Tigers Defense wears down St. Francis

Georgetown took on St. Francis in the 2022-23 home opener on Tuesday night. Early on, the Tigers struggled to find the range against a shorthanded Cougars team, but found their legs in the 2nd half and wore down the opponent en route to a 73-65 win.

The Tigers (1-1) shot just 28% from the field in the opening quarter, allowing St. Francis (3-2) to hang in, despite the Cougars only having 7 available players due to injuries. St. Francis shot 57% in the quarter and led 20-11 with 1:39 left before Georgetown went on a 6-1 run to end the quarter, but still trailing, 21-17 after 1.

After a quick Cougars bucket to start the 2nd, Georgetown began finding some offensive rhythm. Behind 3s from Cassie Colon and AJ Stevenson and 2 jumpers from Erin Toller, Georgetown went on a 10-2 run to take a 27-25 lead midway through the 2nd. The teams would trade the lead back and forth but ultimately be tied at 36 at halftime.

In the 3rd, St. Francis again came out strong and took a 40-38 lead 2 minutes in. 2 Erin Toller 3s and 2 free throws from Madison Darnell led a Tigers 8-0 run and gave GC a 46-40 lead with just over 6 minutes left. The Cougars' Reganne Pate then went on a personal 9-0 run to push her team back ahead, 49-46. Pate would add 2 more free throws late in the quarter, giving St. Francis a 53-52 lead going to the 4th.

Early in the 4th, Madison Darnell came to life. A 3-point play and a layup from the senior pushed Georgetown into the lead for good. St. Francis would take a timeout with 8:39 to play, trailing 57-53, but could never get back ahead. The teams traded consecutive 3s cutting the GC lead down to 63-61. Darnell again put her team on her back. A layup followed by a rare 3-pointer gave the Tigers breathing room at 68-61 with 2:21 left. Erin Toller would ice the game with her 4th 3-pointer, giving the Tigers a 71-61 lead with just over a minute to go.

Madison Darnell put up 14 of her 16 points in the 2nd half, to go along with 5 rebounds. The rebound total also moved her into 6th place on the all-time list, passing 2013 GC grad, Devon Golden. For the 2nd straight game, Erin Toller led Georgetown in scoring. The freshman poured in 20 on this night. Cassie Colon added 11 points and 6 rebounds, while Izzy Lamparty nearly had a double-double with 8 points and 11 rebounds.

The defense ultimately made the difference in the 2nd half. St. Francis shot just 35% from the field in the 2nd half and turned the ball over 19 times for the game, leading to 18 Georgetown points.

The Tigers are next in action on Friday night against Miami-Hamilton. Tipoff is set for 5:30pm at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym,