Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL | No. 3 Connecticut Rocks Georgetown

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA Sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers, shown against Seton Hall, was held to 10 points against UConn.
FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA
Sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers, shown against Seton Hall, was held to 10 points against UConn.

The trip to Storrs, Conn., is never easy for any team, but few could have foreseen the shellacking No. 15 Georgetown (19-6, 8-4 Big East) received in an 80-38 defeat at No. 2 Connecticut (23-2, 11-1 Big East) on Saturday night.

Bounced from last season’s NCAA tournament in a close loss to the Huskies, the Hoyas sought revenge but failed to wreak the same havoc with their defensive pressure, which had given one of the conference’s top dogs fits in previous matchups. The Blue and Gray dropped three of the final seven games of their 2011 campaign to Connecticut, and although the margins of defeat were much slimmer, none of the three were true road games.

“It’s tough to come and play here,” Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy told reporters. “Last year, we played at our place, we played at the Big East [tournament] and then we played at Temple. So you’re on neutral sites every time. It’s tough to come in here and play. Even as experienced as we are, it’s still a tough place to come in here and play.”

The Hoyas took a 12-11 lead on a three-pointer from senior point guard Rubylee Wright with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half, but the Huskies responded with 13 straight points and never looked back. Eleven first-half points from freshman guard Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewisfueled the hosts, who took a 31-18 lead into the break.

Georgetown was in need of an offensive flurry to make the game competitive, but the floodgates opened in the opposite direction as Connecticut struck with back-to-back three pointers to spark a 34-8 run to begin the second half.

The lead ballooned to as many as 44 points with 3:44 remaining in the contest, as Mosqueda-Lewisbroke a recent shooting slump to lead the Huskies with 23 points. Sophomore guard Bria Hartley and senior guard Tiffany Hayes added 18 and 12 points, respectively, as the Huskies shot 50 percent from the field, including 62.5 percent in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Hoyas, who have relied on defense and turnover-creating abilities to compensate for their conference-worst 35.9 field-goal percentage so far this year, were stone cold again from the field. The Blue and Gray finished shooting just 25 percent from the field, and star junior guard Sugar Rodgers, the conference’s leading scorer with 19.5 points per game, was held to just 10 points.

“If they have one of their best players and we don’t stop them, we’re going to hear about it nonstop,” junior Connecticut guard Kelly Faris, who matched up with Rodgers defensively, told reporters. “Those are the types of things we focus on.”

Rodgers was not alone in her struggles, however. The Huskies, who boast the league’s best scoring and field-goal defense, were able to smother the Hoyas’ supporting threats. Forward Tia Magee, whose increased scoring was vital to the Blue and Gray’s four-game win streak heading into Saturday, was held to just three points, well under her 11.4 points-per-game average.

Georgetown forced a respectable 14 turnovers but committed 21 of its own.

Despite the margin of defeat, the Blue and Gray remain a half-game behind fourth-place West Virginia in the division standings, thanks to the Mountaineers’ upset victory over league-leader Notre Dame.

“There’s nothing we can do about this game now,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We can’t go back and grab it. We have four games left, and those are our priority. Our next focus is Villanova.”

The Hoyas will travel this Tuesday to take on the Wildcats (15-10, 5-7 Big East) in Villanova, Pa. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

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