Feb. 2, 2010

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WASHINGTON - The No. 18/16 Georgetown University women's basketball team continued to prove itself Tuesday evening defeating its third ranked opponent of the season. The Hoyas beat the No.25/25 St. John's Red Storm (18-4, 6-3 BIG EAST) by a score of 67-57 to improve to 19-3 overall and 8-1 in conference play.

The matchup marked the first game featuring two ranked opponents at McDonough Arena since 1982. That year the men's basketball team faced No. 4 Missouri on February 20. The then-No. 13 Hoyas defeated the Tigers 63-51 and eventually advanced to the national championship game that season.

Georgetown got on the board first fueled by three-consecutive trey's from freshman Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) to take an 11-2 lead. The Red Storm responded, but the Hoyas set the pace early staging an 11-0 run a few possessions later to hold St. John's scoreless for six minutes.

In the final minutes of the half, St. John's cut it to 12 but the damage had been done as the Blue & Gray went into the locker room leading 37-21.

Rodgers led all scorers in the first half with 15 points going 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 at the line. Senior Jaleesa Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Alton) added seven points and a team-high five boards. Georgetown shot 54.4 percent in the half and held the Red Storm to just 26.9 percent shooting from the field. The Hoyas were outrebounded 17-15 but forced 12 turnovers.

St. John's didn't back down in the second half coming out and immediately whittling the lead down to five with a 9-0 run. Georgetown battled back but struggled to hit as the Red Storm pulled within three at the 9:30 mark. The coaching staff then called timeout attempting to change the momentum of the game.

"In the huddle I just told them not to panic," said Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "Unfortunately we've been in this situation before and I know if they see me panicked, then they'll panic. I just told them to calm down and play our game."

The tactic worked as the Blue & Gray went on a 15-0 run coming out of the timeout holding St. John's scoreless for six minutes to take the advantage to 18. The Red Storm tried to counter but it was too little, too late as Georgetown went on to win, 67-57.

Rodgers led all scorers with 17 points, but it was sophomore forward Latia Magee (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) who had the all-around game with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

"What Tia should be most proud of are those seven rebounds," said Williams-Flournoy. "She's undersized and playing out of position so she has to work hard for every one of them."

Monica McNutt (Suitland, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) added 15 points while Butler posted 13 points and five rebounds to put four Hoyas in double digits.

Georgetown shot 46.0 percent for the game and forced 22 turnovers, but was outrebounded 35-30.

The Hoyas have their bye weekend coming up and will be off until Wednesday, February 10 when the Blue & Gray will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers at 7 p.m.