our minds over one loss. We have too many games left to play.'”

Prior to Saturday, the Hoyas had lost eight straight to the Scarlet Knights, including a hard-fought, double-overtime loss last season. The victory marked Georgetown’s first-ever win against Rutgers under Williams-Flournoy, who has her squad back on track and playing some of the best basketball the program has ever seen.

“I think last year gave [our players] some confidence that, `Hey, we are getting much better, we can play with these so-called big-name teams,” Williams-Flournoy said.

And play with them they did. The Hoyas grabbed an 11-9 lead with 8:17 remaining in the first half and never let it go, extending that advantage to a game-high 18 points at the 9:21 mark of the second half after back-to-back three-point field goals by freshman guard Ta’Shauna “Sugar” Rodgers.

The young Rodgers led all scorers with 27 points – two shy of her career-high – on 9-of-19 shooting from the field, including 5-of-13 from beyond the arc. She also grabbed five rebounds and a team-high three steals, impressing everyone in attendance – including Rutgers’ Hall of Fame Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer. The renowned coach gave Rodgers credit for having “nerves of steel” and proving that a freshman can indeed dominate in the Big East.

Rodgers’ teammate and captain praised her as well.

“We’ve got an incredible player,” McNutt said of the team’s leading scorer. “For a freshman to come in and be so mature as an athlete, [and] as a player, is incredible. What you saw tonight was incredible.”

But it wasn’t easy for Rodgers or the rest of the Hoyas in the first half. The freshman sensation was just 1-of-7 from three-point range and 3-of-10 shooting overall in those 20 minutes. Georgetown was even worse as a team, combining to shoot a meager 20.6 percent in the first frame.

“That can hold you back right there,” Williams-Flournoy said.

When asked what caused the anemic offensive performance before the break, Georgetown’s head coach jokingly looked over at Rodgers.

But fortunately for the Hoyas, their 29-to-15 rebounding advantage was good enough for a 21-16 lead at halftime. Fifteen of Georgetown’s first-half boards came on the offensive end, compared to just one for Rutgers, who joined Seattle and Southwest Baptist as the third school to be held to 16 first-half points by the Blue and Gray defense this season. The Scarlet Knights’ leading scorer, senior guard Brittany Ray, was held scoreless from the field in 27 minutes of action and was just 3-of-6 from the free-throw line.

“For once, we did a very good job of knowing where the shooter was,” Williams-Flournoy said of the defensive pressure placed on Ray throughout the game. “I thought our kids really did a good job of locating her early.”

When the second half came, Georgetown’s Rodgers took over. She scored 18 of her 27 points for the Hoyas on 6-of-9 shooting, including four three-pointers, due in great part to the up-tempo play of the entire offense.

“I have to give credit to our point guard, [sophomore] Rubylee Wright, because she really pushed it in transition. . She gets into the gap and [Rodgers’] shot becomes much more wide open,” Williams-Flournoy said.

Wright also added six points from the charity stripe in the period, and her fellow classmate and guard Alexa Roche hauled in four rebounds. Georgetown’s shooting percentage improved to 55 percent for the half as well, much to Williams-Flournoy’s liking.

“It was just a matter of time for us finding the basket,” she said.

The Hoyas overcame deficits in steals and turnovers to hold on for the win. It was the first time that Georgetown had turned the ball over more often than its opponent all year, albeit the difference was just one giveaway.

After a 1-1 week, the Hoyas fell from No. 17 to No. 18 in the AP poll announced on Monday. Despite, the slight drop, the team still has much to be pleased with thus far.

“It’s hard to get extremely excited about where we are, but we still have to understand it’s good,” Williams-Flournoy said.

The first half of the Big East schedule is now over, but Georgetown’s toughest opponents still remain. The Hoyas have yet to challenge any of the other four ranked teams in the conference, but that changes starting tonight at McDonough Arena when they welcome No. 25 St. John’s to the Hilltop. In February, Georgetown will also play at No. 11 West Virginia, home against No. 3 Notre Dame, and at perennial powerhouse and unanimous No. 1 Connecticut.

Tip-off against the Red Storm is schedule for 8 p.m. this evening. “