NCAAW Recap: Georgetown 51, Xavier 52
On Sunday afternoon, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (8-6, 1-4 Big East) fell in a thriller against Xavier (9-6, 2-4 Big East), 52-51.
A tough result, despite a great effort from the Hoyas, who were bouncing back from a difficult loss at Seton Hall.
Game Recap
A super slow start saw both offenses struggle to get much going early. The Hoyas often got high-quality, close looks at the basket but couldn’t convert the easy ones, and Xavier struggled with dribble penetration early on.
Khia Miller was the high scorer for Georgetown in the first half with 6 points.
Petra Oborilova led the way for Xavier in the first half with nine points on three made 3-pointers.
The pace of play and offense increased in the second half, and Georgetown showed a more concerted effort to control the boards.
Miller, who credited her style of play to her DMV hoops “dawg” mentality postgame, showcased just that as she attacked Xavier relentlessly en route to an 18-point performance that included several clutch buckets for the Hoyas.
Unfortunately for the Hoyas, Xavier’s Meri Kanerva also came alive in the second half. She scored 10 points in the third quarter, followed by four clutch points in the fourth, as she traded buckets with Miller to secure a Xavier victory.
Important Stats
Miller led the way for Georgetown with 18 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Destiny Agubata added 12 points, and Laila Jewett finished with eight points and four assists on 2-of-2 shooting from deep
Cristen Carter had 10 rebounds, including three offensive boards.
Georgetown finished with 18 turnovers and shot 6-of-13 from the free-throw line.
Xavier’s Meri Kanerva finished with 14 points and seven assists while battling through a tough shooting night (6-of-16). Petra Oborilova scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range, and Savannah White added 11 rebounds (four offensive), three blocks, and a steal.
Key Takeaways
Overall, the Hoyas showed the type of effort required to bounce back after the Seton Hall loss, but missed execution on some small details that impact winning.
“It always boils down to the fundamentals,” coach Darnell Haney said in postgame comments, reinforcing how the team’s early-game missteps ended up being their undoing.
Despite the loss, there were still plenty of positives for Georgetown.
Improved rebounding
Aggressiveness attacking the lane
Getting to the free-throw line
Are all areas the Hoyas can build on as they embark on a road trip to Butler and DePaul.
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