Georgetown grinds out road win over SSU

Georgetown overcame a cold shooting night by forcing 20 turnovers to hold off Shawnee State, 55-53 and pick up an important Mid-South Conference win.

The Tigers (6-3, 3-1) had a tough time shooting against those infamous gray walls inside the Shawnee State gymnasium. Georgetown shot just 33% for the night and only 5-25 from 3-point range. The defense proved to be just enough with those 20 forced turnovers, limiting the possessions for a Shawnee State team that shot 50% in the first half. Despite that shooting, Georgetown led the game, 32-25, at the break.

Georgetown tightened the floor defense in the 3rd quarter by holding SSU (3-7, 0-4) to just 33% shooting. Despite that, the Tigers could only add 2 points to the lead and take a 46-37 lead to the 4th. Shawnee came out with 5 straight to start the 4th, cutting the GC lead to 4. The Tigers countered with a 7-0 run to take a 54-42 lead with 5:29 to go. The final 2 points in the run came on an Erin Toller lay-in. The freshman finished with a team-high 18 points. The field goal would prove to be the last for Georgetown on the night. Shawnee slowly chipped away and got within 54-53 with 28 seconds to go. Cassie Colon hit 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds left to put the Tigers up 2. On the final possession, Shawnee went for the tie and overtime, but a 12-foot jumper was missed and the Bears could not corral the rebound before time expired.

In addition to 18 from Erin Toller, the Tigers got 15 from Cassie Colon and 9 bench points from Lisa Suljemani. The 9 from Suljemani helped offset a tough night for starters Sophie Smith, Izzy Lamparty, and Madison Darnell. The trio combined for just 3 points on 1-13 shooting.

The Tigers return home to Davis-Reid Alumni Gym on Saturday to take on Pikeville. Tipoff is set for 1:00pm.