McDaniel, Defense lead 2nd half rout of #15 Marian

10th-ranked Georgetown got off to a slow start in its toughest test of the year on Saturday against #15 Marian. The Tigers fell behind by 10 multiple times in the 2nd quarter but made a resounding charge in the 2nd half for a 76-57 win to improve to 10-1 on the season.

The 1st quarter proved more at Marian's pace and became a half-court game. Georgetown struggled from the floor, shooting just 4-11 with 5 turnovers. In what would prove a theme most of the day, free throws kept Georgetown in the game as it shot 6-7 from the line in the quarter. Marian led 18-15 after 1.

The Knights scored the first 5 in the 2nd quarter for an early 8-point lead. The Tiger deficit reached 10 at 27-17 before a Teionni McDaniel lay-in at 6:13 for Georgetown's 2nd bucket of the quarter. An AJ Stevenson 3 cut the margin to 30-23 with just over 4 minutes to go, but Marian kept its defense tight. Three-pointers from McDaniel and Jordan Rogers were the only points for Georgetown over the final 3 minutes as Marian led 36-29 at the break. Georgetown shot just 4-14 in the quarter, but 3 of those made shots were from beyond the arc. Despite shooting just 32% in the half, the Tigers found themselves only down by 7.

Marian scored the first 2 points of the 3rd at the foul line. From there, the quarter and the game belonged to Georgetown. Free throws from Callie Jackson started a 9-0 run to tie the game at 38 with 6:54 to go in the 3rd. The teams traded free throws until the game was deadlocked at 42. An Abby Varney free throw followed by a Teionni McDaniel 3 ignited a 12-2 Georgetown run to close the quarter. The Tigers had turned a 10-point 2nd quarter deficit into a 54-44 lead going to the 4th. In the critical 3rd, Georgetown outscored Marian, 25-8. The Tigers shot 6-10 from the floor and 11-14 from the charity stripe. Teionni McDaniel scored 15 in the quarter on her own. Conversely, Marian missed 14 of its 17 shots and turned the ball over 7 times.

After a slow start to the 4th for both sides, Georgetown turned the pressure up with just under 6 minutes to go and began to salt the game away. Leading 59-47, the Tigers got a jumper from Izzy Lamparty and more free throws from Teionni McDaniel to stretch the edge. A lay-up from Jordan Rogers with 3:07 to go pushed the lead to 65-50. Rogers followed that with a 3 on the next possession as part of her 11-point day. A final 3 from AJ Stevenson and 5 free throws in the final minute put the cap on a dominant 2nd half comeback.

In that 2nd half, Georgetown outscored Marian, 47-21. The Knights shot just 24% (8-33), including 0-8 from 3-point range and just 5-14 from the foul line. Georgetown also forced 9 turnovers in the half.

Teionni McDaniel gave the Marian defense fits all day long. The senior from Las Vegas lived at the foul line, going 13-16 en route to 31 points. Jordan Rogers had a strong 2-way game with 11 points and 4 steals. Izzy Lamparty was crucial on the glass with 12 boards. The aggressive nature of the Tigers' offense was also important on this day as they shot 28-35 at the foul line and also knocked down 8 threes.

Georgetown will quickly turn around and reset for a Monday evening game against Bluefield. Tip time at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym is set for 5:30pm.