Women's College Basketball
#11 Georgetown University 81, Rider University 54
LAWRENCEVILLE--They came in nationally ranked. And with seven more wins. And a quick look at the roster showed a team that most would argue was bigger, faster and stronger. And for 30 minutes, the Rider University women's basketball team went toe to toe with Georgetown from the BIG EAST.
The Hoyas, ranked #11 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll (and #12 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll) escaped Alumni Gym on Saturday with an 81-54 win.
Adria Crawford led Georgetown (8-3) with 19 points on seven for 11 shooting while adding five rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 24 minutes.
"There is a lot to be proud of after this game," said head coach Lynn Milligan. "I think the team did a great job. We are stuck in that 30 minute team right now and we have to find a way to put together a complete 40 minute effort, regardless of who we are playing."
For Rider (0-8), junior Ali Heller (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrew's) had 13 points, one off a career-high and was three for three from three-point range to go along with a four for four performance from the free throw line while adding four assists.
"We were nervous playing a ranked team," Heller said. "After the first couple of minutes, we realized that coach was right and we could play with them and we did for the first half, the second half, we kind of got away from our game which hurt us."
Trailing 26-14, Rider went on a 14-2 run, seven points by freshman MyNeshia McKenzie (Springfield, Pa./Springfield (Delco)) and five from Heller to tie the game at 28 with 3:05 left in the first half. McKenzie finished with seven points in the game.
"I thought our defensive effort and rebounding effort in the first half was terrific," Milligan said. "Georgetown is a great team, they are nationally ranked for a reason. We were able to take them out of some of the things that they wanted to do for the first 20-30 minutes and then couldn't finish."
"Coach (Milligan) told us to slow them down and make them play our game," Heller said. "She wanted us to make them run their offense because they obviously like to run and score in transition. When we saw that we could play solid defense against them, it definitely built our confidence. We just have to put the final piece (10 minutes) together."
The Hoyas responded by scoring 11 of the next 14 points to lead 39-31 at intermission.
Trailing 43-33, sophomore Dior Brown (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) scored five straight to cut the Georgetown lead to five (43-38) with 15:52 remaining. D. Brown finished with eight points, three rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes of play.
Leading 50-39, the Hoyas used a 9-0 run to open up a 20-point lead with 10:59 left in the game and leading 63-44, Georgetown put the game away with a 16-6 run and the Hoyas led 79-50 with 2:32 left.
"Anyone who was in the gym realized that this wasn't a 30 point game," Milligan said. "We dug ourselves some holes in the second half and got away from our game plan a little and we gave them some easy buckets that they had to work harder for in the first half. We turned it over too much and gave some easy looks."
The Hoyas caused 25 Bronc turnovers with the Rider defense causing 17 Georgetown turnovers.
Also for Rider, freshman Alicia Hall (Sliver Spring, Md./John F. Kennedy) had 10 points on four for eight shooting and was a perfect two for two from the charity stripe with junior Sarah Homan (Upper Darby, Pa./Delco Christian) adding eight points and was one off her career high with 13 rebounds.
"Alicia is doing a great job and is learning on the go to a new position," Milligan said. "She is a strong kid and is handling it very well. She is starting to understand that you have to work hard to get your teammates in the right spots."
Georgetown (8-3) out-rebounded Rider 40-26, 15-6 on the offensive glass.
Also for the Hoyas, Alexa Roche had 14 points (six for nine shooting) in 18 minutes off the bench with Sugar Rodgers adding 11 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Georgetown had a 48-10 advantage on points in the paint.
The game featured two ties and four lead changes, all in the first half.
Rider played without its leading scorer and rebounder, All-MAAC Third Team selection sophomore Caitlin Bopp (Baltimore, Md./Inst. of Notre Dame) who missed her second straight game with a high ankle sprain.
This was Georgetown's first ever visit to Alumni Gym and the Hoyas have won all four games in the series.
The Hoyas broke a two-game losing streak. Rider has lost eight straight and 12 in a row, dating back to last season.
"You can let the losing deflate you or you can come in and work hard with the want to win," Heller added. "Now we realize that we have to come into practice, forget the record and focus on getting better and winning the next game."
"Being undermanned, we have to out work, out defend and out rebound our opponents," Milligan added. "I think you saw some of that but for whatever reason and I'm not going to make excuses, we couldn't go toe to toe with them for all 40 minutes. Without Caitlin (Bopp) and Alyssa (Parsons) (Ivyland, Pa./Archbishop Wood), they came in ranked and coming in, we could have been on the other end of worse and this wasn't that."
After a break for final exams, Rider begins a four-game road trip with a visit to Tom Gola Arena and La Salle University on December 19 at 2pm.
"A lot of positives came out of the game and we are going to work hard to get better over the next 10 days," Milligan said. "It is going to be Philly basketball and we have to be ready. They (La Salle) are going to get after us defensively."
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