Articles

Hoyas Hold Off Catamounts in Women's Basketball

Details: Created on Friday, 30 December 2011 02:55; Written by George Commo

No. 15 Georgetown tops Vermont 65-53

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

HANOVER, N.H. – The No. 15-ranked Georgetown Hoyas used a strong second half effort fueled by 20 points from Sugar Rodgers to post a 65-53 win over Vermont in the first game of the Blue Sky Classic hosted by Dartmouth.

Georgetown improved to 11-2 on the season and extended its win streak to 10 games. Vermont falls to 6-6 overall and suffered its fifth straight loss.

The Hoyas used a 9-0 run midway through the first half to take an 18-8 lead with 10:17 remaining. The Catamounts sliced the lead to four, 22-18, with 7:42 left in the half behind a 10-4 spurt, sparked by a 3-pointer from Burchill. Georgetown clamped down on defense and held the Catamounts to just two field goals, both by Buschmann, over the final seven minutes of the half and went into the locker room with a 29-22 advantage.

Rodgers scored seven straight points to open the second half and allowed the Hoyas to extend their lead to 14, 36-22, at the 16:49 mark.

The Hoyas' lead grew to 18 at the 9:18 mark, but the Catamounts continued to battle back. UVM mounted a 12-3 run over four minutes, fueled by eight points from Burchill, to cut the lead in half, 49-40, with 5:33 remaining.

However, Georgetown managed to push back out to a double-digit lead with an 8-0 run and held on for the victory.

Rodgers finished the game matching her career-high with 34 points, no other Hoya reached double figures. The Hoyas were also aided by scoring 25 points off 25 turnovers by UVM.

Freshman Kayla Burchill scored a career-high 20 points, behind a 6-for-11 effort from three-point range, to lead the Catamounts. Junior Lauren Buschmann added 13 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

Vermont wraps up its eight-game road swing facing La Salle on Friday in the final day of the Blue Sky Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

NOTES: The Blue Sky Classic, in its 35th year, is the longest running women's basketball collegiate tournament … UVM played its second ranked opponent in three games … Lauren Buschmann has reached double figures in nine of 12 games this season … Kayla Burchill reached double-digits for the fifth time this season and has scored double-figures in four of the last five games.