Published Mar 13, 2024
SID Report: Hoyas Quest Falls Short
Ron Bailey  •  HoyaReport
Publisher

This is an official Georgetown press release.

Georgetown Falls to UConn in BIG EAST Championship Game



UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Georgetown University women's basketball team saw its historic run end on Monday night as the squad fell 78-42 to the UConn Huskies in the championship game of the BIG EAST Tournament presented by JEEP at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The sixth-seeded Hoyas had advanced to their first championship game in program history, but could not slow the top-seeded Huskies. With the loss, the Hoyas drop to 22-11 on the year, while the Huskies improve to 29-5 for the season.

Head Coach Darnell Haney"This who we've been all year. It's who I am. We're not going to wither. We're not going to crumble. We're going to go at them every single day. You get punched in the mouth, you get knocked down, you're going to get back up. Let's go. I'm proud of them for doing that. I made sure that we continue to fight. Proud of them."

How it Happened

UConn came out hot opening with an 11-0 run before a layup from graduate student Graceann Bennett put the Hoyas on the board.GU would continue to struggle on offense, and the Huskies scored at will as the lead ballooned to 19. A jumper from graduate student Mya Bembry in the final seconds of the quarter made it 28-11 after one.The Huskies would continue to hit moving ahead by as much as 29.Georgetown did not give up, however, as a pair of free throws from Bennett sparked a 10-0 run to pull within 19. A late triple put UConn ahead 47-25 at the half.

The third quarter was back-and-forth as the squads traded buckets.Despite trailing by more than 20, the Hoyas were right there with the Huskies for the quarter scoring 10 to UConn's 11. At the end of the period, Georgetown trailed 58-35 on a last second tip in from Bembry.Bembry began the final quarter with another bucket, but UConn answered with a 9-0 run and never looked back.The Huskies cruised to the 78-42 final, and the tournament title.

Of Note

The Hoyas were led by the tandem of Bennett and Bembry who scored 12 points apiece.Bennett also had five rebounds and four assists, while Bembry pulled down four.Senior Kelsey Ransom scored nine points and managed a squad-high six rebounds.The Blue & Gray shot 32.0% (16-50) from the field, and Georgetown allowed 44.1% (26-59) shooting by the Huskies.GU outrebounded UConn 39-29, and Georgetown forced nine Husky turnovers on three steals.Following the game, it was announced at the press conference by Bennett that Darnell Haney is in discussions to become the next head coach at Georgetown University.Senior Kelsey Ransom was named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.

Up Next

The Hoyas will now await their postseason fate with a week off before the reveals.The NCAA Tournament bracket will be released on Sunday, March 17 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.The inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) will have its bracket announced later that evening at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.