Despite a late second half surge, the Seattle University women's basketball team could not earn the point advantage over Georgetown University Saturday evening. The Redhawks fell 68-54 to the Hoyas in game two of the Basketball Travelers Invitational Classic hosted at Purdue University. With the loss SU drops to 0-4 on the season, while GU improves to 2-2.
After only shooting 21.7 percent in the first half and committing 12 turnovers, the Redhawks returned to the court with a newfound momentum. Down 48-23, SU found offensive rhythm and slowly chipped away at the Hoya lead entering the second half.
It was truly a tale of two halves for the Redhawks, who shot 60.9 percent in the final half. After seeing the effectiveness of man-to-man defense in the first by Georgetown, Joan Bonvicini's young squad employed it successfully. In the final half, SU forced GU to commit 14 turnovers, which they converted into 17 points.
Senior Ashley Brown headlined the Redhawk effort on the day, scoring a career-high 19 points in a team-leading 35 minutes of action. Brown led the team with six rebounds, five steals and an assist versus the Hoyas.
The SeattleU forward was key in the Redhawk attempt at a come-from-behind upset over Georgetown. At 5:13 left in the game Brown knocked in a jumper to bring the score to 59-49, the closest it had been since midway through the first half. Less than a second later, she returned with a 3-pointer to bring the game within seven points.
With their gapping lead eroded, Georgetown called timeout to calm their shaken defense. After settling down they were able to go on a 5-0 run and take a 12 point lead. At 1:25, Tatiana Heck brought the game within 10 again with a low post jumper, but five seconds later, Georgetown made two baskets from the charity stripe to reestablish their 12 point lead and solidify their victory.
"We didn't compete in the first half and at halftime I challenged them, because we are better than this," said the first season head coach. "We changed a little bit of what we did both offensively and defensively, and we started attacking and making shots. We gained a lot confidence and I am please with today's efforts."
"I am not happy we lost, but I am happy we competed. Today was the first day we really played Division I basketball; we hadn't done that in our previous games. It is not good to lose, but it is good to get better. Even though this is a very competitive tournament we are becoming a team and learning what it takes to compete at this level. I know that this is going to benefit us down the line," concluded Bonvicini.
The Redhawks close out the BTI Classic with Dayton (3-1) on Sunday, Nov. 22. Tip time is slated for 10:15 a.m. PT.